Lt. Commander Yogan Yalu — Two worlds collide [End of Act 1]
Yogan Yalu
(( Bridge, Deck 1, USS Artemis ))
Given the unexciting nature of the “mission,” it wasn’t surprising that the bridge was sparsely populated, despite it being the middle of alpha shift. Yogan stepped off the turbolift first and made a beeline for the operations console. Chevalier followed him, while Genkos ambled over to the second officer’s chair and took a seat.
Yogan eyed the new ensign, trying to gauge his reaction to being thrust onto the bridge station just after reporting aboard. Chevalier didn’t seem to be beset by nerves; or if he was, he was excellent at disguising them beneath a veneer of professionalism.
‘Twas a bit of a shame, as Yogan had always wanted to give the, “Ensign, at ease…before you sprain something” line. Another time, perhaps. Instead, the Trill merely gestured to the ops station.
Yalu: ::to Chevalier:: Take your station, Ensign. You’ll need to send the necessary updates and approve the modified sensor pallet requests.
Chevalier: response
As Chevalier got to work, Yogan meandered back to the command chairs and spoke to Genkos softly, as an aside.
Yalu: What happened to the carpet in the office?
Genkos shivered. It wasn’t cold on the bridge, at least, not to Yogan. But then again, Trill’s famously didn’t like the heat.
Adea: N-nothing… not that I know of? Why… why do you ask?
Yogan smirked and sat down in the first officer’s chair beside Genkos. This seemed to be a classic case of “Methinks the lady doth protest too much.” He took a little too much enjoyment out of watching his friend squirm.
Yalu: I think you know. I’ve never seen that color outside of a Bajoran tapestry museum.
Genkos turned to face Yogan, an apologetic look plastered on his face.
Adea: Okay, so Toto got into my stash of chocolate on day two of us being aboard. Day two! I couldn’t call the maintenance team on day two - I’d never have lived it down. Then nothing I could replicate could ever get rid of the stain; and I tried everything!
Yogan bit his lip and suppressed a pang of guilt. He clapped Genkos on the shoulder and had the first word of an apology on the tip of his tongue when suddenly, every possible alarm on the bridge went off at the same time. Yogan leapt to his feet, accidentally tugging slightly on the shoulder of Genkos’ uniform jacket in his haste.
Yalu: What the hell?
The skeleton crew currently on bridge duty seemed just as befuddled as Yogan. One minute, everyone was sleepily scanning for bits of uninteresting space dust. The next, all hell broke loose. Yogan crossed over to the unoccupied tactical station and pulled up a situation report.
Yalu: There’s some kind of rift in space-time forming dead ahead of us. ::to Chevalier:: Ensign, isolate those coordinates and put it on screen.
Chevalier: response
There was nothing. Yogan squinted at the viewscreen, but couldn’t see what the sensors were telling them was there. He gestured at his console to pull up the ship’s sensor array. Crewman Hamsan and his tissue samples would have to wait.
Yalu: I’m running a multi-spectral scan. Trying to get some visual on this… whatever it is.
Adea/Chevalier: response
Yalu: I’ve never seen anything like it, but at the rate it’s growing, we risk getting pulled in. Red alert. Captain MacKenzie to the bridge.
The bridge darkened and the red alert klaxons joined the myriad other alarms sounding off.
Yalu: ::to Adea:: Commander, scan the anomaly. I’m showing energy signatures on the event horizon.
Adea: response
Then everything went white. It took several seconds and some intentional blinking before Yogan regained his sight.
He felt his stomach drop has he watched a ship… no, multiple ships… emerge from the glowing remnants of the anomaly. Their configurations were unlike anything he’d ever seen before, and clearly represented two massively different civilizations. Yogan blinked again, as if he could shake off the otherworldly sight with sheer force of will. It was clear the two ships were locked in the middle of a space battle, into which Yogan was reluctant to involve Artemis.
Yalu: =/\= Unidentified vessels. This is Yogan Yalu of the Federation Starship Artemis. You have appeared in our space, seemingly out of nowhere. We do not wish to involve ourselves in your conflict, but— =/\=
A voice crackled over the comm that sent a chill up Yogan’s spine.
Col. MacKenzie: =/\= response =/\=
Yogan turned to Genkos, unable to hide his shock at the familiar sounding voice. It was clearly Addison MacKenzie, but harsher, bleaker, more desperate. Just then, MacKenzie herself stepped onto the bridge.
Capt. MacKenzie: response
Yalu: Captain, I think there’s someone out there you want to talk to.
[End of Act 1]
(( OOC: Great work getting us to this point, everyone! Please wrap up your outstanding scenes for Act 1. An Act 2 starter will be along shortly. ))
Lieutenant Commander Yogan Yalu
First Officer
USS Artemis NCC-81287
D238804DS0