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ST:SoD324 | "The Nomads"

Stardate 390252.9

The crew of the Latenter must gain the trust of yet another splinter faction of Starfleet in order to ask the local Junayd to produce a copy of this universe's Mischa, who started the Survivors and may be able to talk them down.






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T'Vek@anncaris FX | https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/sto_gamepedia/images/c/c8/VothCitadelDreadnought.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20160604173119


T'Vek@anncaris | STARDATE 101042.5


T'Vek@anncaris | The camera zooms into the Voth ship, into a large chamber where a number of Voth in various uniforms and clothes are gathered. There is a great deal of discussion going on, and it is difficult -


T'Vek@anncaris - to hear what anyone is saying with the overlapping voices. Some of the voices are raised and we can make out a few words


T'Vek@anncaris | Voth 1: "...heresy!"


T'Vek@anncaris | Voth 2: "...been fair..."


T'Vek@anncaris | Voth 3: "...our enemies..."


T'Vek@anncaris | Voth 4: "...due consideration!"


T'Vek@anncaris | Voth 5: "This is blasphemous..."


T'Vek@anncaris | A loud bell echoes through the chamber and the voices slowly start to die down. At the far end, one of several elderly looking Voth speaks


T'Vek@anncaris | Voth Elder: "Enough! The Ministry may be divided on the subject, but we will not let our guests see us squabbling amongst ourselves. Bring in the Alpha Quadrant representative, and let her speak."


T'Vek@anncaris | A Voth guard steps over to the chamber entrance and taps a panel, opening the massive pair of doors


T'Vek@anncaris | On the other side of the doors, escorted by a pair of Starfleet Security officers, is a familiar face...


T'Vek@anncaris FX | https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/sto_gamepedia/images/9/9e/Kathryn_Janeway.png/revision/latest?cb=20220125221637


—


T'Vek@anncaris | We cut to the Latenter next to the massive Protectorate Starfleet city-ship Courageous, which is just as impressive as the Voth vessel from the previous scene


T'Vek@anncaris | STARDATE 390252.9


T'Vek@anncaris | 'SURVIVOR' UNIVERSE


T'Vek@anncaris | The camera zooms in to the Latenter, through the windows into the briefing room, where the senior crew are gathered with Vice Admiral Lendaria of Protectorate Starfleet standing by the main display console


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "As you all know by now, Starfleet in this universe is fractured into four splinter groups. I believe you've had dealings with most of us by now. There's our Protectorate -


T'Vek@anncaris - Starfleet, who serve the refugees of the Federation who sought shelter in the Gamma Quadrant as Protectorates of the La'ani Commonwealth. While we maintain many of the ranks and traditions of -


T'Vek@anncaris - the old Starfleet and operate effectively as an independent organization, we answer to the Commonwealth and function primarily as an auxiliary force to the Andarash and the Nos’telari explorers."


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "There is the Olympian Starfleet, who serve the Diteans as auxiliaries, although they're far less independant, and their superiors less benevolent too. I'm sure you've -


T'Vek@anncaris - encountered them if you came from the other side of the wormhole."


Mischa@crystyl nods, "One of our earlier encounters, yes"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "And then there's the Survivors, who need no introduction as they're the whole reason you're visiting us. They come from all over the quadrants, including members beyond the -


T'Vek@anncaris - Starfleet factions, though the majority originated from Protectorate Starfleet. We're not proud of that, but what's done is done."


T'Vek@anncaris | T'Lana: "We cannot blame you for that, especially as you have explained that the original goals of the Survivors were not so troublesome. You had no logical reason to resort to violence in -


T'Vek@anncaris - order to halt their mission, and letting them go their separate ways was the right choice from the information you possessed."


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie chuckles, "That's more or less what our Vulcans concluded as well. Anyways, I'm here to brief you about the final Starfleet splinter, the one you haven't encountered yet. And -


T'Vek@anncaris - speaking of Vulcans, you probably haven't noticed yet unless you've been running analytics on our lifesigns, but-"


T'Vek@anncaris | Acey: "Protectorate Starfleet has an abnormally low ratio of human crew compared to almost any iteration of Starfleet we have encountered thus far."


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie looks to Acey


T'Vek@anncaris | Acey: "I have been running analytics."


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "I can see why Lawkeeper wanted to recruit you..."


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie looks to Mischa, "But yes, I thought you might have noticed on your visit over to the Courageous. We've got Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, a good number of all the founding -


T'Vek@anncaris - Federation species, and others that were common before everything happened. Except /the/ most common species- your people, is actually probably the rarest among the old founding members."


Mischa@crystyl:"Let me guess; we receded back into our own system and cut ties with everyone else, choosing to look after ourselves instead"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "Actually, not quite. All the Federation homeworlds were moved, with the use of planet engines, safely away from the Darkness. Vulcan, Tellar and Andoria are all here in the -


T'Vek@anncaris - Gamma Quadrant now. But your people were too proud and independant minded to come to the Commonwealth as refugees. There are still humans in the Protectorate of course, you're not a hive mind -


T'Vek@anncaris - or anything and plenty of your people made the decision to remain with the largest exodus that was occurring. But Earth, and the majority of your species not under Ditean control, is now in the Delta Quadrant."


Mischa@crystyl:"Interesting"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "Are you familiar with the Voth yet in your universe?"


Mischa@crystyl nods, "Yes, very much so"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "And their Distant Origins Theory?"


Mischa@crystyl nods, "That they came from Earth"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie nods, "In our universe, a Starfleet legend, Captain Kathryn Janeway, managed to achieve peace with the Voth after initial conflicts over a Dyson Sphere in the Delta Quadrant. -


T'Vek@anncaris - After years of a tenuous armistice, then Admiral Janeway managed to help Voth and human scientists alike push the acceptance of the Distant Origins theory, and they became one of the -


T'Vek@anncaris - Coalition's largest members outside the Alpha and Beta Quadrants."


Mischa@crystyl:"All familiar for the most part, though that last bit might be something we haven't quite reached yet"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "Well, because of this close relationship achieved by Admiral Janeway, the Voth offered to safeguard Earth and form a new Starfleet, for those who didn't want to seek the -


T'Vek@anncaris - assistance of either the Commonwealth or the Diteans and continue operating with complete autonomy. And so the Free People's Federation was born. The closest thing to compare it to would -


T'Vek@anncaris - probably be the early Federation, which I believe is the same in both our timelines."


Mischa@crystyl:"I can see the similarity, yes"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "The Voth in this case are the Vulcans, a traditional people who are the leading technological experts of the Federation, the Romulans serve a similar role to the Andorians, -


T'Vek@anncaris - the Talaxians to the Tellarites, the heart of trade and commerce, and humans are of course humans. There's a collection of other species with a smaller presence- Kobali, Krenim, some Kazon -


T'Vek@anncaris - sects and even Hirogen mercenaries and liberated Borg. With a few notable exceptions such as the Turei, they all share one thing in common. They're primarily nomadic cultures, or ones who have existed without a homeworld for a long time."


T'Vek@anncaris | T'Lana: "Hence the name nomads?"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie nods, "Their official name is the Free Starfleet, but people generally refer to them as either Delta Starfleet or Nomadic Starfleet, or simply nomads for short. While some -


T'Vek@anncaris - of their members have homeworlds and set territories and borders as I mentioned, the bulk of their society is based around a heavily modified dyson sphere with Earth incorporated into it."


Mischa@crystyl:"Earth housed inside a Dyson sphere... that must be quite the sight"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "That it certainly is. The Dyson Sphere is mobile too, and accompanied by the largest single fleet in this galaxy. It's very impressive, even the Iconians never had so many ships in one place."


Mischa@crystyl:"So that's the current picture of things in a nutshell. Anything else we need to cover?"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "I assume your Starfleet is familiar with the concept of family crews?"


Mischa@crystyl:"Well, /a/ concept of it, certainly. Do you refer to a prelude to generational crews, with family units forming from the crew?"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "That, and the idea of a ship's crew coming to think of each other as an extended family, rather than just people working together."


Mischa@crystyl:"Well the latter is certainly a concept familiar to us. The former, not so much for the most part but there are isolated circumstances"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "Both of these have become the norm among the nomads due to their lifestyle. Family members tend to serve together on the same crew, with some having generations of history on -


T'Vek@anncaris - their respective ships. And those among their crew that aren't related genetically, they see as extended family and treat them as they would anyone in their biological family. While they still -


T'Vek@anncaris - use the Starfleet ranking system, it's much less of a chain of command and more of a family hierarchy. They're much less strict about disobeying orders, as long as it doesn't lead to something -


T'Vek@anncaris - terrible happening. And they rarely actually address each other by rank with the exceptions of Captains, and even then it's more of an acknowledgement of the position rather than the rank."


Mischa@crystyl:"Sounds rather chaotic, at least when a whole fleet exists like that. But I certainly do appreciate the values in it too"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie nods, "They're much less of a military than we are, more just very heavily armed civilians. But it's worked for them so far. Their sense of family extends beyond their crews to -


T'Vek@anncaris - the entire fleet too, while there are often rivalries between different crews, it's never anything too serious. When it comes down to it, they'll all band together against the common interest -


T'Vek@anncaris - of the fleet's survival. Plus, the sheer size of their fleet means there's very few things that can threaten them."


Mischa@crystyl:"Makes sense. So this brings us to our next course of action"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "Getting an audience with the Junayd. We can get you to the current position of the nomad fleet, but the Junayd are an insular people, and very closely protected by the nomads. -


T'Vek@anncaris - Being Starfleet and human, they'll probably trust you a lot more than the average stranger who shows up on their doorstep, but I expect you'll still have to prove yourself to them before they allow you access to the Junayd."


