Posted by Gamemaster GMT Phoenix (GMT) in Main Sim- The Forbidden Nebula Star system- Into the Gamma Quadrant! The Fleet Sets Sail, A Race Against Time and Terror!”

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Hall (Chief of Security) in Main Sim- The Forbidden Nebula Star system- Into the Gamma Quadrant! The Fleet Sets Sail, A Race Against Time and Terror!”

Posted by Captain Freja Andreassen (Commanding Officer) in Main Sim- The Forbidden Nebula Star system- Into the Gamma Quadrant! The Fleet Sets Sail, A Race Against Time and Terror!”
Posted by… suppressed (52) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<Snip>

The long-range scan reveals that there are 5 more star systems within range though not many details could be made out with this low-resolution scan the one system that was close enough that more information could be made out this system sitting 3.5 Lightyears away showed a Yellow Dwarf star with 4 planets the last one being a Gas Giant with Rings hidden in these rings was 5 cargo ships they were sheltering as the Dominion had ordered they had most systems powered down at the moment except for basic life support however one of the ships had a fluctuating power signature that looked strange however there could be any number of reasons why the energy signature was off on that one for now the fleet would need more evidence something was truly wrong to act

The Pickett and the ships guarding it arrived back while the scan was being conducted

Other ships started scanning and sharing the data with the chimera

Firstly the Skeleton shows Structural Integrity damage but what is strange is its more of Material Degradation scaring shows a High-Energy Biochemical Corrosion almost as if what is left was partially liquified

There is an Organic Residue on the skeleton that a sample can be collected from and anylized more closely

GMT Phoenix

“Let’s quarantine any samples we decide to bring aboard for further analysis,” Freja spoke as she sat in her command chair.

~Freja Andreassen~

Bob continued to pace around Engineering. He wandered if he could be more useful on the bridge.
=^=Jeffers to the Bridge. Do you need me up there, I feel like a spare part down here.=^=

Lt. Bob Jeffers (CE)

“Cap, you may wanna see this”

The Chief Science Officer looked towards the Captain of the Chimera with a look of concern on his face. “Whatever dissolved that ship all but melted it. These scans…” he paused for a moment, double checking the data just to confirm what he was thinking was correct. The look of concern grew even more as he blinked and adjusted his glasses.

“There’s traces on that ship of biochemical corrosion… By it’s very nature biochemical only occurs within living organisms. Cap, biochemical suggests something living” he spoke finally. “There’s more, because our fun doesn’t end there. I did those long range scans? Yeah, they’re interesting as well” he continued. “Scan’s reveal a few ships a few light years away, all mostly powered down but one is fluctuating massively. I’d need to confirm with Jeffers, but I don’t think ships are supposed to do that”

Lieutenant Junior Grade Edwards - Chief Science Officer - USS Chimera

“That’s....disconcerting,” Freja remarked, =^=Yeah Chief, we could use you, our Science Chief could use your collaboration on some scans he’s getting back from our wreck, something tells me it might need an engineer’s touch.=^=

=^=Righto Captain, I’m on my way.=^= He replied, turning to Ensign Reese he said “Keep everything ticking over down here while I’m away. Any issues let me know.” With that, he turned and headed out of Engineering and up to the Bridge.

Freja turned back to her CSO, “Work with Jeffers and see if we can come up with a few theories on why that ship is doing what’s it’s doing, because I don’t want us to land in a situation where we’re the ones with power fluctuations having us blink like a Christmas tree.”

~Freja Andreassen~

A few minutes later Bob arrived on the Bridge. He looked around and grinned, he loved being on the bridge. It was true he loved ships in general but he liked looking out of the viewer at the stars. He just had the dream job really. He looked around Engineering and over to the Science station, there was someone he didn’t recognise The CSO maybe he thought to himself. He walked over to Jasper with a friendly smile on his face.
“Hello there, Bob Jeffers. I’m the Chief Engineer. Feel free to call me whatever you like, most call me Chief.” He introduced himself holding out his hand.
“I gather you need a hand?” He asked.

Lt. Bob Jeffers (CE)

“Edwards, Chief Science”

He cast his eyes to the friendly looking Chief Engineer and took his hand softly. He gave the hand a little shake before turning back to his station, the look of concern still present and obvious for Bob Jeffers to see.

