Posted by Lieutenant Laraan (Counsellor) in Main Sim - Bridge: A Mid-afternoon Anomaly.

The order was given and the Athena sailed majestically into the blackness of space, several hours later they found themselves coming up on the coordinates they had been given. Continuous ongoing scans showed clearly that they were heading for the ion nebula however as they approached their destination they were not picking up any quantum fluctuations at all. When they were within several hundred kilometres the Captain ordered all stop. Sensors still showed negative readings for everything they had been told to look for, however as they came to a full stop, there did seem to be something dead ahead on the view screen…

Junior Gamemaster Conspiracy Theorist

Orvos found the readouts to be quite puzzling. Nothing. Not a single quantum signature. Perhaps the readouts from earlier were now wreaking havoc on their sensor systems?

As he input commands into his console, he said aloud, “I’m going to run a quick level 3 diagnostic on the sensors. I’m curious if the quantum signatures are wreaking havoc on the sensors.”

While the diagnostic ran, he finally looked up at the viewscreen for the visual.

-Lt. Orvos Legen, CE

The diagnostic came back negative and precisely 4.7 seconds after that the sensors started to register a strong source of neutrinos, ionised hydrogen and theta radiation along with quantum level fluctuations. The dark spot in the middle of the view screen exploded into a whirling maelstrom, a very large wormhole, dark purple and lavender in alternating coruscating colours.

Junior Gamemaster Conspiracy Theorist

Luka stared into the face of the wormhole. “Well, I suppose I asked for something exciting, but this is going a little too far, do you not think?” she muttered under her breath. “Everyone brace yourselves. I have the premonition/feeling that we are going to have a turbulent few moments…”

Luka, XO

Laraan ripped her eyes away from the viewscreen to the XO with mild surprise in her eyes. She was only at an aux science console, but she was gathering and analysing sensor readings so she saw no fault in reporting them.
“It’s a fast expanding source of neutrinos, ionised hydrogen and theta radiation along with quantum level fluctuations, but nothing is forcing us to fly into it! Maybe we should get some safe distance?” she suggested, as they were still on a course towards it and after all nothing was forcing them to fly into it without any consideration. She couldn’t imagine why Luka was suggesting something extremely dangerous like that.”

• Laraan, CNS

It was at this point that people started to notice that the Captain was no longer in her chair.

Junior Gamemaster Conspiracy Theorist

Luka’s head snapped over to the captain’s chair, her breath catching in her throat for a moment. What happened to Ghubari…?

Orvos had focused on the image. It had looked vaguely familiar to him. Then again, these days that happened often. Having well over nine hundred years of information crammed in his head definitely would cause him to see something more than once.

While he gazed intently at the viewscreen from his station, something changed in his awareness. Within seconds he realized it was the captain without even looking to her seat. He pulled his gaze from the viewscreen to settle on the captain’s chair in front and to his right.

=^=Security alert,=^= R’han snapped out. =^=Department head, roll call your personnel report immediately.=^=

Orvos sent a message to Bennet in engineering to ensure that all were present.

He turned to the XO. “Tactical present and accounted for.”

R’han

“Thanks R’han, what about the rest of the crew?” Luka asked, standing up and stepping over to the captain’s chair. With Ghubari vanished so suddenly, this was where she had to be.

Laraan didn’t quite know why, but she instinctively opened a channel to Orvos. =^= Lt. Legen, please come immediately to the bridge, we need you. =^= she said and at the same time accessed the bridge’s internal cameras to replay the last seconds in which the Captain must have vanished.
- Laraan, CNS

Orvos’s eyes shot up upon hearing Laraan’s voice come through his combadge as he sat in the engineering console on the bridge. He turned to her, hiding an obvious smile as he waved with both hands. “Present!”

He was quiet at the moment, and it explained why perhaps some did not realize he was on the bridge.

Stark was all over the consoles trying to find answers but wasn’t finding any. In the end he ended up staring first at the empty Captain’s chair and then back into the maelstrom. “Is she in there?” he mused out loud trying to make sense of what had just happened.

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Orvos looked on into the chaos outside the ship. It was entirely possible. But one thing had to be ruled out.

“Shields up Commander?” R’han turned to the other commander on the ship. “Commander Luka, your orders?”

R’han CTO

“Yes! Shields up,” Luka nodded, snapping out of the slight daze she had been in for a few milliseconds. “Hold position. Pull us back if that’s possible,” she ordered. “I don’t know how strong the pull is from that… whirling maelstrom. But keep us out of it until we figure out what happened to our captain.”

Luka, XO

R’han’s hand was hovering over the button, knowing with almost certainty that shields up was an automatic yes.

Orvos tapped his combadge. =/\=Computer, locate Captain Ghubari Koraia.=/\= And with that he waited for the computer’s reply while he focused. If she wasn’t on the ship, he allowed his senses of time and space to expand past the ship. It required a great deal of effort, but was perhaps possible if something or someone was out there.