Mischa@crystyl:"Understandable. The Junayd have been in our Heart for some time now, but almost nobody has actually even met or spoken with them"


T'Vek@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "Exactly. From what I understand the nomads have a closer relationship with them, but they control the access of outsiders to the Junayd, and they've never let anyone from -


T'Vek@anncaris - Protectorate Starfleet speak with them. We'll get you there, but everything else is up to you."


Mischa@crystyl:"Well fortunately, we have an inside line with them in Ori" she smiles


—


T'Lana@anncaris | A few hours after their briefing with Admiral Lendaria, the Latenter bridge crew are gathered on the bridge as they await one of the Protectorate Starfleet ships to open them a gateway to the current location of Nomadic Starfleet


T'Lana@anncaris | Victoria: "Incoming hail from the Courageous, Captain."


Mischa@crystyl:"On screen"


T'Lana@anncaris | Admiral Lennie appears on the viewscreen: "The T'Jan is moving in to generate a gateway for you. You'll be arriving outside the system that their Sphere is currently located nearby. Distant -


T'Lana@anncaris - enough that they won't see you as a threat, but close enough that they'll notice the gateway, since you don't want to be caught sneaking up on them, even if your ship is designed for stealth."


Mischa@crystyl smiles, "Thank you for all your support Admiral. My one regret is that we do not the luxury of spending more time here getting to know you and your fleet better"


T'Lana@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "And I wish we could learn more about your universe and the Survivors' effects on it. Perhaps when you've dealt with them, you could return here and we'll compare some notes."


Mischa@crystyl:"I would welcome the opportunity. But given the directions our journey has taken us thus far, I would be foolish to make plans" she chuckles, "Until next time then, Admiral"


T'Lana@anncaris | Admiral Lennie: "Until next time, Captain. And good luck with the nomads."


T'Lana@anncaris | As the comm ends, one of the future Starfleet frigates moves in front of the Latenter and begins generating an Iconian gateway


Mischa@crystyl:"Well then, we seem to be making quite the habit of this now don't we. Once more unto the abyss. Helm, take us in"


T'Lana@anncaris | Nethay: "Aye, moving us in."


T'Lana@anncaris | The Latenter approaches the gateway, soon passing through it and appearing onto the other side


Mischa@crystyl:"Alright then, let's get our bearings and see if we can get a bead on the fleet's direction"


T'Lana@anncaris | The viewscreen displays nothing special save for a distant star that is significantly brighter than the rest, indicating their proximity to the system, though they aren't close enough for the star to appear as a sun just yet


T'Lana@anncaris:"Sensors are picking up ships in and around the system. The Admiral was not exaggerating about the size of this fleet. I do not believe we have every ship on sensors at the moment, and it is already surpassing ten thousand."


T'Lana@anncaris | Hassan: "That's as big as both Horde fleets that assaulted the Heart combined..."


Mischa@crystyl gives an impressed whistle, "Well, let's begin a nice casual approach and be on our best behaviour now"


T'Lana@anncaris | Nethay: "Approaching them now."


T'Lana@anncaris | T'Bee: "Nine of their vessels have begun to approach us as well."


Mischa@crystyl:"Continue to rendezvous with them"


T'Lana@anncaris | Soon, the nine vessels appear on the viewscreen. Four ships of clearly Hirogen design are in the lead, followed by three Voth vessels and two of the future Starfleet ships, a cruiser of the -


T'Lana@anncaris - same class as the Valley Forge H and a smaller escort


Mischa@crystyl:"Open a channel"


T'Lana@anncaris | Victoria nods and taps her console. A few seconds later, a human male appears on the viewscreen. The bridge behind him looks considerably more homely than any of the future Starfleet bridges -


T'Lana@anncaris - Mischa has seen so far; though the console positions are clearly still that of the VF-H, the actual aesthetics and lighting of the bridge more closely resemble the Galaxy-class of the mid-24th -


T'Lana@anncaris - century. The uniform of the man, on the other hand, seem to most closely resemble that of the 2260s, looking far more casual than any modern uniform design


Mischa@crystyl:"Greetings. I am Captain Leveson-Scott of the Federation vessel Latenter"


T'Lana@anncaris | Human Captain: "Captain John Alvarez, FSS Abraham Lincoln. That's an awfully old ship you're flying, Leveson-Scott. And judging from the fact that we're the only Starfleet faction who's still -


T'Lana@anncaris - part of a Federation, I'd say you're out of your time. Am I right?"


Mischa@crystyl:"Captain, you would not believe just how far out of time and space we are. It has been a long journey, to say the least. And perhaps I should apologize, but knowing how many different people call -


Mischa@crystyl:- themselves Starfleet in this universe as it is now, that would hardly be a decisive introduction. Suffice to say; yes we are travellers from the past, no we are not here by accident"


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Alvarez: "So you've come across time and space to seek us out specifically? And what might that be for?"


Mischa@crystyl:"I have something of a personal request for the Junayd with you"


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Alvarez: "The Junayd? If you've heard of 'em, I expect you know how private of a people they are."


Mischa@crystyl glances over her shoulder, "Ori"


Mischa@crystyl | Ori steps forward and bows her head to Alvarez, "Captain, you can inform the Creators that I am Observer 93108. I can not profess to know how their interactions with others have changed since my -


Mischa@crystyl:- deployment in the early 25th century. But as Observer-turned-liason I stand ready to act as the sole point of contact in conveying my Captain's request, out of respect for the Creator's privacy"


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Alvarez: "Interesting. I can't make any promises, but I'll bring your message to the Junayd Communicator. Hold position here for now, we'll keep you updated."


Mischa@crystyl nods, "Thank you Captain"


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Alvarez nods back and the comm ends


T'Lana@anncaris | On the viewscreen, most of the ships break off, though one of the Hirogen vessels remain in place, keeping an eye on the Latenter, no doubt


Mischa@crystyl:"Alright then, now we wait"


Mischa@crystyl | Ori: "If I still know the Creators even a little, it will be a while"


—


T'Lana@anncaris | A good few hours pass after their arrival at the nomad fleet. Mischa has since gone off duty when she was recalled to the bridge again


Mischa@crystyl strolls back in and takes her seat, "Any news?"


T'Lana@anncaris | T'Bee: "The FSS Abraham Lincoln has emerged from the Sphere on the far side of the system and is returning towards our position."


Mischa@crystyl:"Let's see then if they reach out, no need to rush them"


T'Lana@anncaris:"Looks like they've stopped and are communicating with a different vessel in the fleet first. Also a Starfleet design."


Mischa@crystyl:"Anything noteworthy about the other vessel?"


T'Lana@anncaris:"It appears to be the same class as the Cheyenne, the Survivor vessel destroyed by the Coalition inside the Heart. There are many differences, which is only to be expected given that the Survivors -


T'Lana@anncaris:- have evolved separately for generations now, but the design is still entirely recognizable. Transponder is identifying it as the FSS Lexington."


Mischa@crystyl hrms, watching and considering the very many different possible outcomes


T'Lana@anncaris | T'Bee: "The Abraham Lincoln is moving away from the Lexington and back towards us again."


Mischa@crystyl:"Was it only comms between them, or personnel movement as well?"


T'Lana@anncaris:"Only communications."


T'Lana@anncaris | Victoria: "The Lincoln is hailing us now."


Mischa@crystyl:"Alright then, let's see what they have to say. Open a channel"


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Alvarez appears on the viewscreen once again, "Captain Leveson-Scott. We've ferried your request and the Observer's message to the Junayd. They're understandably curious about the -


T'Lana@anncaris - presence of an Observer from one of their counterparts of course, but since there are no actual Junayd here, your crew, including the Observer, are still closer to us than you are to them. -


T'Lana@anncaris - Rather than going through the whole process of creating an Observer here specifically to see if your crew is trustworthy, I've convinced the Junayd to let us judge whether you're trustworthy before granting you an audience."


Mischa@crystyl:"That is a reasonable precaution. I take it then that you have some criteria and an approach in mind?"


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Alvarez: "That we do. First things first, are you the same Captain Leveson-Scott and Latenter that made contact with Admiral James Kirk and his Enterprise in the 23rd century?"


Mischa@crystyl smiles a little, "At least your record keeping hasn't laxed over the years. Yes, I have had a couple of interactions with the Admiral now. The most recent of which was when we passed through from our reality to begin the journey here"


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Alvarez: "Yes, we've got the records of Kirk's meeting with you, and it goes a long way for your credibility. If it was just me you had to convince, it'd be enough, but I know the -


T'Lana@anncaris - Junayd like to be thorough. So just to make sure that you are who you claim and that you have no ill intention towards the fleet, I propose a little exchange program."


Mischa@crystyl tilts her head, "Oh?"


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Alvarez: "You probably saw us talking with the Lexington back there. They'll be departing on a mission soon and they're willing to help. The Observer will go over to the Lexington and -


T'Lana@anncaris - work with them on the mission. I take from her appearance that she's created from the DNA of the famous Captain Tierno?"


Mischa@crystyl:"The one and only" adding with a mutter, "If there even is such a thing with that girl..."


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Alvarez: "Well, she'll have some great skills to add to this mission then, and the Lexington will evaluate whether or not her intentions are good. Meanwhile, one of the Lexington's -


T'Lana@anncaris - crew will be coming over to your ship to make sure you're who you claim to be and all."


Mischa@crystyl:"Very well, we can work with that arrangement"


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Alvarez: "Excellent. Rendezvous with the Lexington then, and have the Observer ready to beam over."


Mischa@crystyl:"We are on our way"


—


NPC@annpc#557 | Ori materializes in a transporter room whose aesthetics are similar to that of the Lincoln bridge, seemingly most in line with the Galaxy-class and that era of Starfleet interior design. A -


NPC@annpc#557 - human woman in a gold uniform works the transporter console, but a Voth male with a blue uniform awaits Ori just off the transporter pad


NPC@annpc#557 | Voth: "Welcome to the FSS Lexington. I am Commander Enda Varak, First Officer."