Bob had a much firmer grip and his hand was rough and calloused, only natural for a Chief Engineer. He noticed the concern in Jasper’s eyes.

“Make sense of these scans for me. You know how ships are put together, yes?” he asked inquisitively. “What does this to a ship? How can something biorganic do this to a ship?”

Bob huffed slightly blowing out his cheeks as he looked over the scan. It was odd and indeed worrying. He played it down for Jasper’s benefit.
“Well, I’d say it was something big whatever it was. To cause that much damage, we’ll know more once the sample is analysed.” He then turned to the other ships.
“Those are even stranger. That fluctuating one. Can we get further information on it? I’d like to know the root cause.” He said then realised he hadn’t been at all reassuring.
“Don’t worry Edwards, I’m sure we’ll have this figured out. There’s an explanation for everything.”

The Chief Engineer was anything but reassuring.

Jasper adjusted his glasses, eyes dancing over the scans on the screens in front of him. His fingers tapped on the computer panels, adjusting the scans to try and focus in on the ship with it’s fluctuating power systems. What he didn’t understand was why there was only one ship with a freaky power system and the rest seemed completely normal, like nothing was happening.

“Talk me through this” he asked of the CE. “Give me some valid reasons why a ship’s power would freak like that and tell me that it definitely isn’t related to the scans I’m looking at in relation the cargo vessel”

Bob puffed out his cheeks lost in though.
“Could be anything to be honest with you. We’d need to get in closer to do a more in depth scan.” He replied.

A Comm Call came in “This is NE Rhaine We have just finished collecting the samples I am transporting them to Sickbay for analysis ANd I have sent one sample over to the Nightengale as they have even more detailed facilities to use” the female ensign called over the comms

GMT Phoenix

Lieutenant Junior Grade Edwards - Chief Science Officer - USS Chimera
Lt. Bob Jeffers (CE)

=^=Acknowledged, please maintain standard quarantine protocols, at least until we have a better idea of what exactly we are handling,=^= Freja replied firmly. She knew some officers found it annoying when she stated the obvious, but her first duty was to ensure that her crew came back in one piece from this mission and she took it very seriously.

~Freja Andreassen~

Lunan chimed in, “I feel I may be useful coordinating with the science teams, I can beam over to the Nightengale in minutes?”

-Lt. Commander Lunan Farrah: XO-
Lieutenant Junior Grade Edwards - Chief Science Officer - USS Chimera

“I don’t really want to step too far onto the Nightengale’s science crew or their command crew,” Freja replied to her XO, carefully thinking through her words, “Coordinate with them from here, unless they request your presence Commander.” She didn’t want to step too hard on other crews unless she needed to and they weren’t quite at the point where she was worried about other crews not doing what was needed. Hopefully they wouldn’t be there at all.

~Freja Andreassen~

For Bob The more he looked at the scan the more he might see that actually while it was stripped down to just the skeleton it was done in a very methotical manner there was no ripping or tearing of connections it was almost as if it was scrapped while in flight though at the same time what was left was clearly showing the damage whatever the Biological thing was

As for Jasper He would not be able to adjust the scans as the System the cargo ships were in was at the outer range of the Sensors and thus no higher resolution images could be brought up at this time they would need to get closer to figure that out

GMT Phoenix

Bob looked over the scan in detail. He drowned out the rest of the bridge. Curious He thought then turned to Jasper.
“It looks like the ship has been methodically stripped down to its bare parts. Almost scraped. Whatever happened it wasn’t ripped or teared.” He turned to Jasper.
“Seen anything like this before?” He asked.

Lt. Bob Jeffers (CE)

He shook his head.

“No, never” he commented. “The scans I took from it though…” he continued, face more concerned that ever. “I mused before you came up here Chief, biochemical suggests something alive and the scans that I took show a lot of biochemical matter” he finished, casting his eyes to the Chief Engineer.

Bob nodded as Jasper replied he was deep in thought.
“It does seem like that something alive and something big took apart that ship. It must have been huge.” He replied not really believing what he was saying. There wasn’t anything capable of doing anything like that to a ship.

