Posted by Captain Rende Asam (Commanding Officer) in MAIN SIM - Senior Staff Briefing

Posted by Gamemaster OZ (GM) in MAIN SIM - Senior Staff Briefing

Posted by Captain Rende Asam (Commanding Officer) in MAIN SIM - Senior Staff Briefing
Posted by… suppressed (32) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Rand was already in the conference room (how she did that with such short notice, no one knew) placing out data disks, drinks, PaDDs, and whatever else the Senior staff required.

She looked up as she placed the last drink when the doors opened. “Captain, will you require my presence?”

Yeoman Rand

“Yes Rand. I’d like your notes, and your insight has proved invaluable.” Rende moved to the head table and waited for her senior staff to arrive.

Cpt. Asam, CO

Ra’Ti walked in and looked at Asam. “Hey, before anyone gets here. Something is… off… about that comm. Dunno what it is, exactly, but… ” He flicked his attention to Rand. “Hey Rand… can you find out where that Admiral is at right now? The one that sent the message?” and he took a seat one chair away from the Captain.

Ra’Ti, Chief Tactical Officer

Rende nodded. She and Xam thought the same. “I agree, but I don’t want to discuss it on the bridge.”

“Of course, Lt.” Rand said with a smile. She moved to a side table where a spare computer was sitting and pulled up the information on the message that came though the bridge. She looked through the metadata to identify where the message was sent from. Then she made a comm link to star fleet command and looked through the duty roster of all current Yeoman. She quickly found the Yeoman assigned to Admiral E. Thale, Starfleet Command and put in a request to confirm the Admiral’s current location.

Yeoman Rand

The console chirped quietly as Yeoman Farquharson’s query processed. Starfleet’s priority channel routing confirmed the source of the mission orders: Meridian Station, Command Hub Subnet 2. Encryption and clearance were verified. Admiral Thale’s security credentials matched known biometric keys on file.

A moment later, a brief text-only response arrived from the Admiral’s yeoman.

[Secure Message - Meridian Station Internal Net]
From: Yeoman 2nd Class J. Kell
To: U.S.S. Sentinel - Yeoman 1st Class Rand Farquharson
RE: Admiral Thale’s location

Yes, Admiral Thale is aboard Meridian Station.
At this exact moment he is… ah… unavailable.
Definitely not in the hydroponics module.
Certainly not feeding the station’s Aldebaran Sand Eels while humming 20th-century torch songs.
Please advise if urgent.

End transmission.

Rand did not snort, but she was highly amused.

[Secure Message - USS Sentinel Command Channel]
From: Yeoman 1st Class Rand Farquharson
To: Meridian Station - Yeoman 2nd Class J. Kell
RE: Admiral Thale’s location

Thank you for the quick reply. No urgency. I am just conducting a secondary confirmation of our orders for Captain Asam.

End Transmission

The door slid open and the CMO walked in. The Saurian looked at Asam and inclined his head. “Captain.” he said as he took his customary near the far end of the table.

Kreed, CMO

“Doctor,” Rende said with a nod.

Karl was arguing with his communicator when he walked in [O]No I’m certain that there must be an inventory error, Now if you’ll excuse me I have a briefing[C] He flipped the device closed and sat down and sighed “Apologies” He smiled.

Master Chief Karl - CE

Rende waved him off, “No need, Chief. Hopefully this won’t take long, relatively speaking.”

Cpt. Asam, CO

-OZ

“Orders confirmed Captain. They were sent by Admiral Thale from Meridian Station. I also confirmed he is on board Miridian Station,” Rand reported.