Rianni@crystyl steps down, "Hello Commander. Ensign Orianni reporting as ordered"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "You'll be stationed on the bridge. You possess Captain Tierno's tactical acumen, yes?"


Rianni@crystyl:"That, I can not say. Where I am from there is no Captain Tierno, so I can not compare my template with the person you reference"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "But I assume there is /a/ Tierno upon which you are based?"


Rianni@crystyl nods, "Correct, she is currently serving her first tour as an acting XO on the Venator. She is regarded as a tactical prodigy, and has been since joining the academy. There is no doubt she is the -


Rianni@crystyl:- same person. But I can not account for any variance in experience which shaped the figure you know"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "Of course. But you possess some degree of her tactical acumen?"


Rianni@crystyl:"I possess all of it, as well as my Observer genetic training which she only has a partial share of"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "Good. You will be well-suited for the role the Captain has set aside for you, then. Come with me." The Voth Commander turns and leads the way


Rianni@crystyl follows, sizing him up as they go, "I take this is as much exploiting an opportunity with my presence as it is actually any kind of test of legitimacy for my Captain and mission then"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "The Lexington can handle ourselves. Of course, it would be foolish not to put your skills to use while you are here. Our records show us both what a Tierno and what an Observer is -


NPC@annpc#557 - capable of. Besides, as the Voth in Military Circles like to say, there is no test for the true nature of a person better than the crucible of conflict."


Rianni@crystyl:"Wise words. I take from the distinction that your history has no comparison with ours where I was a thing too?"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "We have had several Tiernos and several Observers, but not the two combined."


Rianni@crystyl:"Huh" she thinks for a moment and smiles, "I will have to tell her that the next time I see her, I think it would mean a lot!"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "Every universe has unique factors which result in different combination. Sometimes truly unique to that one universe, other times, just a result unseen in another universe, but not -


NPC@annpc#557 - singular in nature. This difference, I suspect, originates from a variation in the Old Federation's first contact with the Junayd. Our Tierno was born long after that had occurred, and so the -


NPC@annpc#557 - Junayd never chose her as the template for an Observer. Yours must have occurred much later."


Rianni@crystyl:"Yes, that does make sense. Given how far ahead we are in the relative timeline here, it is sometimes easy to forget that our respective universes have such a considerable temporal offset to begin"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak steps into a turbolift, "Bridge."


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak looks to Ori as the lift begins to ascend, "You were made to study other cultures, like our Junayd Observers?"


Rianni@crystyl nods, "Yes, that is the primary function of all Observers. Though I was later repurposed, that was the reason for my creation still"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "You must be curious why there's a Voth on a human ship, when there are even more of our own vessels in our fleet which require plenty of crew."


Rianni@crystyl:"I assumed it was a matter of natural integration to have occurred over time, with so many of each vessel within the fleet"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "We do not assign people to ships anymore, as Starfleet still does in your time, I assume. Joining a crew is often more of a personal decision than it is a professional one. The most -


NPC@annpc#557 - common reason is marriage, but it is highly unusual for a Voth to marry a human. I am one of the cases in which it actually is a professional decision."


Rianni@crystyl looks him over again, "I see. That is indeed a far more curious situation then"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "Even though my people are more open-minded than they have ever been, Earth ships still are a better climate for scientists such as myself. So the most prominent among us often choose -


NPC@annpc#557 - to join the crews of more storied Earth vessels, such as the Lexington. And a few less well-known scientists have joined less famous Earth crews as well, though most unaccomplished scientists -


NPC@annpc#557 - choose to make a name for themselves among our own people first before applying for a ship that frequently makes trips away from the fleet."


Rianni@crystyl:"I know the name Lexington from our time, so by now this much be quite a prestigious posting"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak smiles, "That it certainly is." The lift opens on the bridge and the Voth Commander steps out


Rianni@crystyl follows, looking around curiously


NPC@annpc#557 | A man turns over from the central command chair, "Welcome to the bridge, Ensign...Orianni, right?"


Rianni@crystyl steps around, "Correct Captain"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain: "A combination of Observer and Captain Rianni Tierno's first name. I see what you did there. I'm Captain Hideo Sulu. You've already met my XO, Commander Varak."


Rianni@crystyl:"A pleasure to meet you Captain. And a small point of clarity, but it was actually a combination of 'Other' and her name"


Rianni@crystyl:"Though yours does sound more considered, so I may adopt that moving forwards"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "Ahh, I see. Still quite clever. Well, take the tactical station, Ensign. The controls shouldn't be too different from what you're used to. You might want to familiarize yourself -


NPC@annpc#557 - with our tactical systems, though. I'll fill you in on the mission once you've got your bearings."


Rianni@crystyl nods, "Understood" and heads around to take her station


—


Ailmna@anncaris | After Ori beams onto the Lexington, a figure materializes on the Latenter's transporter pad. Though she lacks any ridges, her Vulcanoid features combined with a more prominent green skin tone -


Ailmna@anncaris - suggests the woman to be Romulan. She wears a blue uniform, though not the blue of Command. However, her collar and the stripes on her pants are a purple that has not been seen on any other -


Ailmna@anncaris - Delta Starfleet uniform so far, which has featured either white, grey or black collars and striping


Mischa@crystyl:"Welcome to the Latenter. I am Captain Leveson-Scott"


Ailmna@anncaris | The Romulan steps off the transporter pad, "Lieutenant Lahae i-Lexington t'Andrekh." She takes a moment to look around. "Your ship is more...grey than I expected."


Mischa@crystyl chuckles, "I'm afraid you'll have to get used to that here. The Latenter is utilitarian even by standards of our century, no lap of luxury here" she considers Lahae, "So you incorporate your ship -


Mischa@crystyl:- name into the family name. Almost reminds me of Arshai conventions"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Well, many of us are born on ships nowadays, and the middle portion of Romulan names was for where we were born. That's how the convention started, at least. Some of us are still born -


Ailmna@anncaris - planetside or in the Sphere, but in nomad society, the ship we serve on is more meaningful than anything else. So as the Borg do, we adapted," she smiles


Mischa@crystyl smiles, "I hope to learn more about how the nomads have adapted over time. But I am sure there are more pressing matters. Unlike your counterpart in this exchange, we have no direct request for -


Mischa@crystyl:- your skills or expertise. So for now it is more a matter of your preferred direction"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Well, I should probably mingle with and get to know the crew. We could start with the bridge first."


Mischa@crystyl nods, "Do you normally work a bridge station on the Lexington?" she asks, leading the way out


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae follows, "No, I've worked bridge shifts, but my usual duties aren't on the bridge. I'm an Intelligence analyst."


Mischa@crystyl:"Right, and your Lexington likely follows more of a SFC format where IA's work in seclusion. Well, our bridge is more an operations centre so it is the heart of activity for coordinating analysts"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "This is a ship dedicated to intelligence gathering, isn't it?"


Mischa@crystyl:"Yes, we are a SFI deep surveillance vessel"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Interesting. In our fleet, that role's almost exclusively filled by Romulan vessels these days. The few Earth ships who filled that role went renegade before I was born."


Mischa@crystyl:"The Survivors" she surmises as they step into the turbolift


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae steps into the lift as well, "That's right. You've heard of them?"


Mischa@crystyl:"They're the reason we are here"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "They are? You're a few decades late if you wanted to stop it from happening or something."


Mischa@crystyl:"Unfortunately, it is not that simple. It is quite the long story in fact"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae smiles, "Maybe we can talk about it over some Romulan ale once you've introduced me to the bridge crew, then."


Mischa@crystyl:"I may have a bottle or two of the good stuff hidden away"


Mischa@crystyl steps out onto the bridge


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae follows out, looking around, "Yes, this certainly is more like the operation centres on the large city-ships."


Mischa@crystyl waves TL over, "My second in command, T'Lana. Lana, this is Lieutenant Lahae i-Lexington t'Andrekh."


Ailmna@anncaris | T'Lana: "A pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant. It is interesting to see how Romulan culture has adapted to this new lifestyle by incorporating the ship name into your naming conventions."


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae chuckles, "Your Captain said the exact same thing when we met."


Mischa@crystyl:"From our perspective, it's quite the unusual trait. But yes, as you noticed this is indeed more of an ops. centre than a mere bridge. T'Lana typically looks after the senior anaylsts working here, -


Mischa@crystyl:- each acting as a team lead for the more familiar focus groups working in other areas"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae nods, looking around and spotting the sisters, "I see you have quite a few Vulcans on the bridge. What's your Starfleet's relationship with my people? We haven't always been the best of -


Ailmna@anncaris - friends in our timeline. Here, the Romulans were responsible for founding the Old Federation, by prompting the founding members to band together against us."


Mischa@crystyl:"Our history is comparable. Since that founding, there have been a few centuries of tension with a speculative border drawn. In our reality however, the Star Empire self imploded, quite literally in-


Mischa@crystyl:- fact. Dangerous experiments with Iconian technology resulted in the loss of Romulus"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Interesting. Our histories seem to be very comparable indeed, then."


Mischa@crystyl:"Yes. With that in recent memory, the future is still very much uncertain for your people where we come from. But when we left, the remnants of the Star Empire and the newly formed Republic were -


Mischa@crystyl:- edging towards unification and a standing alongside the Federation and Klingon Empire in the even newer Coalition operating from the Heart"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Well, I hope that works out for all of you involved, then."