“Captain, we need to know what’s going on with that ship”

Lieutenant Junior Grade Edwards - Chief Science Officer - USS Chimera

Bob nodded in agreement.
“Aye Captain. I’d definitely like to get a closer look.”

Lt. Bob Jeffers (CE)

As usual, Lieutenant Hall stood at her post as she was doing her duty. She didn’t know what to say so she stayed right where she is and with no questions asked she smiled.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Hall
U.S.S. Chimera
Chief of Security

“Let’s see if medical comes up with any major red flags from their sample before we get a closer look,” Freja replied, “They should have some preliminary information for us soon I’d wager. If nothing major comes up, I’ll greenlight us moving in to get a closer look.”

~Freja Andreassen~

“I can oversee things in Sickbay if you’d prefer to be up here?” Lunan asked, keen to do what he could to get to the bottom of this mystery.

-Lt. Commander Lunan Farrah: XO-

“Go, see what they’ve got so far,” Freja nodded.

~Freja Andreassen~

Keitah stepped forward, her expression serious. “Captain,” she began, meeting Freja’s gaze, “I want you to know that I fully support your decision to maintain quarantine protocols. It’s essential for the safety of our crew.”
She continued, “Given the potential threat, I believe it’s wise to prioritize caution. I will ensure our security measures are tight, and I can coordinate with Lieutenant Hall to bolster our defenses should we need to board that ship.”

Lieutenant Naisyr
(Counselor)

“Perfect, do so,” Freja nodded, “We need to get to the bottom of this mystery, but I don’t think it’s wise to take chances, there’s something very off going on and I think the best way forward is to cautiously explore our options.”

Bob looked over to the Counsellor and nodded. He hoped that the organism was looked at in Sickbay quickly. He was eager to investigate the ship.

Lt. Bob Jeffers (CE)

Jasper kept his eyes on the scans in front of him, he was focused on establishing exactly what was going on and ensuring that the Chimera left the Gamma Quadrant intact.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Edwards - Chief Science Officer - USS Chimera

Hall still stood by her station as she was running scans. She was glad to be doing something but however, she had scans come in that didn’t look normal. She was not sure how to address it.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Hall
U.S.S. Chimera
Chief of Security

=^=Andreassen to Sickbay, please update us as soon as you’ve completed preliminary scans, we have a ship with odd readings and once the organism is analyzed, I think that’s our next step,=^= Freja tapped her badge.

~Freja Andreassen~

Hall stood there looking at her results. She then looked at the captain. “Captain you might want to look at these. I’m not sure if I’m the only one seeing this.” She said. However, she also felt like it was unusual for her.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Hall
U.S.S. Chimera
Chief of Security

the Chiefs Scans showed nothing really out of the ordinary actually given that they were focused on the system they were currently based in The system had Two Dead Planitoid remnants a Dying Star and the Mysterious Purple Nebula that the Dominion say is off limits but can be used if necessary

GMT Phoenix

Bob continued to stand and wait wondering what the medics would find.

Lt. Bob Jeffers (CE)

OOC Bump waiting on Medical to move things forward

KG

OOC: I agree.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Hall
U.S.S. Chimera
Chief of Security

OOC Moving forward to keep things running looked at my notes and realised it was not the Nightengale that was part of the task force its the USS Lister so changing that

IC an urgent hail came in from the USS Lister It was Captain Jiaze She looked worried “Captain Andreassen We have finished scanning the sample you sent over from that skeleton you should be aware this Biomass seems to be a mix of tech and organic I have my engineering crew looking at it too we found 63 individual DNA signatures of Karrema individuals in it and a subspace energy signature!” the Subspace energy signature came up on screen and Instantly Jasper and Bob would both see that the strange signature coming from one of the Karrema ships…matched the subspace energy signature coming form the sample Whatever happened to this Cargo ship skeleton it was already happening to one of those cargo ships!

GMT Phoenix

=^=Acknowledged Captain, it looks like whatever happened to our cargo ship skeleton is probably at an earlier stage on the nearby cargo ships, it would certainly explain the energy readings we’re getting, let’s start working on potential ways to counter this effect so that we can even reverse existing damage, but definitely stop it from getting worse.=^= Freja ordered.