Yeoman Rand

“Thank you, Rand.” Asam pressed the comm button [O]Asam to bridge. Set course for Sagan’s Veil. Maximum warp. Bring us to holding 100,000 km outside the nebulous edge.[C]

Cpt. Asam, CO

[O}Aye, Captain. Course laid in and engaged. We’re en route to Sagan’s Veil—estimated time of arrival: five days, twelve hours.[C]

Karl raised his eyebrow “Sagan’s Veil?” He pulled a PaDD from a utility pocket and looked it up “Class K?” He looked suprised and delighted “That’s not possible” He muttered and slid the information over to the first officer “I never went to proper school” He said with a smile as he was the only non-commissioned officer in he senior staff and had thusly never attended Starfleet Academy “But don’ Inversion Nebulas have a theoritcal lifespan of a decade or something?” The only reason he knew what a theoretical K-Class Nebulae was, was because of his Ex-Wife.

Master Chief Karl - CE

“Class K?” Marcus raised an eyebrow, “I’ve gotta say that’s a new one on me.”

-Lieutenant Junior Grade Marcus Anders: Chief of Security-

“They do,” Roman said, his specialty being far from astronomy of any kind, but having been in Starfleet sciences long enough to pick up plenty.

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“Now that we are all here,” Asam turned to her yeoman. “Rand play the message.”

The comm speaker crackled — not loudly, but with the unmistakable stutter of a subspace relay stretched thin. Then came the voice. Tinny, clipped, and unmistakably synthetic — the flat tone of Starfleet’s long-range automated dispatch system.

“USS Sentinel, NCC-one-seven-nine-four — you are hereby ordered and directed to proceed to nebula six-eight-five, designation: Sagan’s Veil, in the Kaliphane sector.”

A faint glitch warped the word Kaliphane, but the message continued.

“Conduct full-spectrum scientific survey. Priority: routine exploration with secondary directive — investigate reports of sensor disruption and anomalous subspace behavior. Maintain standard safety protocols. Notify Starfleet Command upon arrival.”

Then a pause. A subtle shift in tone — not the voice itself, but the pacing.

“Orders confirmed and authorized — Admiral E. Thale, Starfleet Command. Authorization code: Charlie-Victor-three-four-Tango-Obsidian.”

The channel clicked off.

No further commentary. No follow-up data packet.

“We have confirmed the message came from Meridian Station, the access code is valid, and Admiral Thale is on Meridian station.” Asma leaned back in her chair. “Alden prepare for the survey. Send a briefing to all the departments about what we do know of the nebula. Work with Ra’ti to get probes ready. Anders prep for standard security protocols in unknown space. Ra’ti I want full Tactical scans incase this interference isn’t natural. Kreed, once you get the Briefing, determine if there are any medical risks from the nebula and enact any protocols you deem necessary. Johansson, make sure deflector, shields, and sensors are up to handling the interference. Comms as well. Any questions?”

Cpt. Asam, CO

Ra’Ti nodded and said “We’ll get a full survey prove spread set up and ready, Captain. No problem “

Karl looked at his colleague, then the Captain, “Ma’am, is it usual for us to get direct orders from the LRAuDS?” He’d already pulled out another padd from another utility pocket and was tapping without looking, writing down his to-do list. He knew the Long Range Automated Dispatch System would send information but he’d never received direct orders from it.

Master Chief Karl - CE

OOC: Just chalk that one up to a GM who has never simmed in TOS era. I knew it probably wouldn’t be a video message, or even a live voice message. That’s why I went went the robot-voice text reader. lol. I included the admiral’s security code! haha. I’ll get the hang it.

-Harley, aka OZ

OOC: Well…and Rende and Xam are suspicious of everything anyway. And well…our last mission we had a saboteur on board. LOL

-OZ

OOC: Right of course, this was purely in character as Karl is relatively new as a DH and has only known orders to be given in person. He might be an old hand in service but he’s still new to Senior staff level things.

• Hjortur

“No. We are close enough to Meridian station the LRAuDS isn’t necessarily needed, but some admirals prefer it. Perhaps I’m just suspicious after our last mission began with sabotage to the ship’s engines.” Asam was suspicious anyway. A life like she had lived made one that way.

Cpt. Asam, CO

OOC: I want to play with the captain’s abilities a bit, if I am misunderstanding how they work, please correct me so that I can edit the following post. If it’s okay, then just go along with it.

