Captain Ertmo - Solemn News
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Aitas
Jun 3, 2026, 2:33:47 PM (yesterday) Jun 3
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((Mess Hall, USS Kepler – Contested UAW Territory, near Zumaris))
((OOC: I’ve cut the tags Ertmo wouldn’t hear))
Ertmo: I can give you the codes now, but I think the Astrofleet would take it more seriously if the message obviously came from a Starfleet bridge.
He tapped his fingers together, coating them in a thin layer of silk. Captain Bouncer, meanwhile, nodded.
Hopper: That can definitely be arranged. I’ll ask Lieutenant Satrapi, the Kepler’s Operations Officer, to meet you here and make the necessary modifications to our communications program. When you’re ready, she can escort you to the Bridge where we’ll be waiting.
Ertmo: Thank you, Captain.
The officers, the proper Starfleet officers, made their way out of the room then. Ertmo was sure they too were discussing just what to do. It made him feel a bit better, knowing that he wasn’t the only one struggling to make sense of the situation.
And guilty. If they’d known just what to do, this would have been solved already.
((A few minutes later – Bridge, USS Kepler))
The bridge was quiet when he arrived. More than just the quiet of respect, so far as Ertmo could tell, but this wasn’t his ship. Or his bridge.
The Lieutenant he’d been speaking with before was by what Ertmo was starting to recognize as a comm/ops station.
Seleya: Captain Ertmo, ::she dipped her head:: Communications modifications have been completed. Ready to open channel on your order Captain..s
Hopper: Response
Ertmo: Thank you, Lieutenant.
He waved a hand toward Captain Bouncer, deferring to her.
Seleya/Hopper: Response
Ashwood: There’s an issue with the transmission :: looked to Ertmo :: The relay you routed through is blocking the transmission. We’ll need to override. I’m detecting anomalies in the transmission, it’s not secure.
Ertmo: Let me enter my override. There aren’t many other relays left in the area.
His silk-coated fingers slipped a little on the console at first, but he managed.
Seleya/Hopper: Response
Ashwood: It may be the Zumardi, if it triangulate the anomalies and cross reference against the database, the signal codec is consistent with Zumardi channels.
Ertmo: So if we can get through, they may still see it. Lieutenant, you’ve dealt with the Zumardi more than I have. Is there any reason they shouldn’t see it?
Seleya/Hopper: Response
Which was when a call came through for him. Not from the UAW, as much as he might have wanted that. No, it was from someone else on this very ship.
Ertmo: =/\= This is Captain Ertmo. =/\=
Juriton: =/\= Sir, as a senior member of the Enterprise crew, I need to inform you that one of our crew has just died from the pathogen. =/\=
Ertmo was silent for a moment. His eyes changed to mixture of brown and purple, the colors swirling together and yet somehow remaining separate.
Ertmo: =/\= Thank you for informing me, Commander. Who was it? =/\=
Ashwood?/Hopper?/Seleya: Response
Juriton: =/\= Ensign Yalrees. An operations officer. Terrellian, just like me. Sir, Astrofleet... I think you have an idea of my feelings about it. We're not ready. This proves it. =/\=
Ertmo: =/\= Yalrees was a follower of Iliperen. If he didn’t have anything else on file, ::presuming they could even read their own files at this point:: then he’d have wanted his remains made into a lens for the family memorial. ::A breath. Ertmo’s head swiveled.:: It’s not just your feelings, is it. =/\=
Most of those who followed Iliperen were Terrellian, but more and more from the other species of the UAW had followed them as of late. Ertmo hadn’t, but his few encounters with their memorials were inescapable memories. Layers upon layers of lenses reflecting light in endless patterns,
Ashwood?/Hopper?/Seleya: Response
Juriton: =/\= The gel packs are our own DNA. We may as well have rigged every Astrofleet vessel to explode, Captain. =/\=
Ertmo stared for a moment, his gaze focused on what might have been a console or all the unfortunate mistakes of the past. One of his crew was dead and he was as much to blame as anyone else.
Ertmo: =/\= Understood, Commander. Make sure all the relevant Starfleet personnel are informed. I’ll see if I can convince the bronze of the severity of the situation. =/\=
He closed the comms line and rotated his head back toward the Starfleet officers.
Ashwood?/Hopper?/Seleya: Response
Ertmo: Let’s get that message sent. I won’t have the bronze denying this.
He double-checked the codes, then entered them. Being the Captain of the flagship theoretically meant the bronze would listen to him. But Ertmo was getting very tired of theory.
Ashwood/Hopper/Seleya: Response
Ertmo: I can give you the codes now, but I think the Astrofleet would take it more seriously if the message obviously came from a Starfleet bridge.
He tapped his fingers together, coating them in a thin layer of silk. Captain Bouncer, meanwhile, nodded.
Hopper: That can definitely be arranged. I’ll ask Lieutenant Satrapi, the Kepler’s Operations Officer, to meet you here and make the necessary modifications to our communications program. When you’re ready, she can escort you to the Bridge where we’ll be waiting.