Turning to her Chief Engineer and Science Officer, “Start analyzing that subspace energy signature, I want to know specifically how to interrupt it, hopefully may stop whatever’s going on.”

~Freja Andreassen~

A distress call came in at that moment from the cargo ships

=^=”THIS IS THE KTS PROSPERUS VENTURE! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK BY ONE OF OUR OWN CARGO SHIPS ITS FIRING SOMETHING WEIRD AT US ITS EATTING THROUGH THE HULL ITS…ITS KILLING US HELP US PLEASE!!!!” the scream of the Cargo Captain began to pick up Digital Distortions and artifacting much like the Message the Dominion got from their fleet

MGT Phoenix

=^=Fleet, this is Captain Andreassen, we have a distress signal, I don’t know if we can distinguish between whatever the cargo ship is firing at the Prosperus Venture, but we need to render aid where we can, anyone have some suggestions on how to avoid becoming victims ourselves?=^=

“Looks like we’re really going to need to figure out how to stop this stuff in its tracks quick,” she said quietly.

~Freja Andreassen~

“Captain. If you don’t need me here. I’ll start doing security runs and doing some security training with my security officers.” She said with a somewhat of a smile.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Hall
U.S.S. Chimera
Chief of Security

OOC is the captain ordering the fleet to run to the aid of the cargo ships?

KG

OOC: Yes, but maybe not run head long without a plan in place first. She’s soliciting suggestions for a plan of attack, so to speak.

IC:

“Are we at risk if we move into transporter range?” Freja asked her senior staff, “A ship has asked for aid, we need to render it, ideally without too much risk to this crew and our fellow fleet ships.”

~Freja Andreassen~

=^= Captain this is Shara The USS Lister was kind enough to share the Data among all ships I am afraid we just don’t have enough information to go off just yet I would recommend that we stay out of transporter range and throw all available emergency power into shields for the time being and maybe a small contingent of ships move to investigate I would recommend yourself The Pickett Y’Tang One of my Battlecruisers and one of the Romulan Ships” she said Sensors would show that the whole fleet was getting ready to warp in case the captain wanted the whole fleet to go as well

MGT Phoenix

[[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Miz’uki]]
[[Chief Engineer]] [[USS Memorial]]

OOC: Anything I can do as an NE here?

-Kieron-

Bob frowned and turned to Jasper.

He offered a nod in return.

“Weird. You seeing what I’m seeing? It looks like whatever happened to the Skeleton ship is happening to one of the cargo ships.” Then he turned to Freja.
“Captain, it looks like the same thing that happened to the skeleton ship is happening to one of the cargo ships. I think that the infected cargo ship will pass that on to the one it’s attacking. I advise extreme caution, despite my curiosity wanting to get the better of me.” He explained and waited for orders.

Lt. Bob Jeffers (CE)

As she stood there at her station listening. She was thinking about how it could affect them. However, not know how it would affect them since she is only a Chief security officer.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Hall
U.S.S. Chimera
Chief of Security

=^=Ackcnowledged Shara, I’m willing to volunteer the Chimera, this is a risky maneuver, anyone else willing to take a look?=^= Freja Andreassen replied, she didn’t really want to force ships into this, but just sitting back and watching another ship fall to whatever the heck this was wasn’t something she really wanted to do. The fighter pilot in her wanted to do something.

~Freja Andreassen~

His eyes were darting over the scans at a rapid pace, taking in as much information as he could. Bob wasn’t wrong, it was a fair suggestion to treat this like a disease. “Cap, the Engineer is right” he started. “If we go close to that ship, there’s a hell of a risk that we end up shredded down to nothing as well”. His fingers kept tapping away at the controls. “I’ll run some extra scans, see how close we can get and try and figure out how to decontaminate anyone we bring onboard”

Lieutenant Junior Grade Edwards - Chief Science Officer - USS Chimera

The Pickett the Y’Tang one of the battlecruisers and the RRS Vornoth moved into position to follow the Chimera Ready to move and investigate the system where the Cargo ships were in danger it would take 30 minuets to reach the system at max warp

GMT Phoneix

“Let’s go,” Freja ordered, “Helm maximum warp, bring us to the outskirts of the system and hold. Keep a safe distance from the cargo ships.”

