Posted by Lieutenant Nicholas Foster (Chief of Security) in No Rest for the Wicked - Saracen Bridge

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Charles-Louis (Engineering Officer) in No Rest for the Wicked - Saracen Bridge

Posted by Ensign Tobias Rax (Science Officer) in No Rest for the Wicked - Saracen Bridge
Posted by… suppressed (20) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Almost two weeks had passed since the events on Farsinia II and the destruction of the B’hari, and the Saracen was now only days away from reaching Meridian Station for resupply and crew rotation. The time during that two weeks had been rather uneventful, almost boring really with few ships appearing on sensors and their path back to Meridian not taking them near any interesting star systems.

With Captain Knight away from the Bridge for the afternoon and the crew having gone through their duties, the promise of an uneventful day vanished with the appearance of a blinking warning light on the Helm and Operations console, followed seconds later by every other stations consoles lighting up with their own warnings and sensor readings.

At the relatively short distance of only half a light year to Port of the Saracen the sensors alerted the crew to a subspace distortion having formed, funnily enough, in previously empty space. Before the crew would have time to look up from reading the information the computer fed them about this development the sensors detected a powerful energy spike as the distortion grew, forming a large spatial anomaly. That anomaly emitted powerful energy signatures and produced ‘ripples’ in space that caused the Saracens deflector shields to vibrate while they made an effort to cushion the ship from these ripples. Luckily, the Saracen wasn’t built as a cargo freighter and the disturbance was mostly compensated for, although the crew would feel a slight rocking for just a moment before the ships inertial dampeners helped cushion the effects.

The Saracens computer rapidly tried to make sense of the information from the ships sensors. Science and Engineering would detect an energy signature consistent with a matter/antimatter powerplant coming from the anomaly. Also of interest would be what appeared to be the detection of a Starfleet transponder frequency, heavily distorted, and all the Saracen could make out at this range was the partial readings of NCC-17..... There was no other transmission coming from the anomaly however and at this range, too much interference to be able to receive one clearly if there was one to be received.

-Dave

Amidst what was originally intended to be a quiet shift, Tobias found himself sporadically monitoring the sensors and sifting through the backlog of science requests for data analysis that had accumulated during their recent mission. While many wondered about the tasks of science officers beyond mere scanning duties, an often overlooked aspect of their role involved routinely reviewing data from other ships and starbases within Starfleet. This collaborative effort allowed for technical support and data analysis, facilitating a shared pool of resources and expertise.

As Tobias was in the midst of crafting a response to an intriguing case on subspace scanning projections, an unexpected event aboard the Saracen caused a slight disturbance to ripple through the ship. Setting aside his other scientific tasks, Tobias directed the ship’s scanners towards the anomaly. The readings returned an energy signature consistent with a matter/antimatter powerplant, along with the intriguing discovery of a Federation transponder. Recognizing the significance of the findings, Tobias decided to delay the transmission of the information until he could provide a more thorough analysis.

DaVinci had felt the wiggle as well as the others on the bridge. Sitting in the center seat, he looked up from the Padd he had been going over. Looking at the viewscreen, he asked, “Ens. Rax, what did I just feel? And don’t tell me it was the tacos I ate earlier.”

“Sir, sensors are detecting matter/antimatter signatures consistent with a powerplant aligned to Federation standards,” Tobias reported, his tone conveying a sense of urgency. “Additionally, we’ve detected a Federation transponder. However, I’m unable to ascertain the contents of its transmissions from my console.”

Ensign Tobias Rax
Science Officer
USS Saracen

“Oh that is good, you are seeing it too.” Charles commented from a nearby station. He had been running regular diagnostics on the sensors not too far from where Tobias had been working.

“That is a relief, I thought the sensor readouts were malfunctioning. I would be here all day trying to track down the problem.”

|Ens. Charles-Louis,
Engineering Officer|

Sheleah had had the Good Fortune of spending most of her life on many different types of ships. She had also become an avid horse rider. These two facts allowed her to notice the slight shift in the ship, brief as it was. She didn’t really think much of it because ships were ships and they did what they needed to. Many engineers would have noticed these things also so, she gave a glance to Charles and then to Tobias at the science station. They would probably have the situation well in hand.

• Sheleah, CNS/DO

“Can we zero in on where it came from? Maybe clean it up some?”

The XO/CIO looked down at the console on the armrest and pulled up flight logs of any other Starfleet ships in the sector. The results came back negative.

“Mr. Charles-Louis, can you confirm Rax’ readout? We’re supposed to be the only ship in the area.”