Mischa@crystyl glances over, "As for the twins there, that's T'Bee and 'Not T'Bee'" she chuckles to herself, "otherwise known as T'Fel"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae grins, "I think I like Not T'Bee."


Mischa@crystyl smirks to herself, "As for the Romulan reformation, I have it on good authority that they will succeed under the guidance of their new Empress"


Mischa@crystyl gestures elsewhere on the bridge, "Over there is my Senior Ops Officer and Second Officer Glen Victoria. The Borg drone is Three of Nine, but you can call him Root. Up front are Nethay and Dawoyva"


—


NPC@annpc#557 | Back on the Lexington, Ori familiarizes herself with the future ship's tactical systems while it travels at warp


NPC@annpc#557 | Curiously, she notes that while there are three other ships travelling with them on this mission at warp, there is a fourth friendly transponder ping, though no ship can be seen at its corresponding location


Rianni@crystyl heads over to the duty officer at the science station to confirm with their sensors


NPC@annpc#557 | A woman at the science station looks over, "Can I help you, Ensign?"


Rianni@crystyl:"Hopefully" she taps at the woman's console, "I need to verify this ghost on the tactical sensors"


NPC@annpc#557 | The Science Officer observes as she taps, "Oh, that's just the Romulan ship tailing us. Don't worry. They do that on most non-routine missions."


Rianni@crystyl:"So we have a cloaked escort, good to know. Thank you" she returns to her station


NPC@annpc#557 | A few moments after returning to her station, Captain Sulu steps out of his ready room and makes his way over, "How're you settling in, Ensign?"


Rianni@crystyl:"Everything seems to be in order Captain"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "I'm glad to hear it. Now, you probably want to know a little about this mission we're on."


Rianni@crystyl:"It would be beneficial to know what we are potentially facing so that I may strategise. Especially since we have unique assets like that Romulan escort along too"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "I wish I knew what we could be potentially facing. All we know is that we got some incoherent ramblings from one of our mining expeditions. When we tried to contact them for -


NPC@annpc#557 - more details, we couldn't get any response, so we're going to check out what happened to them now."


Rianni@crystyl:"I see. Would it be possible to hear these ramblings for myself? Also an data on the expeditions composition and location would be helpful"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu taps on the console and a video of a very disheveled looking man pops up on the screen. A lot of shouting and screaming can be heard in the background along with the occasional -


NPC@annpc#557 - sound of weapons fire, making it difficult to make out exactly what the man is saying, though Ori manages to pick up on some of it


NPC@annpc#557 | Man: "...can't do this any longer...it's coming for us...coming for us all! ...the sins of our forefathers...going to...every last one...I can't, I can't!"


Rianni@crystyl hrms, "The sins of our forefathers...?"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "And then there's this." He taps again and a different feed displays with a similarly crazed-looking woman


NPC@annpc#557 | Woman: "Please, help me! The music...make it stop...there's too much...can't sleep...can't eat. The music! Too much, too loud, too sharp, help, help, help us!"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "There's a few more of it. We couldn't find any consistency between them, it's just...crazed ramblings."


Rianni@crystyl:"I will review them all in depth. It is possible that I may hear more, even in the background, that might provide some insight. Beyond this, what of the mine location itself?"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "It's a dilithium mine on the second planet of the Kovant system. There's a breathable atmosphere and the initial exploration of the planet back in the 25th century uncovered a -


NPC@annpc#557 - few ruins indicating that it was once inhabited, but attacked some centuries ago and seemingly abandoned after that."


Rianni@crystyl:"I don't suppose there are any records on hand from that initial survey that might detail these ruins at all?"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "I'll pull up all we have for you, but there wasn't any intact computer systems in any of the ruins that were explored, so everything's theories based on the physical evidence."


Rianni@crystyl:"That would be fine. My Captain is quite the student of archaeology and has made several attempts to induct me into the field as well"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "Really? Well, I'm not quite an archaeologist myself, but Commander Raeisi here, my Science Chief, will be happy to discuss it with you."


Rianni@crystyl glances back and nods, "I can not profess to any expertise myself. But as with so many things I have adapted to since my creation, the key is observation"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu smiles, "And since you're an Observer, I'm sure you'll do fine." He moves to sit in the command chair


Rianni@crystyl gets to work on all her new data to peruse


NPC@annpc#557 | Ori sees that the data on the ruins shows a clearly warp-capable civilization, but there aren't enough settlements on the planet to have been the homeworld of a warp-faring civilization. This -


NPC@annpc#557 - likely indicates it was a colony world established by a species from elsewhere before being abandoned. There are also signs of conflict in both orbit and on the ground, and much of the damage -


NPC@annpc#557 - was never repaired, hence the speculation that the colony was abandoned after being attacked


Rianni@crystyl takes it all in and moves on to the additional messages


NPC@annpc#557 | The additional messages are just as crazed. Like Captain Sulu said, Ori is able to find no clear pattern in anything they are rambling about. The background noises in some of them do seem to -


NPC@annpc#557 - indicate fighting, but it seems to be more against feral beasts or perhaps between other crazed people. There is weapons fire, but no coherent shouting of orders nor any structure in the -


NPC@annpc#557 - shooting which would indicate two sides having an organized firefight


Rianni@crystyl again takes in all the detail, finding nothing of consequence to report


—


Ailmna@anncaris | After meeting the bridge crew, Lahae follows Mischa into the ready room


Mischa@crystyl goes rummaging in her shelves of hidden treasures, "Make yourself comfortable. I know it's here somewhere..."


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae takes a seat, "Searching for the Romulan ale?"


Mischa@crystyl turns, bottle in hand, "No, found it!" she takes a seat and retrieves a couple of glasses


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae smiles, "Thank you for the accommodations, Captain."


Mischa@crystyl:pours them out while noting, "Time was, this stuff could be found by the crate on nearly every starship or colony. As it is now, this is one of the few remaining bottles in existence; a true Romulan-


Mischa@crystyl:- Ale brewed on Romulus before it was lost" she hands Lahae a glass


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae takes the glass, "A very rare commodity indeed. I don't think we have any of that left here. We still make Romulan ale of course, but even the non-synthesized ones are made from supplies -


Ailmna@anncaris - grown in the Sphere." She takes a sip from the glass. "This is certainly different!"


Mischa@crystyl smiles, "I'm glad to share it with someone who can truly appreciate it. Save for the Empress now, there aren't many others"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "You share drinks with the Empress in your universe?"


Mischa@crystyl gives a knowing smirk as she sips, "Suffice to say we have a close working relationship"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "How interesting. But," she takes another sip, "this connection to the Survivors you mentioned is probably more prudent than your connection with your Romulan Empress for what I've come to learn."


Mischa@crystyl:"True, though it is actually quite likely that it is all connected. But that will come. Where to start..." she hrms, "What do you know of the Survivors and their activities?"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Some years before I was even born, another faction formed and broke away from Gamma Starfleet. They believed that this galaxy wasn't trying hard enough to stop the Darkness, that we -


Ailmna@anncaris - had given up and accepted our fate rather than fighting for it. They sought to use time and inter-universal travel to find and implement solutions against the Darkness. At the time, there was -


Ailmna@anncaris:- quite a bit of controversy over time travel and exploration laws here in the Free Federation. When the Survivors came here with their call, a number of crews decided to join them. Most of them -


Ailmna@anncaris - were Krenim, but a few Romulan, human and other crews also left with the Survivors."


Mischa@crystyl nods, "Point of interest; that time of separation was around the time this universe's version of me was running around, but we'll get back to that. Another clarifier; do you know about the temporal offset between my reality and this one?"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Yes, I was looking into Admiral Kirk's old reports, and it mentioned some discrepency in the temporal connection between this universe and yours. When someone travels between the two -


Ailmna@anncaris - universes, even with no temporal element, they always arrive about a century and a half earlier or later, depending on the direction. It seems to be a result of the Horde being defeated much later in your universe."


Mischa@crystyl nods, "Yes, we have learned that the universally used method of activating the Heart to defeat the Horde served as a nexus point between all connected realities. As to the science of that, you'll -


Mischa@crystyl:- have to ask the Q I'm guessing, we're still barely comprehending what has occurred, let alone beginning to consider the how's and why's. Regardless, the reason the Horde was defeated so much later-


Mischa@crystyl:- was because it was encountered so much later. This was due to the Survivors machinations, and their reason for doing so was to alter not only the timing of the Darkness' arrival, but also it's -


Mischa@crystyl:- point within the galaxy. When we left our reality, it was just starting to creep in to the outermost region of the Gamma Quadrant, as far from the Heart as one can get"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "So they're implementing their solutions, or at least delaying tactics, in your universe."


Mischa@crystyl:"It goes beyond that. Our reality is one of countless in existence that was created by them manipulating historical events in order to design an optimum strategy for dealing with the Darkness"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "You're saying your universe is basically a big experiment?"


Mischa@crystyl nods, "One of a number that I dare not even try to conceive of. The Survivors started it, but remained within ever since. A form of generational deep cover operation, you might say. Throughout our -


Mischa@crystyl:- history they have been manipulating galactic events towards this goal of staving off the Darkness"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "I see. Why have you come back to us, though? If anything, I would have expected the Survivors to return, with progress reports or to try some of what they've learned back in their home universe."


Mischa@crystyl:"Unfortunately, the generations of deep cover have not been kind to them. Their local leadership has grown disjointed and lost sight of its original mission. Despite achieving their goal, they are -


Mischa@crystyl:- unable to see this now and so continue interfering with events under delusions of still doing the right thing. This has seen them working outside of their comfort zone of established historical -


Mischa@crystyl:- facts now, and when deep cover operatives lose sight of their objectives /and/ lose their intel... well, you can imagine I'm sure"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae nods, "So they've been experimenting outside the bounds of their original goal, interfering with your society even in ways that doesn't provide any benefits against the Darkness?"