IC: The silence that followed was unremarkable to most, save a faint, almost imperceptible hum that lingered a second too long.

For anyone else, it would be nothing.

But to Asam — who lived with the strange gift (or burden) of hearing emotions like music — there was something else.

A note.

Low and sharp, like a cello string drawn too tight. Discordant, uneasy — not from anyone in the room, but somewhere else. Faint as a memory, but wrong in a way that pressed gently on the chest. Not loud. Just present.

Like a song that ended on the wrong chord.

The kind of note that didn’t belong in routine orders, or scientific briefings. The kind of note that, once heard, lingered.

And didn’t stop.

-OZ

The captain was momentarily distracted by the discordant note. It pressed on her chest in an uncomfortable and painful way. Years of discipline kept her face neutral. Her eyes flicked about from one face to the other, her ears listening to their voices, but the note didn’t come from them. Then suddenly, “Get to work, I want every department ready before we arrive. I want a status report in 24 hours. Dismissed.” It was abrupt and final. Not her usual way.

Cpt. Asam, CO

Karl nodded and stood up, pocketing his second PaDD and grabbing the first off the table “Aye.”

Master Chief Karl - CE

Xam waited for everyone to leave and then looked at Rende. “You know I can tell when you’re hiding something. Wanna share? Or do I have to wait for our next date night to interrogate you?” He said it with a laugh, but there was a note of concern in his voice.

Ra’Ti, Chief Tactical Officer

Rende didn’t smile when usually she would have laughed. She set a hand over her chest and pressed. “Something is wrong… the song is wrong.” She shook her head, closing her eyes to focus. “There is a… low, sharp, discordant, uneasy note that shouldn’t be here. Like a cello string drawn too tight. It’s physical, pressing in on me. It’s not stopping.” Even in the silence it continued. “I shouldn’t hear it in the silence, but it’s still there.” Her voice was calm, always calm. It continued pressing in on her. The longer it continued the more uncomfortable the pressure became. She couldn’t hear anything though, just the note. A sound beyond normal hearing? “It won’t stop.”

Cpt. Asam, CO

Ra’Ti didn’t press the matter. If she said something was wrong, then something was wrong. “I got it. When did it start?” was all he asked.

Ra’Ti, Chief Tactical Officer

“I noticed it in the middle of the meeting,” Rende said becoming more uncomfortable. “It might have started before, I’m not sure. It’s not from you.” She said trying to rule out… she shouldn’t hear anything unless there was a person’s voice with it. Where was it coming from?

Cpt. Asam, CO

“Ok, look. Something was fishy when that order came in. I dunno… just sounded off somehow. The words were weird. And I’ve been around long enough to know when something isn’t entirely above-board. Hell, I made a living outta ‘not above-board’. But that and now you hearing something? There is something off… and not in a good way.” He reached out and took her hand. “I’ve got you, you know. Maybe call the Admiral directly? What is it they always say… ‘Trust but verify.’?”

Ra’Ti, Chief Tactical Officer

A smile almost cracked Rende’s lips, it didn’t but her fingers curled around his hand for just a moment. They had both made lives out of ‘not above-board.’ She nodded slowly. The pressure on her chest was getting worse. She’d never had heart problems, or really any real health issues. With her other hand she pressed the button on the computer console. “Connect to Meridian Station. Authorization Asam Juliette-1-9-7-5-Bravo.”

When the connection connected, [O]This is Captain Asam, I need to speak to Admiral Thale.[C]

As Ra’Ti’s words settled into the silence between them, the unsettling note continued to press in on the captain. A dissonant vibration—more felt than heard—pressed faintly against the captain’s awareness.

It wasn’t loud. Not yet. Just a low, internal chord that resonated like the first note of a dirge.

Terror, unspoken and unearned, stirred beneath the surface of her thoughts—irrational, but undeniable. A prelude with no orchestra.