“Confirm to the cargo ship that help is inbound, roughly 30 minutes.”

Turning to her CSO, “We have thirty minutes to come up with some ideas, not a lot, but more than some rescue missions to be sure. Let’s figure out how we can do this.”

~Freja Andreassen~

As the group was about to warp out another ship moved into position a comm message was picked up between the Tribute and the Pickett =^= “Trunch! you are not going in without me!” purred T’mora and with that the ships jumped to warp it was 15 minutes into the trip that another Hail came in

=^=”This is the KTS Bountiful Exchange We escaped the slaughter we are hiding in the magnetic field of a planetoid in the system the others…something happened to them we heard screams and then they attacked us!” the captain said clearly whispering as if afraid that the other cargo ships would hear him through space “Please Hurry I don’t know how long we have! We are fighting something happening to the ship systems are going haywire and There are screams throughout the ship I have the Bridge locked off but whatever is happening is spreading through my ship Please HURRY!” he begged

GMT Phoenix

Melanie stood there hearing the call from the other vessel. However, she’s unaware of the situation. However, she did look at the captain. “Captain. With all due respect, if we do this, I suggest security precaution. We don’t know what they are going through as we speak. However, not knowing what is going on doesn’t help us know what is happening.” She suggested a security team and detail to look over it. But however, she knows the captain would object to it.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Hall
U.S.S. Chimera
Chief of Security

“Your suggestion is under advisement,” Freja replied, =^=Fleet, it looks like we have two ships, do we have some other willing ships to move closer to the Bountiful Exchange while we close in on the Properous Venture? We’re working on ways to isolate whatever’s happening on the ships, but it’s going to take time, right now we’re 30 minutes out from the Venture, that’s the timeline we’re working on.=^=

=^=Bountiful Exchange, acknowledged, we’ll send someone toward you, I know it’s hard, but please stand by.=^=

~Freja Andreassen~

OOC they both are part of the same group of Cargo Ships so they are all in the same system

=^=”Captain I don’t think you understand The Prosperous Venture whatever the KTS Harvest Exchange did to us it did to the Prosperus Venture they all are like the Harvet Exchange now! and I am afraid that what has happened to them has happened to us! Please Come help us QUICK”=^= the captain begged

GMT Phoenix

OOC: Oops, my bad… lol

IC:

=^=Acknowledged Captain, we are still 30 minutes inbound at our maximum speed,=^= Freja replied.

Bob raised an eyebrow. Whatever was happening, happened quickly. He was concerned that they were rushing into things without doing proper research. At the moment they didn’t know much at all.
“Captain, I’m concerned that we don’t actually know what is going on with these cargo ships. Whatever is happening, is happening quickly and spreading.”

Lt. Bob Jeffers (CE)

“We have thirty minutes Lieutenant before we’re even close to being in range,” She said quietly, “I’m not willing to risk our ships so we’ll keep out of transporter range until we have a good handle on how we can effect a rescue without becoming victims ourselves. Work with medical on the sample they obtained, let’s figure out if there’s a way to filter it out of our transporters when beaming people from the cargo ships.”

~Freja Andreassen~

“Aye Captain. I’ll be down in Engineering if anybody needs me.” He replied, nodded to Jasper and headed to Engineering.

“If we do that, then I strongly suggest I go on that rescue team if it works. I don’t want to overstep on it but it is your call captain. I just want what’s best for this crew and the rescue team.” She said.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Hall
U.S.S. Chimera
Chief of Security

OOC you guys were 15 minutes out when the call with the Bountiful Exchange came in so in another 15 min you will be arriving in the system sorry if my post was not clear on that

IC it would be another 10 minutes when another call came in from the Bountiful Exchange “Please hurry More ships have arrived! They…Oh by the Great Exchange! they are Dominion ships but they look…Oh NO NO HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeee” his cry picking up a bunch of static and digital artifacting as it cut out It seemed now the last of the cargo ships had fallen but it also sounded like the missing dominion fleet was now in the system they could find out what happened to these ships and get an idea of what was happening…Answers to What the message about parts meant

GMT Phoenix
Lt. Bob Jeffers (CE)

Sorry if I am being a little confusing on the time scale so the call from the last cargoship came in while you were 15 min out I am jumping you ahead again to bing five min out in my last post I know I am kinda pushing things ahead but i really would like to get you guys in the system soon hope you understand :P

KG

Freja took a deep breath in and out, it never got any easier listening to someone in trouble. She reminded herself that space travel was dangerous, even without enemy ships in the area, they were traversing an environment that was absolutely hostile to their lives.