Ertmo: Thank you, Captain.
The officers, the proper Starfleet officers, made their way out of the room then. Ertmo was sure they too were discussing just what to do. It made him feel a bit better, knowing that he wasn’t the only one struggling to make sense of the situation.
And guilty. If they’d known just what to do, this would have been solved already.
((A few minutes later – Bridge, USS Kepler))
The bridge was quiet when he arrived. More than just the quiet of respect, so far as Ertmo could tell, but this wasn’t his ship. Or his bridge.
The Lieutenant he’d been speaking with before was by what Ertmo was starting to recognize as a comm/ops station.
Seleya: Captain Ertmo, ::she dipped her head:: Communications modifications have been completed. Ready to open channel on your order Captain..s
Hopper: Response
Ertmo: Thank you, Lieutenant.
He waved a hand toward Captain Bouncer, deferring to her.
Seleya/Hopper: Response
Ashwood: There’s an issue with the transmission :: looked to Ertmo :: The relay you routed through is blocking the transmission. We’ll need to override. I’m detecting anomalies in the transmission, it’s not secure.
Ertmo: Let me enter my override. There aren’t many other relays left in the area.
His silk-coated fingers slipped a little on the console at first, but he managed.
Seleya/Hopper: Response
Ashwood: It may be the Zumardi, if it triangulate the anomalies and cross reference against the database, the signal codec is consistent with Zumardi channels.
Ertmo: So if we can get through, they may still see it. Lieutenant, you’ve dealt with the Zumardi more than I have. Is there any reason they shouldn’t see it?
Seleya/Hopper: Response
Which was when a call came through for him. Not from the UAW, as much as he might have wanted that. No, it was from someone else on this very ship.
Ertmo: =/\= This is Captain Ertmo. =/\=
Juriton: =/\= Sir, as a senior member of the Enterprise crew, I need to inform you that one of our crew has just died from the pathogen. =/\=
Ertmo was silent for a moment. His eyes changed to mixture of brown and purple, the colors swirling together and yet somehow remaining separate.
Ertmo: =/\= Thank you for informing me, Commander. Who was it? =/\=
Ashwood?/Hopper?/Seleya: Response
Juriton: =/\= Ensign Yalrees. An operations officer. Terrellian, just like me. Sir, Astrofleet... I think you have an idea of my feelings about it. We're not ready. This proves it. =/\=
Ertmo: =/\= Yalrees was a follower of Iliperen. If he didn’t have anything else on file, ::presuming they could even read their own files at this point:: then he’d have wanted his remains made into a lens for the family memorial. ::A breath. Ertmo’s head swiveled.:: It’s not just your feelings, is it. =/\=
Most of those who followed Iliperen were Terrellian, but more and more from the other species of the UAW had followed them as of late. Ertmo hadn’t, but his few encounters with their memorials were inescapable memories. Layers upon layers of lenses reflecting light in endless patterns,
Ashwood?/Hopper?/Seleya: Response
Juriton: =/\= The gel packs are our own DNA. We may as well have rigged every Astrofleet vessel to explode, Captain. =/\=
Ertmo stared for a moment, his gaze focused on what might have been a console or all the unfortunate mistakes of the past. One of his crew was dead and he was as much to blame as anyone else.
Ertmo: =/\= Understood, Commander. Make sure all the relevant Starfleet personnel are informed. I’ll see if I can convince the bronze of the severity of the situation. =/\=
He closed the comms line and rotated his head back toward the Starfleet officers.
Ashwood?/Hopper?/Seleya: Response
Ertmo: Let’s get that message sent. I won’t have the bronze denying this.
He double-checked the codes, then entered them. Being the Captain of the flagship theoretically meant the bronze would listen to him. But Ertmo was getting very tired of theory.
Ashwood/Hopper/Seleya: Response
Ertmo straightened, and adjusted his uniform. His eyes shifted to a pale orange, and his voice shifted deeper, steadier.
Ertmo: =/\= This is Captain Ertmo of the UAW Enterprise, to all UAW ships within range. The United Federation of Planets is offering us medical aid and asks that we return all Zumardi personnel who were relocated from their homes as a show of good faith. My crew has also uncovered that it was the shortcut of using our own DNA in the gel packs that has led to the transmission of this pathogen to our crews. =/\=
Ertmo: =/\= This is Captain Ertmo of the UAW Enterprise, to all UAW ships within range. The United Federation of Planets is offering us medical aid and asks that we return all Zumardi personnel who were relocated from their homes as a show of good faith. My crew has also uncovered that it was the shortcut of using our own DNA in the gel packs that has led to the transmission of this pathogen to our crews. =/\=
Ashwood/Hopper/Seleya: Response
A breath. His posture drooped, just a little.
Ertmo: I won’t say this to the admirals, but if the pathogen spread to us because of our DNA in the gel packs, then why is it harming your officers as well?
Ashwood/Hopper/Seleya: Response
Tag/TBC
Captain Ertmo
UAW Enterprise
United Alliance of Worlds
O239307A10
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