-Lt. Orvos Legen, CE

As he finished his sentence the Captain winked back into existence seated in her Captain’s chair as if she had never left the computer rather smugly informed everyone =/\=Captain Ghubari Koraia is on the Bridge=/\=

Junior Gamemaster Conspiracy Theorist

Having nearly sat down in the Captain’s chair by this point, in her surprise at Ghubari’s sudden return, Luka stumbled a little and sat in Ghubari’s lap. She was quick to stand up again, stumbling to her feet and sitting in her own chair while mumbling some apologies in Galdori.

Koraia was startled, not just by Luka’s movements, but to find herself suddenly back on the brdige.

“Captain Ghubari is back everyone,” she announced, then turned to Koraia. “We’re holding position, Captain,” she spoke.

Luka, XO

Yeah this is definitely strange Dan thought to himself as he watched events unfold on the bridge. Dan announced to the bridge officers, “I have a class 1 probe ready. Requesting permission to launch the probe into the anomaly. We may lose the probe doing this but the detailed scans would help us better understand what’s out there.”

Dan positioned his hand over the console ready to press the icon to launch the probe.

Lt j.g.Dan Jones (Scientist)

Laraan went quickly to Ghubari, facing her and asessing her state as well as her energy as she looked at her. “Where have you been?” she asked the most obvious question intently. She knew very well that an eternity could hide within only a few minutes and the way they were in over their heads in time travel stuff, there was no telling what had happened to Ghubari. Right now Laraan didn’t care about anything else, the XO was capable of making sure the ship and crew were fine, but right now it was her job to make sure the Captain was fine.

• Laraan, CNS

R’han pulled a tricorder from under his console and pointed it at the suddenly reappearing Captain. While everyone was happy to see the Capetian return he was… as is his nature was suspicious.. “Where exactly were you?”

R’han

Laraan looked at him quickly rolling her eyes. “Hello. Did I not just ask this? If you have trouble hearing my voice I can talk a lot louder, but I doubt you could take that.” she said and instantly refocused back on Ghubari. She had it with R’han. It was no secret that he thought of her, what she was doing an her place on the bridge as unnecessary, unessential, all but menial, never deigning to even think of the possibility to make use of her services. She didn’t mind the silent rejection, even the veiled scorn, but if he started messing with her business, he’d better dress up warm.

• Laraan, CNS

OOC: for some reason I processed this as a whisper so I acted like he didn’t hear it. And he didn’t really like her being so close as to him the captain is now dangerous as she is unknown so his behavior was more to protect Laraan and the ship. I don’t know about the “thought” he has about Laraan. He don’t have a negative opinion of her aside from the fact she could be dangerous. Which is unremarkable because - considering someone dangerous - is normal for R;han.
Luke

OOC: Relax dear, it’s all IC fun :)

Ignoring the tension around her, Ghubari exhaled slowly and closed her eyes briefly. She could feel the pull and seeing the anomaly again, things didn’t feel any more clear, but at least there was direction. S eh rose to her feet. “I don’t know… exactly. It’s hard to explain. It was some sort of… message.” She shifted her intense gaze to Laraan, feeling incredibly determined as her crew knew she could be. “Whether it was some alternate dimensional space or something, I don’t know, but it felt real. And we need to go into the anomaly.” She could and would give an order here, but her crew needed to trust her. Did she believe they would follow even an extraordinarily odd order? yes. But she also knew given recent missions, that their discomfort would be eased if Laraan could convey that she wasn’t out of her right mind.

Fl. Captain Koraia, CO

Laraan held Ghubari’s gaze, seeing the clarity behind it. Gently, she took her hand into hers and felt the Captain’s energy. It didn’t feel off or disturbed in any way, just normal. The silent assessment only took a few seconds, though it felt longer and there was understanding in Laraan’s gaze.

Without breaking the connection she said out loud
“You heard the Captain. Set a course into the anomaly.”
she rarely used the full power of her multi- layered voice but this time she did, so everyone on the bridge heard her as loud as if she was standing in front of him.

• Laraan, CNS

R’han was not moved by the change is Laraan’s volume. It was the XO’s duty to execute the captain’s order not the counselor especially when there were two higher ranked officers available. “Begging the Captain’s Pardon, What’s the rush? The anomaly will be there in an hour after we run a full scan of it.”

R’han

Luka looked at Laraan, frowning slightly. “I am not certain if you are accustomed to the chain of command, Counselor Laraan,” she stood to her full height, looking imposing, “But you do not have the authority to order the vessel to do anything when I am on the bridge. I am the officer who holds that position.”

“Captain, I must ask a similar question as R’han, simply because my duty is to put the safety of this vessel and her crew over my devotion to your orders. What reason do you have to go through the anomaly, and what makes you think we will not be torn asunder by passing through it?”

Luka, XO