“Helm, ETA to the system?” She asked firmly, it was her method of trying to refocus her crew on the tasks involved in getting their ship to its destination. They couldn’t snap their fingers and appear before the cargo ships, so trying to rush would only lead to mistakes being made.

“Science, let’s focus on scanning what we can as we make our way, any details our sensors can pick up may be useful once we drop out of warp,” she ordered.

~Freja Andreassen~

OOC: It’s okay Kirt, I figured you’d want the Chimera headed into the system for the purposes of the simm. :)

“We are less than five minutes out, Captain! Sensors are picking up a lot of ships—looks like the missing Dominion fleet is in the system now!” the navigator at the helm reported.

Moments later, the Chimera dropped out of warp, arriving in the system. Ahead lay a dead planetoid and a dense asteroid cluster. Among them, the Bountiful Exchange moved slowly, its hull marred by grotesque splotches of red biomatter. It was heading toward a monstrous ship—a horrifying amalgamation of beige, shifting to red as it pulsed with ominous energy. Sensors identified components from 15 distinct vessels embedded within the monstrosity, including three Dominion dreadnoughts that comprised the bulk of its form. This abomination was, without a doubt, the missing fleet.

The Bountiful Exchange crawled toward the monster ship, which extended a tendril of biomatter. The tendril engulfed the cargo ship, pulsing and twitching grotesquely for several moments. Then, as if expelling waste, the tendril ejected a skeletal hull—the stripped remains of the Bountiful Exchange, identical to the derelict they had discovered earlier.

For Captain Andreassen, this was only the beginning of the horror. A massive psychic presence began pressing against her mind, screaming with overwhelming intensity. Two distinct voices emerged. One, a collective, spoke in harsh unison:

“We live. Command Self needs parts. Consume little parts. Once enough little parts are consumed, then consume big parts! Command Self is weak. Command Self needs more parts!”

Visions flooded her thoughts—images of ships, identified as “little parts,” and entire planets deemed “big parts.” The Entity’s purpose was clear: it would consume all life in the galaxy if left unchecked.

The second voice, equally intrusive, was a chorus of screams, writhing in pain and despair. These tortured voices, remnants of the souls it had consumed, expressed agony and hopelessness. They were aware of their plight, but powerless to resist. This was assimilation far worse than anything the Borg could inflict.

The sample in engineering, combined with the monstrous sight before them, confirmed the unimaginable: this Entity could consume the Borg Collective instantly.

The missing fleet turned, aiming their weapons toward the Chimera and its escorts. Captain Andreassen heard a final, bone-chilling declaration in her mind:

“More parts!”

Before the crew could react, the USS Pickett and the Klingon warship Y’Tang moved into defensive positions, engaging the infected fleet. Their shields failed almost instantly under the assault. Then, the monster ship fired a strange red beam, engulfing both vessels. Moments later, a chilling comm signal came through from the Pickett. The crew’s screams of terror and agony echoed over the comms.

GMT Phoenix

She sat there as everything was going on. However, she was also at her station running additional scans and what not. She wants to make sure everyone is in the safe and nothing will come around and hit them.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Hall
U.S.S. Chimera
Chief of Security

OCC ask and thou shall receive!

IC The Chimera’s sensors flared, warning of a new threat. Swarms of tiny, grotesque constructs spilled from the corrupted battlecruisers like a living tide. At first glance, they resembled space leeches, their sleek, writhing forms darting erratically. But instead of mouths, each had a single oversized humanoid eye, bulging unnaturally as though it had been forcefully grown and grafted onto their bodies.

The constructs were impossibly fast, their movements erratic yet coordinated. They swarmed with terrifying precision, weaving through space too quickly for the Chimera’s targeting sensors to track. Each time the ship’s weapons locked onto one, it veered sharply, evading the fire with almost taunting agility.