Commander Daniel “DaVinci” Colter
Executive Officer/CIO USS Saracen

Charles used the bridge terminal to collect an overall readout of what the sensor network was detecting. After a few moments he reported,

“All other sensor systems corroborate Rax’s, sir,” he announced, “Either there is another ship out there, or we have a major problem with our sensors. It appears we are also detecting a transponder frequency, I will clear that up in one moment.”

|Ens. Charles-Louis,
Engineering Officer|

Unfortunately the distortion was too great at that range for the Saracen to clear up the signal. There just wasn’t enough of it getting through to be cleaned up. At the distance it was, the computer showed it would take the Saracen just under 3 hours at Warp 9 to reach the site of the anomaly yet the ripples had been felt almost at the same instant the anomaly was detected.

The computer was able to discover one extra thing about the transponder frequency after analysis. It was of a type used on Federation Constitution Class starships from the late 2240’s up until the class underwent major refits in the 2270’s.

-Dave

Tobias’s eyes widened as he processed the new information flashing on his console. “Captain,” he said, turning to face the commanding officer. “The computer has significant information regarding the transponder frequency. It appears to match the type used on Federation Constitution Class starships, specifically from the late 2240s to the class’s major refits in the 2270s.”

With a sense of urgency, Tobias swiftly compiled the data into a secure packet. His fingers moved quickly over the console, selecting the appropriate files and reducing them into packets for internal transfer. Once satisfied with the package, he initiated the transfer to Charles’s console for verification. As the data packet transferred, Tobias couldn’t help but feel a rush of adrenaline. This discovery could have significant implications for the mission and the safety of the USS Saracen, specifically with temporal anomalies.

Ensign Tobias Rax
Science Officer
USS Saracen

“The signal is giving a bit of trouble, but I can confirm.” Charles responded, “Constitution Class, Registry: NCC-17… the distortion is too much to get anything further. I will have the computer further analyze the distortion to see if we can pinpoint an exact year.”

|Ens. Charles-Louis,
Engineering Officer|

Sheleah wanted to make certain she understood what she thought she was hearing. She felt she needed to glance at somebody else’s console rather than rely on anything she might be seeing with her own eyes all alone. She walked over and looked over Charles’ shoulder, hoping he wouldn’t mind. Was this Pike and Kirks’s era?

• Sheleah, CNS/DO

“Ensign Rax, use the library and cross-reference any Starfleet ship, Constitution class, that were lost between the 2240’s and 70’s, in this area. Maybe we can get an idea of who we might be dealing with. Charles-Louis, send a reply that we heard them. We might be able to get through to them, our tech has advanced in 200 years. We may get lucky.”

After giving their orders, contacted the captain. =^=Captain, this Colter. . . . . ”

The XO explained to Dante everything that had happened since the sensors had detected the distortion.

=^=. . . . .at Warp 9, we can get there in about three hours, skip. Hopefully, along the way, we can get more answers. Helm already has a course laid in. Just waitining for you to give the green light.=^=

Commander Daniel “DaVinci” Colter
Executive Officer/CIO USS Saracen

“Yes sir.” Tobias leaned forward, his gaze fixed on the console as he prepared to manually input the search criteria. With a few deft keystrokes, he began, “Computer, initiate a search for Starfleet ships of Constitution class lost between the 2240s and 2270s within a 100 light-year radius of our current location.”

As the computer acknowledged his command, Tobias furrowed his brow, contemplating whether to refine the search parameters further. He adjusted the parameters, specifying additional criteria based on historical data and known anomalies in the region.

As the search parameters were finalised, Tobias pressed the submit key, initiating the search process. He leaned back slightly in his chair, awaiting the computer’s response with a sense of anticipation, ready to analyse the results as soon as they became available.

Ensign Tobias Rax
Science Officer
USS Saracen

Meanwhile, Charles took a moment to adjust the shields in preparation, to protect the ship from temporal disturbance. One of the few things he never needed to learn before joining the academy. A few slightly less confident keystrokes on his own console indicated he was preparing to make the adjustments, which he narrated to the bridge staff,

“I am also preparing to adjust shields to compensate for the increased radiation and possible disturbances caused by the anomaly, Commander.”

|Ens. Charles-Louis,
Engineering Officer|

“Thank you, ensign. Let me know if there are any more disturbances coming our way.”

DaVinci rapped his knuckles on the chairs’ armrest. He then turned to NE Cooper at the Ops station. “Cooper, any response to our hails, yet?”

“Negative, sir. It could either be the disturbance or the distance with the disturbance that’s keeping them from getting our message, OR being able to respond. I’ll keep trying, Commander.”

Colter nodded in response. His gaze then shifted to Sheleah.

“Counselor, any thoughts on what we might be dealing with? I’ve got my own, but at least WE’RE not the ones traveling through time this time.”

Commander Daniel “DaVinci” Colter
Executive Officer/CIO USS Saracen

Sheleah turned and gave Colter a strange little smile. Traveling through time indeed. she thought.