Mischa@crystyl:"It's... debatable. They believe it does, but as of the turning point they have no basis for that premise. The resulting actions are far less refined than what led them to this point, which has in -


Mischa@crystyl:- turn led to a sharp rise in conflicts against Starfleet and it's allies. In short, we keep catching them in the act now and they have become known to all allied forces as a recognized enemy -


Mischa@crystyl:- faction. Regardless of prior good intentions, or continued misguided ones, that is a situation which can not be allowed to continue. Since I am unable to talk sense into them directly, we set out -


Mischa@crystyl:- on our mission here to re-establish contact with the Survivors who started it all in the hopes that they can recall the mission since they are the only ones those in our reality are likely to listen to now"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "But we're not them, nor do we have any means of contacting them. We can't recall them."


Mischa@crystyl sips her ale, "True. But they Junayd with you have the capacity to recreate someone who they will listen to. Me"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "So that's why you want to speak to the Junayd."


Mischa@crystyl:"Our previous stop on this journey led us to the Protectorate. An Admiral there confirmed my suspicions insofar that this reality's version of me was a key figurehead in the events we spoke of -


Mischa@crystyl:- earlier which led to the Survivors branching off. She built the faction on the ideals and methods of Starfleet Intelligence, and so just as Ori served as a opener here, we want the Junayd's help -


Mischa@crystyl:- in creating a copy of that version of me to do the same here"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "It's a good plan. You know a good bit about the Junayd I assume, since you have one of their Observers with you."


Mischa@crystyl:"Not as much as I'd like" she chuckles, "But we know the basics at least. Ori... has a thing about not really discussing anything her creators would consider taboo. And... that's pretty much everything to them!"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "I don't know that much about them myself, either," she chuckles. "And they say Romulans are a private and secretive people."


Mischa@crystyl:"So this brings us to your objective here. You're to vet us before we're allowed to proceed with our request. All of our relevant mission logs are at your disposal, but what other criteria are we -


Mischa@crystyl:- working with here, as they could have just been sent over"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "That's about it, actually. I don't know much about the Junayd, but they've built a good working relationship with the Free Federation over the years. They trust us, as much as it's -


Ailmna@anncaris - possible for the Junayd to fully trust anyone. They didn't give any strict criteria for evaluations, as long as we're satisfied that you won't be a threat to them, they'll take our word for -


Ailmna@anncaris - it. The Captain just wanted to send me over and have a more personal touch to this rather than evaluating you based on mission logs and reports alone. That's one of the problems we nomads have -


Ailmna@anncaris - with the other Starfleets. It's all too cold and impersonal sometimes. For us, logs are just for record keeping. We want to know the details of a mission, we talk to the people who were on it, -


Ailmna@anncaris - and only consult logs to corroborate information if we have reason to think they're hiding something. That, or no one on the mission's still alive anymore."


Mischa@crystyl:"Makes sense to me, and for what it's worth I like this personal touch of your fleet. So you have the outline of our situation now, how would you like to proceed?"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Well, everything you've told us matches up with our information about the Survivors. I should probably look at your mission logs yet- not that I have any reason to think you're -


Ailmna@anncaris - deceiving us, despite what I just said," she chuckles. "Just to play it safe, and the Lexington's not around for me to return to anyways so it's not like I have anywhere else to go."


Mischa@crystyl:"Of course. We'll set aside one of the research labs for you so you can work in peace. If you would like to speak with any of the crew on details, just let us know. Sounds good?"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae nods, "That sounds good to me. Before I get started on my reading, you've given me a lot of information. You're probably wondering how my people lost our homeworld in this universe too."


Mischa@crystyl:"In truth I'm curious about a great many things in this reality. But yes, since we touched on the topic earlier I would like to know but did not want to assume to ask in case it was a sensitive matter"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae smiles, "Thank you for the consideration. It's distant history now, I guess it's still a bit of a black mark on our reputation, but it's far from as sensitive as it no doubt once was. -


Ailmna@anncaris - Well, during our Horde conflict, then Captain Kirk and Spock used one of the personal gateways in the Heart to try and rally more allies. They ended up in Romulan space, and after one of their -


Ailmna@anncaris - usual interesting adventures, managed to talk us into assisting the Coalition in exchange for not being left out of their studies into Iconian technology."


Mischa@crystyl chuckles, "Sounds like a fun outing. Maybe I should swing by that one on our way home"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "I'm not sure that gateway connection even exists anymore. But anyways, once the Horde was defeated, we became a part of the Coalition and had a role in the study of the Heart and -


Ailmna@anncaris - Iconian technology in general. That wasn't enough, though. I assume you're familiar with what the Romulan Star Empire was like. Our pride, our secrecy, our desire for a place in this universe, -


Ailmna@anncaris - the Empire back then exemplified the worst of these tendencies."


Mischa@crystyl:"I'm quite familiar with that Empire, yes"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Having a part in the Coalition's research wasn't enough. They wanted something that would give the Empire an edge over the rest of the Coalition. So in secret, Romulan operatives -


Ailmna@anncaris - smuggled artifacts back to the homeworld, conducted unsanctioned expeditions through gateways and began performing our own research and experiments. Many of it using methods banned by the -


Ailmna@anncaris - Coalition or looking into weapons technology illegal in the Federation. And it turned out these weren't allowed for good reason."


Mischa@crystyl:"So they ended up self-destructing just as they did in our reality"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae nods, "I found the similarity very curious, and I thought you might as well. I can't help but wonder, are we doomed to lose our homeworld or at least suffer some major calamity like this -


Ailmna@anncaris - in every universe? The loss of Romulus was critical to our people seeing the flaws of our old Empire. Perhaps, at least in every reality where the Star Empire existed, we have to learn that lesson the hard way."


Mischa@crystyl:"You may be interested in knowing that we have seen a reality where Romulus did not fall. I will spare you the details, but suffice to say it was the Empress herself who determined that it was -


Mischa@crystyl:- ultimately better for the Romulan people to have our history restored with Romulus lost again"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "I suppose that answers both questions. Romulus isn't doomed to fall, but I guess it's better that it does, so we can learn our lesson and move on to become better as a people."


Mischa@crystyl:"Don't get me wrong, it was just one scenario. Even with all we have seen of the multiverse I would not presume a predetermined fate on that level"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae nods, "With nearly infinite variations in the multiverse, there's probably at least a few realities in which Romulus survives and our people still learns to integrate with galactic -


Ailmna@anncaris - society as a whole. But I for one think it's for the best that things played out the way they did here. I wonder if the Survivors think the same. If your universe was all part of their -


Ailmna@anncaris - experiment, they must have allowed Romulus to be lost in a similar fashion it was here. Assuming they didn't orchestrate it to begin with..."


Mischa@crystyl:"At this point I wouldn't put anything past them, including the matter we discussed earlier regarding the current Empress. Though I'm not sure that one was by their design" she chuckles


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "I'm going to have to ask about that Empress sometime...but first, I should get started on my reading," she chuckles


Mischa@crystyl:"Of course, we will have plenty of time for further speculative discussions no doubt"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae smiles, "I'm sure we will. Lexington still has a mission to complete, after all."


—


NPC@annpc#557 | After a few hours of travel, the helm officer of the FSS Lexington announces, "We're coming up on the Kovant system."


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "Take us to yellow alert. Keep an eye out for other ships or any anomalous sensor readings."


Rianni@crystyl triggers the yellow alert before Sulu has even finished the sentence and focuses on the tactical sensors


NPC@annpc#557 | Ori sees no anomalous readings. There are three ships around Kovant II, but the computer recognizes them all as Delta Starfleet designs and they have functioning transponders that match up -


NPC@annpc#557 - with the ships that were part of the mining expedition


Rianni@crystyl:"Captain, nothing anomalous on sensors yet. But I do have the mining expedition in orbit of Kovant II"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "At least we don't have to go searching."


NPC@annpc#557 | The ship drops out of transwarp in the system


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "Get an anti-cloaking scan going. And a closer look at the mining expedition's ships too. Any sign of damage or battle?"


Rianni@crystyl:"Anti-cloak underway" she confirms, tapping away, "As for the expedition; all vessels appear to be fully functional. No signs of damage, but also no lifesigns"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "And the surface?"


NPC@annpc#557 | Science Officer: "Nothing either, Captain. Only the native wildlife. I can't see too deep into the mine itself, though."


Rianni@crystyl:"Anti-cloak sweep complete. No indications of hidden activity"


NPC@annpc#557 | Science Officer: "I have something. Organic compounds, volume and distribution suggest bodies of deceased individuals spread throughout all three ships."


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "Helm, take us in for a closer scan. Map out all the bodies and display their positions."


NPC@annpc#557 | The Lexington moves in towards the second planet. After a few minutes, holographic MSDs of the three ships appear on the centre of the bridge between the command chair and the viewscreen. Red -


NPC@annpc#557 - dots are placed throughout the ships showing the positions of bodies


Rianni@crystyl instinctively starts analyzing the distribution


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu leans forward, clearly doing the same


Rianni@crystyl:"Nothing suggests any kind of struggle on any of them. It looks like a snapshot of a crew just going about their business"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "My thoughts exactly. It looks like they were just struck dead or something. Engineering, get a drone over to one of the ships."


NPC@annpc#557 | Engineering Officer: "On it."


NPC@annpc#557 | A few moments later, the Engineering Officer announces, "The drone is away. Putting the feed up on the main viewer."