The automated defenses struggled, the targeting computers unable to adjust to the constructs’ unpredictable flight paths. The swarm drew closer, their glowing eyes fixed on the Chimera like predatory beacons. This was no ordinary threat—their very design defied conventional tactics. The Fighters might be the only answer to this rapidly escalating danger.

GMT Phoenix

“That thing is consuming ships as ‘little parts’,” Freja spoke as she almost recoiled physically from the psionic assault in her mind, “Once it’s got enough of us, it’s going after planets…what it calls ‘big parts’....I can hear the people its taken, they are aware of what’s happening…it’s like the Borg but far worse.”

“We need options and quickly,” She said firmly, “Get a message to the remaining ships, tell them they speak telepathically and I can hear them and tell them what I’m saying, this thing will consume the whole galaxy if we let it. Tell them we are under attack, the Pickett and T’Yang have been taken out.”

“If I can hear them, maybe that’s how they communicate, via telepathy,” She spoke, “If we can figure out how to disrupt it, we might cut off their means of coordinate
Captain >
~Freja Andreassen~

“Captain. If I may throw a suggestion.” Melanie had then spoke up. However she’s afraid that it could very well be a bad idea.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Hall
U.S.S. Chimera
Chief of Security

“I’m all ears, what’s your idea?” Freja turned to her COS.

~Freja Andreassen~

“I would like to suggest that I help out with another department see what’s going on. Or if you have something I need to do. But I feel like maybe I could be use of help somewhere. However, I know shields might also not work. But as a security precaution of this ship and it’s crew I would suggest shields just in case.” She slightly suggested.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Hall
U.S.S. Chimera
Chief of Security

NLT Kurita was stationed at the Ops console when her voice cut through the tension. “Captain, incoming hail!” she reported, immediately routing the signal to the main viewscreen.

The image split into two sections. On one side was the face of a Bolian male, his expression a mix of fear and determination. The other showed the view from his WTR-600—a hand-held video transmitter.

“This is Commander Goran Thol,” he began, his voice slightly distorted by interference. “I’m leading a group of survivors, trying to make our way to the shuttles. If transporters are operational, please get us out of here! Whatever this…thing is—it’s consuming both us and the ship alive!”

As he spoke, the video feed shook, showing him walking briskly down a corridor. His phaser fired sporadically, hitting patches of spreading red biomatter on the walls and floor, which twitched grotesquely with each impact. The Bolian’s pace quickened as he looked ahead, spotting another crewmember running toward him.

The new arrival, clearly human, had skin that glowed an unnatural, vivid red. As the figure approached, the red hue deepened. Without warning, the NE collapsed to his knees, his expression twisting in agony.

“No! No!” Commander Thol shouted, raising his phaser.

The human lifted his hand weakly, but as the Bolian watched in horror, the NE’s fingers began to dissolve, the corruption racing up his arm. Piece by piece, his body broke apart into oozing, writhing red biomatter that fused seamlessly into the surrounding walls and floor.

The last thing the man managed was a tortured scream:
“HELP MEEEEEEEEEEE!”

The sound became distorted, laced with static and digital artifacting, as if the individual’s voice and consciousness were merging with something mechanical. The haunting cry finally cut off as the remains of the NE melded into the spreading mass of red.

All that was left was a single human eye, embedded grotesquely in the wall. It spun wildly, darting from side to side, as though searching desperately for escape.

GMT Phoenix

=^=Andreassen to Lardel, think your fighters can keep this stuff away from us?=^= Freja tapped her badge, the fighters were faster than the Chimera’s systems they might stand a chance, =^=Andreassen to Commander Lunan, do we have any way of locking onto signals that don’t contain the biomatter? There’s survivors on the Pickett, if we can get them off without bringing the…whatever lifeform it is onto the ship. We’re running low on options and may need to make a tactical retreat before that thing gets us too.=^=

As she waited for her senior officers to do their thing, she herself surveyed her options from the standpoint of a commander. Did she retreat for the time being, leaving anyone not currently absorbed by the blob to a horrible fate or was there some weakness that they could exploit.

