Posted by Gamemaster Nosferatu (Gamemaster) in Main Sim: Engineering
The impact did not sound like an explosion.

It sounded like the ship breaking its teeth.

The deck heaved underfoot as the half-strength shot struck and the Expanse amplified it. The warp core’s steady hum snapped into a discordant snarl, plasma conduits shrieking as feedback raced through the starboard grid.

Ensign T’Ralen was thrown sideways into a railing as the starboard plasma manifold bucked against its housing. Across the compartment, a containment bracket sheared loose with a violent metallic crack, skidding across the deck and striking a console hard enough to send a spray of sparks into the air.

“Brace—brace!”

Too late. Two engineers hit the deck as the recoil rippled through the frame. One slammed shoulder-first into an EPS relay bank; another collided with a tool cart that careened across the deck plating before overturning in a clatter of duranium and scattered instruments.

The lights dimmed, flared white, then steadied to emergency amber for half a breath.

The warp core’s pitch deepened—wrong, strained—as the starboard field coil absorbed harmonic feedback from the blast. Warning indicators cascaded down the status board in rapid sequence.

“Primary regulator’s blown!”

A sharp pop echoed from the starboard control alcove as a panel discharged in a burst of blue plasma. The air filled with the acrid scent of overheated circuitry.

“Reroute to secondary! Now!”

T’Ralen clawed his way back to his feet and lunged for the adjacent console, fingers flying over the controls as the deck shuddered again beneath him. The secondary regulator caught the load after a breathless few seconds, the warp core’s resonance stabilizing into a lower, heavier thrum.

“Starboard coolant flow’s down!” someone called from the upper gantry. “Twelve percent and falling!”

“Isolate the damaged relays—seal off junction three-alpha!”

Emergency forcefields snapped into place with a sharp crackle as plasma bleed was contained. A damage control team wrestled the loose manifold bracket back into alignment, securing it with magnetic clamps while the compartment continued to vibrate with residual stress.

Along the dorsal support strut, structural sensors blinked offline one by one as the hull flexed under combined torsion and impact. Not a breach—but enough to make the entire frame groan like a living thing under strain.

Gradually, the worst of the alarms quieted. The warp core steadied, though its tone carried a deeper edge now—like a predator holding tension in its muscles.

T’Ralen tapped his combadge, breathing hard.

[O]Bridge, this is Main Engineering. We’ve contained the manifold shift and rerouted the starboard field coil through secondary regulation. EPS grid on decks nine through eleven took overload damage, but it’s isolated.[O]

Behind him, engineers still moved at a run—securing panels, sealing conduits, checking for hairline fractures in the deck plating.

[O]We’re stable for the moment. But if we take another hit while riding this gradient, the starboard coil won’t absorb the next feedback spike as cleanly.[C]

The warp core pulsed, steady but strained.

Engineering held.

For now.

GM Nosferatu
Your Darkest Nightmare

[O] M’Merra herre Engineerring! Excellent worrk, Enssign T’Rralen! Underrsstood and hold thingss togetherr down therre! Any injurrred?[O]

[O] Aye Ma’am! Yes, 3 injured and sent to sickbay. None critical.[C]

[O] Undersstood, good job. Brridge out[C]

Lt. M’Mera CE