NPC@annpc#557 | The viewscreen changes to the display of a ship hallway. As the drone hovers down, there are clear signs of scorching on the wall and the body of a crewman with a torn uniform, who clearly didn't die peacefully


Rianni@crystyl frowns at the inconsistency, "Well something certainly doesn't add up now"


NPC@annpc#557 | Commander Varak chimes in, "From the chaos in the messages, it seems like the most reasonable conclusion is that the crew killed each other. That's why there's no sense or reason to the body positioning. There was no organized defense or attack."


Rianni@crystyl nods, "That makes sense. In line with the messages, it's as if a form of madness overcame them all"


NPC@annpc#557 | Text appears on the screen beside the scorch marks identifying them as having been made by Starfleet phaser weapons


NPC@annpc#557 | The drone soon approaches another body and gives it a closer scan. Text appears stating, "CAUSE OF DEATH: PHASER BURNS"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "The evidence seems to point to that as well. Now the question is, what drove the crew to do this?"


Rianni@crystyl:"Likely something on the surface. But if it carried across the whole crew of each ship too, then it may even be a contagion of sorts"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu nods, "A good point. Raeisi, run a scan of the ships and the surface for any contagions first. It's not like there's anyone left waiting for rescue, so we can take our time and play this safe."


NPC@annpc#557 | Science Officer: "Starting the scans now."


Rianni@crystyl:"We also can't rule out psionics. But I would assume you have ample measures to detect and defend against that by now"


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu nods, "S'Raeth would've said something if there was something psionic. If it is psionic in nature, whatever's responsible isn't using their power and staying hidden for now."


Rianni@crystyl glances to S'Raeth and back, "Then we can't yet rule out the possibility"


NPC@annpc#557 | S'Raeth: "No, we certainly can't just yet. Whatever's responsible could be psionic and just hiding from me. All I can say for certain is that it's not trying to affect any of our ships now."


NPC@annpc#557 | Raeisi: "Scans haven't picked up anything it recognizes as a contagion or potential contagion on the ships. There's a few viruses and bacteria on the surface, but nothing that we aren't -


NPC@annpc#557 - immunized against. Certainly nothing that can be responsible for driving the mining expedition mad."


NPC@annpc#557 | Captain Sulu: "If we can't determine it from scans in orbit, then we'll have to risk some boots on the ground. Varak, take S'Raeth and Orianni down to the mine. See if you can figure out what caused all this."


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak nods and stands, moving over to the turbolift with S'Raeth


—


NPC@annpc#557 | As they arrive in the transporter room, Varak moves over and opens a locker, taking out three belts. He hands one to Ori, "Have you used one of these yet?"


Rianni@crystyl takes the belt and looks it over


Rianni@crystyl:"I believe so, yes. Not exactly the same but these appear similar to those used by the Survivors. I've fought against these devices more than with them, but have made use once or twice too"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "Good, you'll be familiar with them, then. I don't know what exact functions the Survivors have on theirs, but we're using them just to be safe in case there is a contagion that spreads -


NPC@annpc#557 - through the air or by contact. It has a basic thruster and built-in shielding and weapons in case we run into any physical threats."


Rianni@crystyl fastens it up, "Sounds comparable, thank you"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak clips his on and activates in. In addition to conforming around his Voth physique, the visual design of the suit is distinct from the ones used by the Survivors, as is evident when the more humanoid S'Raeth activates his own


NPC@annpc#557 | With their suits activated, the two step onto the transporter pad


Rianni@crystyl joins them


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak nods to the transport operator once they are all assembled and suited up, "Energize."


—


Ailmna@anncaris | A short while later, Mischa checks on Lahae as she reviews their mission logs in one of the labs...


Mischa@crystyl strolls in, "I see you managed to get settled in nicely"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae smiles, "You've been a great host so far. I imagine a ship like yours doesn't usually let just anyone access your mission logs."


Mischa@crystyl:"Very true. But since all of your technology is a vast evolution of our own, and any data we hold is ancient history to you there is little cause for concern"


Mischa@crystyl smiles, "But in case you were wondering, there is a reason your systems in here are isolated and manually fed the relevant data for you"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "I thought as much. Still, I don't doubt this is more access than you'd give to most people. Maybe even most members of your own Starfleet."


Mischa@crystyl:"Simply being permitted to board the ship is more than most get in that instance. I trust you have everything you require so far?"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae nods, "Everything in here aligns with your story and I don't see any sign of any of it being falsified either. Since our technology is yours but more evolved as you said, I'm pretty -


Ailmna@anncaris - confident in that last evaluation," she smiles. "There is one thing I'm curious about, though."


Mischa@crystyl:"Oh? And that is?"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "According to these logs, you have a member of the Survivors aboard as a prisoner, one who previously infiltrated your crew."


Mischa@crystyl:"Ms Goto, yes"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Would it be possible to speak with her? Not so much to corroborate your story or your intentions, more so out of curiosity to see just what these modern Survivors are like."


Mischa@crystyl:"I think that can be arranged"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Excellent, thank you. Our fleet will appreciate this firsthand insight into what these Survivors have become, and it could even help us and the Junayd help you achieve what you've come to do."


Mischa@crystyl:"Sounds good. Though she is still anything but trustworthy, she has proven useful during the course of our mission"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Oh, I don't plan to trust anything she says. I just thought it would be interesting to speak with her, see what the Survivors are like after those generations of evolution you've -


Ailmna@anncaris - talked about. The Survivors we're familiar with were...basically just us, with a few disagreements on how to approach things with the rest of the fleet. But these people sound pretty different."


Mischa@crystyl nods, "Indeed, and your insights may prove quite useful in better understanding the two extremes"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Exactly what I was thinking. I'll keep reviewing the logs here while you set up this meeting."


Mischa@crystyl:"This should not take long" she turns and heads out


—


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak, S'Raeth and Ori materialize in their suits on an alien world with volcanic features. The area they arrived in have several buildings placed down by the mining expedition, and -


NPC@annpc#557 - even from here they can already see the chaos that unfolded. One of the buildings seem to have exploded, two others show signs of weapon scorching, and there are bodies scattered about in the open between buildings


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "Any sign of psionic presence?"


NPC@annpc#557 | S'Raeth: "Still nothing."


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "Let's check this place out. Keep your eyes peeled."


Rianni@crystyl nods and begins a cautious search


Rianni@crystyl:rolls 70 (1-100)


NPC@annpc#557 | Ori finds a number of bodies, all of which seem to have been killed by fellow miners or from self-inflicted injuries, consistent with the chaos and madness seen aboard the ships


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak asks over the suits' comms, "Anything?"


NPC@annpc#557 | S'Raeth: "The building seems to have been destroyed by the detonation of mining explosives stored within."


Rianni@crystyl:"More of the same over here; all killed by themselves or each other with their own equipment, no revelations so far"


Rianni@crystyl investigates further, "That said, there is an unusual concentration of bodies by this building. I will take a closer look"


NPC@annpc#557 | Ori sees that the building is a storage room for the mined dilithium. As she lingers by it, she gets a strange feeling of unease


Rianni@crystyl backs away, "Something is definitely not right here"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak steps over as well, "What do you mean?"


NPC@annpc#557 | S'Raeth: "I feel it as well."


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "A psionic presence?"


NPC@annpc#557 | S'Raeth: "No. It's not psionic. It's...psychological, somehow."


Rianni@crystyl points, "That building looks like the store room for the mined dilithium. I likely can not relay it as well as S'Raeth, but even I get a distinct sense of unease from there"


NPC@annpc#557 | S'Raeth: "They would've been loading up the ships with the mined dilithium. If the problem stems from there, that could be how the ships were affected as well. But whatever is being spread by the dilithium isn't psionic in nature."


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "Nor chemical. Scans show no contaminants, organic or otherwise."


Rianni@crystyl:"You said it felt psychological?"


NPC@annpc#557 | S'Raeth nods, "But not psionically induced. It's...external, almost like the effects of pheromones. But if there's nothing chemically off..."


Rianni@crystyl:"So... not pheromones"


NPC@annpc#557 | S'Raeth: "Let's retrieve a sample and scan it closely."


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "But only one of us. In case getting closer has more of an effect."


Rianni@crystyl steps forward, "I shall retrieve the sample"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "Be careful, Ensign."


Rianni@crystyl nods and approaches the building again, tricorder in hand to scan the nearest ore


NPC@annpc#557 | She feels the strange sense of dread again as she approaches the building, but it doesn't drive her crazy immediately. Scanning the ore, the results show up as expected from dilithium. -


NPC@annpc#557 - However, Ori seems to hear something, almost like a faint hum, coming from the crystal


Rianni@crystyl hrms, adjusting her scan and focusing on resonant harmonics


NPC@annpc#557 | Ori's scans indicate that the crystals are resonating at infrasonic frequencies normally inaudible to unenhanced human hearing. Extended exposures to this specific frequency has been known to -


NPC@annpc#557 - cause various psychological effects on most Children species


Rianni@crystyl steps away, returning to the group


Rianni@crystyl:"I believe I have found the cause of the problem, here" she presents her tricorder


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak takes the tricorder and looks it over, "Infrasonics. Of course. And since crystallized dilithium usually has a natural resonance, the mining team didn't think much of this frequency -


NPC@annpc#557 - hidden within it. Well, we should be safe at least. There might be some discomfort around these crystals, but we won't be going crazy unless we stay near them for hours at a time."


Rianni@crystyl nods, "Fortunately I could hear the resonance. Though I do not know why the crystals here resonate differently, nor if that is of significance at this point"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "We should at least figure out whether this is a phenomenon native to the dilithium on this planet, or if something caused this resonance during the extraction or transportation -


NPC@annpc#557 - process. Let's take a look inside the mine. Turn on sound occlusion just to be safe, so the infrasound won't affect us. We'll communicate through comms."