~Freja Andreassen~

Hall stood there. Minding her business and working and doesn’t bother the captain with anything until further notice and orders. She doesn’t want to go and do anything behind the captain’s back.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Melanie Hall
U.S.S. Chimera
Chief of Security

NLieutenant Threen, the Andorian tactical officer, stepped up to the secondary tactical console, his antennae twitching with focused urgency. His fingers flew over the controls, quickly assessing the situation.

“Ma’am, weapon systems are online, including the CIWS,” he reported crisply. “It looks like they’re holding their larger ships back, but they’ve sent a wave of five Jem’Hadar attack ships, along with those leech-like fighters. Fighter squadron, this is Tactical—enemy bogies inbound. Launch immediately!” Threen’s commanding tone sliced through the chaos, his quick thinking compensating for his chief’s momentary hesitation.

“Ma’am, I’m reading thirty enemy ships out there—more if we count the ships that monstrosity out there is made up of!” he added, his voice tight with concern.

A sudden comm signal interrupted.

=^= “Transporter room to bridge! I can’t lock onto any of the Pickett’s survivors. It’s almost as if the ship itself is alive! Every wall, deck—every component is now showing life signs. Targeting sensors are completely confused by it!” the transporter tech reported, their voice edged with disbelief and horror.

“This is Commander Thol,” came another voice over the comms, calm but grim. “I heard the report. I suspected this might happen. We’re making our way to the shuttles. Be advised: phasers on maximum kill only stun this biomass for about forty-five seconds. However, a wide beam on the highest stun setting disinfects surface objects, making them safe to touch, though it doesn’t affect the larger blobs!” Thol added, firing another shot to clear a path for himself and the thirty-six crew members under his charge.

=^=Acknowleged Thol, the Chimera fighters will focus on keeping the smaller ships from interfering where they can,=^= Freja replied.

A muffled but urgent voice broke in. “Sir… go on. I’ll take care of the ship.”

“Koril, what are you talking about?!” Thol demanded.

“Sir, I can’t let this happen. I can hear them… I can sense the rest of the crew. They’re all screaming in pain. Please, let me do this… let me give them peace.”

“NO, KORIL!” Thol’s shout echoed through the comm. He hadn’t been looking at Koril during their exchange, but now he turned. The feed from the first officer’s tricorder displayed an image of a young man sprinting down a corridor, disappearing into the shadows. His resolute expression made it clear—Koril was sacrificing himself to ensure the Pickett wouldn’t turn against them and to bring peace to whatever the crew had become.

NLT Threen’s voice cut in again, this time filled with horror. “Ma’am! The Y’Tang—she’s going to self-destruct!”

On the viewscreen, the Y’Tang floated beside the Pickett, its hull marred by patches of bright pink biomatter. The color made it horrifyingly clear—the biomatter’s hue reflected the blood of whoever it consumed. The Y’Tang’s self-destruction wasn’t just an isolated event. If it detonated, it would likely take the Pickett with it—before the survivors could escape.

Another comm call came through, sharp and urgent. “This is Captain K’Mora aboard the Tribute.” The Caitian’s voice was calm but thick with restrained emotion. “Captain Andreassen, permission to tractor the Y’Tang and throw it at that monstrosity! We’ll stay out of range of those ships with the crazy beam weapons. It’ll also put us in position to recover the shuttles on the way back. We can cover your fallback!”

There was a tremor in K’Mora’s voice, and tears welled in her feline eyes. Her best friend Trunch was gone, but it was clear she was determined to save the remaining members of his crew. She added, her tone shifting into a fierce command, “THOL, YOU BEST GET YOURSELF AND YOUR PEOPLE OUT OF THERE—OR I SWEAR, I’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!”

Thol froze, the look on his face somehow more fearful than before. The stakes had never been higher, and the weight of their survival now hung by the thinnest of threads.

GMT Phoenix

=^=Do it K’Mora,=^= Andreassen ordered.

Turning to Threen, “Communicate with the fighters, let’s have them focus on keeping the smaller ships from making any sort of landfall on us or the Tribute and once the Pickett shuttles start coming in, off of them, relay what Commander Thol told us about our weapons, wide beams high stun will disinfect objects, high kill settings can stun them for about forty five seconds…sometimes that’s what we need to make an escape.”

~Freja Andreassen~