Snip

There it was. Some sort of glowing multi -colored thing. Some sort of wreck of geometric bits just hanging there. Taking a deep breath then as he looked at the thing Rana spoke to the captain. ” Well, we have engineers complaining that things are running too smoothly in engineering and now we have a, he paused.” What is that captain do we know yet?”

“A city… a nexus… a focal point? …but I think they are waiting for me to say something… Lt. Gagnon, please open a channel… or whatever! I expect they will hear me anyway.”

=/\= Greetings. This is Captain John Glen of the U.S.S. Merrimack. We come to you on a peaceful mission. We mean no harm to you or any life-forms. We only wish to initiate ongoing communications between our civilisations. We came seeking only friendship and to demonstrate goodwill. =/\=

• Glen, CO

Stella who had been sitting quietly staring in the direction of the thing had been busy trying to pick up anything that might be construed as communication and separate it from background noise. At the captains’ orders she opened up a nearly clear channel for his message.

Stella Gagnon Lt.Jg Comms

Veh’Ruun dimmed until only the corridor ahead of the Merrimack remained illuminated.

Across the bridge, consoles stabilized abruptly. At Helm, every branching probability path vanished except one narrow transit corridor leading directly into the heart of the nexus. Science readings clarified just enough to become more unsettling—the massive structure beneath the city now dominated passive scans despite still being only partially visible.

Deep through the ship, the harmonic vibration strengthened beneath the deck plating.

Engineering status updates rolled steadily across displays:

EXTERNAL CONTINUITY STABILIZATION ACTIVE
DISENGAGEMENT RISK — UNKNOWN

Then a new line appeared.

EXTERNAL SYSTEM ACKNOWLEDGEMENT RECEIVED

At Tactical, contact counts climbed rapidly as hundreds upon hundreds of Shiarian vessels slowly turned toward the Merrimack. No weapons powered. No targeting locks formed.

But the entire city was watching.

On the bridge itself, the Shiarians standing among the Federation crew reacted immediately to the shift within Veh’Ruun.

The bioluminescent lines along Taruun’s armor brightened in unison with the nexus outside. Nearby Shiarian officers straightened subtly, their attention no longer on the Merrimack’s systems, but outward toward the glowing corridor ahead.

One inclined his head slightly as if listening to something only they could perceive.

Another’s posture visibly eased for the first time since boarding.

Then every display aboard the ship flickered once as copper-red symbols cascaded across the screens before MAJEL 2.0 resolved the incoming construct into translated speech.

The voice came not from speakers, but through the synchronized state itself. It was layered as if a collection of voices were speaking.

“Federation vessel Merrimack. You enter Veh’Ruun under guided continuity.”

The harmonic resonance deepened. “Your passage has been observed.”

Beyond the viewer, the colossal entity beneath the nexus shifted slowly in the darkness, vast luminous apertures opening across its impossible surface.

Then the voice spoke once more. “Your continuity remains coherent.”

At that, several of the Shiarian officers visibly reacted.
Not in surprise but perhaps in approval. They were so alien it was a bit hard to decipher.

One exchanged a brief glance with another before lowering his head fractionally toward Taruun in acknowledgment. Even the Over-Captain himself seemed to relax by the barest measurable degree, the rigid tension in his posture easing as the illuminated corridor widened further ahead of the Merrimack.

The city had accepted them.

At least for now.

GM Nosferatu
Your Darkest Nightmare