-OZ

Captain Rende Asam, mercenary, pirate, space age Robin Hood, Marine extraordinaire, and 400 year old woman had never met anything that terrified her. Adrenaline pumping, risk, danger, injury, facing her mortality - none of it terrified her. She was terrified now. Her eyes darted around the room, like something was going to bleed out of the bulkhead and suck her soul out, or worse, drag Ra’Ti back into the abyss with it.

Each static click of the comms set her instincts on edge, her posture twitching, eyes scanning. A knife (from who knew where) appeared in her hand. She turned the hilt in her hand, around and around while she waited, watching for the boogie man in the dark.

Cpt. Asam, CO

The comm line hissed—static punctuated by intermittent pulses of distortion—before settling into clarity.

“This is Admiral Thale.”

His voice was calm, clipped, authoritative—the kind of tone that didn’t encourage small talk.

“I read you, Sentinel. What’s the issue?”

-OZ

“This is Captain Rende Asam. Admiral Thale we received orders with your authorization code, but the transmission was corrupted. Even after our comms officer attempted to restore the transmission it was still broken and incomplete. I am requesting confirmation of those orders. Asam Juliette-1-9-7-5-Bravo.” Codes, codes, and more codes, the limits of audio only transmissions. The knife flipped over and over in her hand, her eyes darting about, read to spring.

Cpt. Asam, CO

The line held steady for a breath—long enough to make anyone question if the connection had dropped.

Then Admiral Thale responded.

[O]“Authorization code verified, Captain Asam. The orders are genuine. Sagan’s Veil, Kaliphane Sector. Standard scientific survey, full-spectrum. Secondary priority: anomalous subspace readings. Nothing more. You’re the closest qualified vessel.”[C]

There was a pause. Not technical—human.

[O]“We did experience some signal distortion on our end during the relay—subspace interference local to your region. If your comms officer confirms degraded transmission integrity, that would be consistent.”[C]

Another moment of silence. Then his voice returned, just a shade lower.

[O]“Is there something else you’re not saying, Captain?”[C]

The question hung there, untouched by static. Direct. Neutral. But not uncurious.

-OZ

Asam’s eyes were calculating. Listening. No lies, he spoke truth. Nothing hidden, or nothing the admiral was aware of. [O]No Admiral. I just wanted to confirm while enroute. Thank you. Sentinel out.[C] The knife flicked and flashed in her hand. The movement becoming more aggressive as her eyes scanning the shadows of the room.

Cpt. Asam, CO

Xam shook his head. “That’s bullshit and you know it.” he said flatly.

The channel closed with a final burst of static—short, clipped, too sharp.

And then…

Silence.

But not the silence of calm.

The discordant note hadn’t lessened. If anything, the stillness only made it more pronounced—like a pressure behind the ears, a tension along the spine. The kind of sound that wasn’t truly sound at all, but sensation masquerading as resonance.

It scraped at the edge of perception. Too faint to isolate, too persistent to forget.

Nothing moved in the room. Not the shadows, not the consoles. And yet the sensation remained—pressing deeper now.

A phantom chord without a source.

And underneath it, the emotion crystallizing: not panic, not yet. But fear. Steady, silent, spreading like a crack through reinforced glass.

Something was coming.

The ship continued toward the Veil.

Unaware. Unstoppable.

-OZ

She stood up suddenly, eyes scanning the room in a quick, rapid, almost paranoid way. The knife flipping and then holding it at the ready, and then switching hands as she paced the room, watching. It wasn’t right, something was wrong. She grabbed Ra’Ti by the upper arm and pulled him, forcing him behind her, “Out, we need to get out of here.” She walked backwards, pushing him while she watched the shadows of the room, standing between whatever was hiding there and him.

Cpt. Asam, CO

Xam stood up quickly and, much like the knife seeming just appeared in her hand, a very nasty looking disruptor was suddenly in his. “What?! What is it?!” he said quietly, shifting his position to protect his Captain from… whatever was causing her to be far past on-edge.

Ra’Ti, Chief Tactical Officer