Rianni@crystyl:"A prudent measure" she nods, activating it on her belt


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak and S'Raeth do the same before the Commander leads the way through the mine entrance and into the mine. Around them are the bodies of more miners, and random scorches of mining lasers line the walls around them


NPC@annpc#557 | S'Raeth: "It seems like too much of a coincidence for a resonance that just happens to affect Children species this way to have occurred naturally. And hidden within dilithium, it's too cleverly malicious."


Rianni@crystyl:"True, but is seems an awfully lackluster and convoluted means of harming Children species"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "Perhaps it was out of desperation. We know the species that settled this place previously only left the planet due to being attacked. Not because the dilithium drove them insane. And we're fairly certain they were a Children species."


Rianni@crystyl:"Ok, now that would make more sense then. If they were driven off because someone wanted their dilithium reserves, poisoning it would be a fitting parting gift"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "That's my theory. When it comes to archaeology, sometimes the best we can do is theorize based on the evidence we have. The answers aren't always clear cut, and that explanation best fits all the data we have on hand."


Rianni@crystyl:"It may be difficult to verify given the condition of surviving ruins from the indigenous species"


NPC@annpc#557 | S'Raeth: "It would explain why the attacking species never moved in, though. You don't invade a planet for no good reason, and even if it was a tactical reason for a larger conflict, they -


NPC@annpc#557 - wouldn't not make use of a dilithium-rich planet once they have it. Unless the dilithium was specifically ruined to prevent them from getting the spoils of war."


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "Looks like we're approaching the parts they were actively mining from. Let's see if the unextracted crystals are giving off the infrasound too. If not, we'll have to rethink our theories. And figure out how the miners caused this."


Rianni@crystyl nods and begins an analysis


NPC@annpc#557 | The scan reveals that the unmined crystals do have the same infrasonic resonance!


Rianni@crystyl hrms, "The resonance is present in the raw material"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "It's seeming more likely that the species driven off the planet did something to trap the dilithium, then. That, or the war damage was actually self-inflicted and not external. But -


NPC@annpc#557 - that's more unlikely, they would've realized something was wrong with the dilithium here before they built so many settlements to that size."


Rianni@crystyl:"It does seem increasingly likely as we suspected"


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak: "We might have to settle for theories and speculation, like you said, the condition of the ruins makes it difficult to get any confirmation. At least we know the dilithium on this planet is dangerous, though, as we've never mined here before."


NPC@annpc#557 | S'Raeth: "Maybe we should take some samples with us. Keep them occluded so the crew won't be affected and study them for a method to undo what was done. Either en masse, or just a process to -


NPC@annpc#557 - clear each piece as it's mined. We might have to expend more effort, but that way we can still make use of all the dilithium on this world."


NPC@annpc#557 | Varak nods, "Good idea. Let's grab some samples from the storeroom and get back to the ship."


—


Ailmna@anncaris | After speaking with Yuzuki, Lahae returns to the ready room and rings the doorbell


Mischa@crystyl:"Come in"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae steps in, "I've just spoken with your prisoner. She doesn't seem all that bad on the surface, but I suppose that's the point, isn't it? You've known her all the way back when you were in training?"


Mischa@crystyl gestures an invitation to sit, "Yes, when I moved from mainstream Starfleet into Intel and began specialist training there, that is when we first met"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Given your prominence to the Survivors, I can't believe that was a coincidence. No doubt they planted her there."


Mischa@crystyl:"More than likely, yes"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "For what purpose, I wonder. To just keep an eye on you, manipulate your career, perhaps even influence and recruit you."


Mischa@crystyl:"Monitoring, I suspect. Our paths rarely crossed after training so there was no real scope for manipulation there. And recruitment is unlikely since they actually made a dedicated attempt at that later on"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "I suppose that makes sense. And she likely served more purposes than just monitoring you. Plenty of things she could do for the Survivors as an Intelligence agent."


Mischa@crystyl:"Unfortunately, she was far from the only infiltrator of theirs within our ranks. But we managed to purge all of that"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "I'm glad to hear it. I can certainly see your influence in the organization, with all these infiltrations. Though spending generations in other universes and planting people all -


Ailmna@anncaris - throughout is a bit grand, even for you. I suppose the generational aspect was influenced by both our and Gamma Starfleet. Our family ships, and their An generational exploration expeditions."


Mischa@crystyl:"A distinct possibility. Did anything else stand out to you between her and the Survivors here?"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Well I've never met anyone who went off with the Survivors, but from our records, they were mostly disillusioned or discontent captains and crews, trying to find a purpose. They all -


Ailmna@anncaris - had their disagreements with the wider fleet, but it wasn't all for the same reasons. From my discussion with Goto, it seems like there's still disagreements between the Survivors, but they're -


Ailmna@anncaris - very united in their purpose to stop the Darkness. Their disagreements are mostly on methods, but this devotion to the shared goal is strong enough that they're willing to commit entire -


Ailmna@anncaris - lifetimes and generations to make their plans succeed."


Mischa@crystyl nods, "It has made them a particularly difficult enemy to confront"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "I can imagine, being so deeply embedded in your society. From what I can tell, they've certainly changed since leaving our universe. When they left they were a collection of disparate -


Ailmna@anncaris - crews embarking on an exploration and intelligence gathering mission. Far from the organized infiltrators working towards a common goal that you're dealing with."


Mischa@crystyl:"Yes, if they were still such a disorganized rabble they would have been much easier to deal with"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "It's only been a few decades for us, but I guess they've had generations to shape themselves into what they are in your reality. It's strange, though. On the surface, Goto doesn't seem -


Ailmna@anncaris - so different from one of us, or one of you. But bring up the right topics and you can feel the dedication, almost like...zeal. Like those old Tal Shiar agents who were willing to give up their -


Ailmna@anncaris - lives and their whole family's lives. I wonder which side is the real person and which one is the facade."


Mischa@crystyl:"I know what you mean, I've often wondered the same thing and if there is even any distinction between the real person and the facade now"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "It could be that age-old question of nature verses nurture. I think the good Starfleet officer is the nature, she's probably descended from people just like you and me. But the -


Ailmna@anncaris - fanaticism for their cause was drilled into her from a young age by the Survivors, shaping her up to be a deep cover operative. Both are a part of her now, which one shines stronger in the -


Ailmna@anncaris - end, I guess that depends on which side of the nature and nurture argument you're more inclined towards."


Mischa@crystyl:"Wise words"


Ailmna@anncaris | Mischa's combadge chirps


Mischa@crystyl taps, "Go ahead"


Ailmna@anncaris | T'Lana: "The Lexington has returned, Captain."


Mischa@crystyl glances across to Lahae, "Thank you, we'll be with you momentarily"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae stands, "Guess my little tour is over. Thank you, for being a good host."


Mischa@crystyl smiles, "It has been a pleasure" and stands


—


T'Lana@anncaris stands from the command chair as Mischa and Lahae step out of the ready room onto the bridge


Mischa@crystyl heads over, "Any word?"


T'Lana@anncaris:"Not yet. It appears they are reporting to their own fleet first. They have towed back three empty vessels, but none of the ships have any signs of battle damage."


Mischa@crystyl sits, "Interesting"


T'Lana@anncaris steps over to her console while Lahae observes from the side


T'Lana@anncaris | T'Bee: "The other vessels are towing the empty ships further into the fleet. The Lexington appears to be breaking off and heading for our position."


Mischa@crystyl:"Same as before, let's let them make the call when they're ready"


T'Lana@anncaris | A few moments pass as the Lexington approaches before Victoria announces, "They're hailing us, Captain."


Mischa@crystyl:"On screen"


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Sulu appears on the viewscreen with Ori on the tactical console behind him still, "Captain Leveson-Scott. I've brought your Ensign back safe and sound."


Mischa@crystyl:"I never doubted it Captain. I trust your mission went smoothly"


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Sulu: "As smoothly as we could have expected. We were too late to save the miners, but thanks to Ensign Orianni, we were able to get to the bottom of what happened and ensure it won't -


T'Lana@anncaris - repeat again. And I have no reason to doubt Orianni isn't the real thing. A real Junayd Observer, I mean."


Mischa@crystyl smiles, "Glad to hear it"


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Sulu: "What about you, Lahae? I hope you're satisfied in your evaluation of the rest of the Latenter crew?"


T'Lana@anncaris | Lahae nods, "Can't find any holes in their story and I have no reason to believe their stated goals aren't true."


T'Lana@anncaris | Captain Sulu: "Good. Follow us, then. We'll lead you into the Sphere."


Mischa@crystyl nods, "Helm, form up with the Lexington"


T'Lana@anncaris | Nethay: "Forming up now, Captain."


T'Lana@anncaris | The view returns to that of the Lexington, which was now turning around to lead the way. The Latenter follows behind, keeping pace as they move towards the fleet


T'Lana@anncaris turns to watch the view as well. They pass by numerous ships of various designs before the Sphere even comes into view. The fleet is spread out through the entire system, making it difficult to -


T'Lana@anncaris - grasp the entire scale of the massive fleet, but the fact that they keep passing ship after ship for minutes on end hints at just how many are gathered in this one system


T'Lana@anncaris | Soon, the Sphere itself comes into view. As they loom closer and it appears larger, they can see a curious ring of light coming from it, almost like a glowing sigil on the Sphere surface


T'Lana@anncaris | Hassan: "What is that circular symbol on the Sphere? An oversized opening hatch?"


T'Lana@anncaris | Lahae smiles, "No. That is Earth."