“Well, I know that there have been reports of time travel etc. The universe is full of strange things and I think we have just the crew to deal with it. As far as what’s going on out there I’m just waiting to find out like the rest of us. What ships have been in this area in the last few hundred years might help us figure out what this is coming through.”

Sheleah felt a little silly with that answer. Not quite out of her death, but you never knew.

• Sheleah, CNS/DO

OOC: Hey Team, I’m back on the ship with a swing officer as it’s a little easier to post with time wise. I had a quick message with Terry and as I’m back, I’m happy to keep this side sim going as I had intended. I’m glad a few of you found it interesting ;) If I’ve missed something asked for up above, please let me know.

IC: At the Engineering station, Charles-Louis’ analysis of the sensor data for a year was inconclusive. At the distance they were at and the degradation and distortion of the received signal, if there was any hint of a temporal signature that was out of sync with the Saracen’s own universe, it was buried or erased by by this universes signature.

Rax’s own search for Constitution Class ships lost within 100 light years of this ship location came up empty. None had been lost in this area of operations. Other ships had, sure, especially in the Federation-Klingon War of 2256 and 2257, but not of Constitution Class, which had largely been kept out of the fighting further away from Earth.

No response came from the location of the anomaly to the Saracen’s hail, and the power signature that bore the partial transponder frequency and power signature of a Warp drive remained on their scanners unchanging, for now.

(I’ll note just in case it might have been misread, that there was no distress call or message from the anomaly. The Saracen picked up a signal carrying the transponder frequency within the energy burst, and they can still detect it, faintly.)

At the consoles of the Saracen the ships computer brought up a report on the anomaly from it’s continued analysis. It had sorted the anomaly into the ‘Spatial Rift’ category. That in itself wasn’t very helpful considering a ‘spatial rift’ tended to be the category that common boring or uncommon unknown events were hurled into, until someone with a fancy name at Starfleet’s Science HQ described the more exciting ones in a journal and attached a name to it, usually their own or the person who first detected it. Something that made this spatial anomaly different from others though, was a much higher level of Cochrane Distortions present and measurable even at this distance. Much, much higher.

• Dave the DM

“As of now, there are no recorded instances of missing or presumed missing ships of the same class within the last century,” Tobias explained, his brow furrowing slightly as he delved into the analysis. “There are a few hypotheses we can consider. Firstly, it’s possible that this ship was never formally registered. Given the tumultuous nature of the Federation’s early years, it’s conceivable that records could have been lost or overlooked, especially during times of conflict such as the Federation-Klingon War.”

“Another possibility is that our sensors aren’t providing an accurate depiction of what’s actually there,” Tobias continued, his tone thoughtful. “We’ve encountered anomalies in the past where our instruments misinterpreted the data, leading to false conclusions. And then there’s the intriguing prospect that the ship isn’t out of time per se, but rather out of place.”

He paused, reflecting on the complexities of temporal phenomena. “Instances of temporal anomalies and alternate realities have been documented throughout Starfleet’s history,” he elaborated. “From the USS Enterprise-D’s encounter with a temporal rift in 2366 to the multi-phasic temporal inversion experienced by the USS Enterprise in another instance, and even the transtemporal portal discovered by the USS Rapture in 2374, the possibilities are vast and varied.”

“Consider also the Mirror Universe, a parallel reality where history diverged from our own,” Tobias added, his voice taking on a note of intrigue. “And Voyager’s encounters with temporal anomalies, such as the Year of Hell or Captain Janeway’s decision to alter the timeline in order to return home sooner. These examples illustrate just how complex and unpredictable temporal phenomena can be.”

Realizing he had been speaking at length, Tobias offered a brief apology. “Apologies, sirs, for the lengthy exposition. In essence, to ascertain the status of the ship, we’ll need to get closer and possibly even board it for further investigation.”

Ensign Tobias Rax
Science Officer
USS Saracen

“Perhaps we should send it a modified probe?”

Charles suggested,

“We could collect more information without possibly damaging the Saracen.”

To some it might have seemed cowardly to suggest they take precautions to protect themselves. But Charles didn’t consider ‘ripped apart / imprisoned by a temporal anomaly’ to be the type of honorable death he was hoping for when he signed up for Starfleet.

|Lt., j.g. Charles-Louis,
Engineering Officer|

The Tactical NE on duty had alerted Nick to what was happening, as they were possibly heading into a situation out of the JO’s depth. “Any detections of a wormhole?” Foster asked as he gazed over the information they did have.

Lieutenant Nicholas Foster
Chief of Security

For the moment, Sheleah was quite happy to sit on the bridge and watch this amazing ship work together the way it was supposed to. She was however aware that she was a diplomatic officer also and if the need arose she would rise to it.

• Sheleah, CNS/DO