Mischa@crystyl:"Not what I expected"


T'Lana@anncaris | As they get even closer, they can see that the circle is actually another spherical object incorporated into the side of the Sphere. The side facing outwards is dark, but there is enough light -


T'Lana@anncaris - from cities in more densely populated parts of the planet to give the outlines of familiar land masses from Earth. The entire planet appears to be built into the Sphere like a little globe, -


T'Lana@anncaris - with the ring of light being a result of space left between the planet and the Sphere wall, likely to allow it to spin and maintain a day-night cycle


T'Lana@anncaris | Soon, another, much smaller light appears as one of the Sphere entrance hatches open. The light soon grows brighter and brighter as they follow the Lexington up to and into the hatch, with the -


T'Lana@anncaris - entrance process still seemingly the same as spheres we are familiar with. Once inside, the continents of Earth become more easily distinguishable as they observe it from the lit up side facing the star in the centre of the Sphere


T'Lana@anncaris:"So that is how they have incorporated Earth into a dyson sphere. Fascinating."


Mischa@crystyl:"Quite the feat of engineering"


T'Lana@anncaris | Lahae: "Probably one of our fleet's most impressive accomplishments. We had plenty of help from the Iconians, but even then it was not a simple undertaking."


Mischa@crystyl:"I can imagine"


T'Lana@anncaris | Victoria: "The Lexington's provided us with transport coordinates to one of the Sphere's facilities. Captain Sulu will be beaming over with Ori and asks us to bring Lahae there too as we go to see the Junayd."


Mischa@crystyl stands, "Alright, let's do this"


—


Ailmna@anncaris | Mischa and Lahae materialize inside an Iconian facility which resemble one of the many such facilities in the Heart that Mischa is familiar with. Captain Sulu and Ori had already beamed down before them and stand nearby


Ailmna@anncaris | Captain Sulu: "Welcome to the New Genetic Archive. It's our attempt to replicate the archive on the Heart that was lost, part of a joint venture with the Commonwealth and other remaining -


Ailmna@anncaris - galactic powers to catalogue life in our galaxy before the Darkness wipes it all out."


Mischa@crystyl looks around, "You've done an impressive job with it"


Ailmna@anncaris | Captain Sulu: "It's taken many years and a lot of us working together. Not quite as impressive as what was on the Heart, but we're getting there."


Mischa@crystyl:"Indeed you are. Now if you are done with my Ensign, I think we should trade back before someone gets too settled in her new office" she teases Lahae


Ailmna@anncaris | Captain Sulu chuckles, "Sounds good to me. Ensign, your Captain's missing you already."


Mischa@crystyl | Ori gives a resigned nod, "It's true, she would be lost without me" and heads to Mischa's side


Mischa@crystyl gives her a quirked look, "One outing on a Command cruiser and you think you're back on the Valley Forge with that sass?"


Mischa@crystyl | Ori giggles, "Sorry Captain, you know I don't mean it!"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae meanwhile moves over to join Captain Sulu, giving Ori a grin as she passes by, "Lexington does have more creature comforts. I'm glad you didn't make yourself /too/ much at home."


Mischa@crystyl | Ori, "I'm just disappointed I didn't get to put all that new artillery to use..."


Mischa@crystyl winces, "Please... don't say things like that. You should know better than anyone that the universe has a sick sense of humour"


Ailmna@anncaris | Captain Sulu: "Yes, a smooth mission is a good mission. And that last mission went smoothly thanks to you, Ensign."


Mischa@crystyl looks to Ori


Mischa@crystyl | Ori: "While it's true that my Junayd design came in useful, I have no doubt that the Lexington's team would have reached the same conclusion sooner or later too"


Ailmna@anncaris | Captain Sulu: "True, but the later it takes, the more risk our team would've been in. It's good that you figured it out quickly. But speaking of Junayd design, let's go meet with the Communicator." He starts to lead the way


Mischa@crystyl nods and follows


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae glances back to Mischa as they walk, "None of your reports mention a Communicator. The Junayd haven't made one yet in your universe I assume, with first contact being more recent."


Mischa@crystyl chuckles, "Well, actually they... sort of did already" she glances back at Ori who strolls along blissfully ignorant


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae: "Right. They just haven't formalized Communicator as an actual role yet, so she's still called an Observer."


Mischa@crystyl nods, "That, and the whole evacuation of their homeworld thing led them to reprioritize. This Ori is actually the second iteration, the first was an actual Observer in practice but... well, the -


Mischa@crystyl:- less said about the switch from version 1 to version 2 the better. This one started out as an early prototype in the Communicator role, but then with the exodus that shifted to survival needs"


Ailmna@anncaris | Captain Sulu: "I see. The Communicator role is a bit more established here, due to our much longer history with the Junayd and therefore the need for a dedicated intermediary to communicate -


Ailmna@anncaris - through. Since the Junayd don't like dealing with people themselves. The Communicator they prefer is usually the clone of an old shipmate of one of my ancestors."


Mischa@crystyl glances at Sulu, "Seems like an oddly bespoke choice to you. That, or they used a more prominent figure since there's been plenty of Sulu's on the bridge's of legendary starships"


Ailmna@anncaris | Captain Sulu: "Oh it's definitely not tailored to me, it's because the original was there and played a key role in our universe's first interactions with the Junayd."


Mischa@crystyl hrms, obviously trying to guess at who it is


Ailmna@anncaris | Captain Sulu leads them through a hallway and into what seems like a meeting room with a central table. At the table is seated a human woman, whom Mischa would recognize from historical -


Ailmna@anncaris - records and her own time with this universe's Enterprise crew as Nyota Uhura, only dressed in a contemporary gold Nomad uniform without any visible rank striping


Mischa@crystyl smiles to herself, "Who else could it be for the Communicator"


Ailmna@anncaris | Communicator: "Captain Sulu. I take it from the presence of the visitors that they have proven themselves trustworthy?"


Ailmna@anncaris | Captain Sulu: "I think Ensign Orianni is as fine of a Starfleet officer as anyone else you'll find in the fleet. And I'm convinced that she is truly a creation of the Junayd from her reality."


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae steps forward as well, "And I've found no reason to doubt the intentions of Captain Leveson-Scott and her crew."


Ailmna@anncaris | Communicator: "Very well. The Creators have trusted the Fleet with their safety for many years, and we will trust your judgement now."


Ailmna@anncaris | Communicator Uhura beckons Mischa and Ori closer, "Come, Observer. Tell me what you require of the Creators of this universe."


Mischa@crystyl dips her head to he Lexington pair, "Thank you both for your support thus far" and follows Ori to the table


Mischa@crystyl | Ori sits, "Communicator, we have come to request a creation from the genetic archives"


Ailmna@anncaris | Communicator: "And what creation do you require?"


Mischa@crystyl | Ori points sideways to Mischa next to her, "Well... her"


Ailmna@anncaris | The Communicator looks to Mischa, then gives Ori a confused expression, "But she's already here. I thought you would be asking for someone who is deceased."


Mischa@crystyl | Ori smiles and nods, "Oh, we are!"


Mischa@crystyl facepalms and mutters, "And here I thought you might actually be better at this with one of your own..."


Mischa@crystyl ahems, "What the Observer is trying to say is that we are requesting the 'creation' of this universe's version of me, whom we know to be a key figurehead to the Survivors"


Ailmna@anncaris | Lahae adds, "Their reality is one where the Survivors have been experimenting ways to delay the Darkness, but they've gone beyond their original mission goals and are meddling with other -


Ailmna@anncaris - aspects of their society. The Captain believes that herself from this reality might be able to show them the error of their ways and set them back on their true path."


Ailmna@anncaris | Communicator: "I see. Judging from your uniform, if you have made it here, you're no stranger to time travel. Why not just go to your own time period in this reality and ask yourself from back when you were still alive?"


Mischa@crystyl:"Tampering in the history of this timeline has far too great a consequence to consider. Not only is this reality at risk, but the countless others forced into existence through the Survivors' -


Mischa@crystyl:- experimentation, include our own. We only recently had confirmation of this reality's version of me being a prominent figure to them, and at the same time we also learned that your Creators were -


Mischa@crystyl:- here with the capacity to recreate her. Ultimately, it was less risk and less out of our way to come to you first"


Ailmna@anncaris | Communicator: "That makes sense. I assume you will want a creation of an older version of yourself, with the memories of leading Starfleet Intelligence and drafting up the initial concepts -


Ailmna@anncaris - which would become the basis of the Survivors' plans?"


Mischa@crystyl nods, "Yes, as close to the person that they would recognise as their founder as we can get"


Ailmna@anncaris | Communicator: "And this creation will go back with you to your reality in order to communicate with the Survivors there?"


Mischa@crystyl shakes her head, "No, our goal is to reach an understanding with the Survivors here who initiated that mission. They are ultimately more likely to have recognized authority to recall the temporal -


Mischa@crystyl:- operatives. This clone is purely needed to help convince them"


Ailmna@anncaris | Communicator: "But the Survivors hold no fleet nor base of operations in this reality any longer. The only way to achieve that would be to contact them before they leave, which would risk your -


Ailmna@anncaris - reality's existence and any other they have played a part in, just like going back in time to contact yourself in this universe."


Mischa@crystyl:"Well, we have a rough idea where they are. And if we're lucky, the cloned version of me will know more too"


Ailmna@anncaris | Communicator: "Very well. I'll bring your request to the Creators. I see no reason for them to deny you, though you'll have to wait for the process."


Mischa@crystyl:"To be expected, we can wait"


Ailmna@anncaris | The Communicator stands, "You may return to your ships. I will keep you informed of the Creators' decision, and notify you when the creation is ready."


Mischa@crystyl stands, "Very well, thank you Communicator"


Ailmna@anncaris | Communicator: "I wish you well on your mission, Captain, Observer. And I hope seeing yourself won't be too odd of an experience when the creation is ready."


Mischa@crystyl chuckles, "We're used to the phenomena with Ori around"


Ailmna@anncaris | Communicator: "Well, you're fortunate to have her, then!" She turns and heads further into the facility









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