Ensign Valek: Changes
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Richard Bailey
May 10, 2026, 9:08:51 PM (2 days ago) May 10
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((Vermillion Wastes, Gateside Dimension))
The shifting world was becoming a very large problem. The last shift was major and completely changed the topography. Valek knew he had not moved, yet the entire view in front and behind him was different.
Valek: Admiral, Ensign, do your scans correspond with previous readings? The recent shift suggests we may have been relocated, but I conclude our natural senses may be unreliable and we have not moved at all.
Spelvan: The sensors show that we have, indeed, moved location. Or rather, the location has moved around us. In addition, the resonances we must follow are now in a different direction.
So the world itself had shifted poles, not on any axis that Valek could comprehend. It was almost as if they had been transported to a different location, but logically Valek knew they had not moved from their current spot. Logic would assume this planet or world was completely one entity and interconnected, and had the ability to change itself at will and/or naturally.
Reynolds: Then I guess we turn around.
Valek: Indeed. It is fortunate that entry into the forest is not required. Traversal would likely be dangerous.
Spelvan: Unrelated to our previous conversation, I have been experiencing possible auditory hallucinations since we entered the gate. Or perhaps psychic aural intrusions. I am assuming that neither of you have been encountering this phenomenon?
Reynolds: No, nothing. ::A small frown caught on her brow, yet another thing to feel uncomfortable about.:: We had similar reports back in the facility. It's odd. Not all telepaths have heard it, and not everyone who heard it is a telepath. Unless Commander Marshall has a secret she hasn't shared with the class.
Valek: Negative Ensign. I have spent many years developing mental defenses against external psychic influence. It is possible this training has prevented the intrusions you describe.
Suddenly the ground shook again. It felt like the entire planet had moved and shook, but not hard enough to knock down the three officers as they kept their stances wide and balanced. A large deep crack opened upon the ground just ahead of them. Not very large or wide, but it allowed for more of the red vines to crawl out of the gap.
Spelvan: Interesting. It appears the vines may have a rhizomatic network - that is, they grow horizontally, unlike trees with a central trunk.
Reynolds: I wonder if they're vines at all, at least in the manner we know them. I have no idea whether they even vaguely qualify as plants, other than looking like one. ::She frowned.:: The nervous system is rhizomatic, too.
Valek: Logic suggests the planet may be a single living organism. Such a prospect is concerning.
Spelvan: Response
Reynolds: Do you think there's a way to follow them to the power source? They were particularly interested in the facility's main reactor, especially once the team there interfered with the energy coming through the gate from this dimension.
Valek: I concur, Admiral. The flora and plants we encountered appeared attracted to the station’s power source. It is therefore likely they require a comparable energy source in this dimension.
Spelvan: Response
As they moved further on, toward the new direction of their scans, Valek looked ahead, the plain was dry, reddish and dusty. Rock formations in the distance. They moved steadily forward but carefully, as the planet could easily reconfigure without notice. Out in the distance as they walked, Valek saw something in the distance, near one of the rock formations. It was there for only a second then gone.
Valek did not hallucinate, he was sure what he saw in the quick glimpse.
Valek: Admiral, Ensign, visual observation indicates possible movement near the rock formation at a distance of approximately 150 meters. ::taking a hand off his phaser rifle and pointing toward the formation::
Spelvan / Reynolds: Respond
Valek: The figure appeared broadly humanoid, though larger in stature and hunched in posture. I was unable to obtain additional details. We should assume we are under observation.
Spelvan / Reynolds: Respond
***
Ensign Valek
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Gorkon | NCC-82293
G240302V12
The shifting world was becoming a very large problem. The last shift was major and completely changed the topography. Valek knew he had not moved, yet the entire view in front and behind him was different.
Valek: Admiral, Ensign, do your scans correspond with previous readings? The recent shift suggests we may have been relocated, but I conclude our natural senses may be unreliable and we have not moved at all.
Spelvan: The sensors show that we have, indeed, moved location. Or rather, the location has moved around us. In addition, the resonances we must follow are now in a different direction.
So the world itself had shifted poles, not on any axis that Valek could comprehend. It was almost as if they had been transported to a different location, but logically Valek knew they had not moved from their current spot. Logic would assume this planet or world was completely one entity and interconnected, and had the ability to change itself at will and/or naturally.
Reynolds: Then I guess we turn around.
Valek: Indeed. It is fortunate that entry into the forest is not required. Traversal would likely be dangerous.
Spelvan: Unrelated to our previous conversation, I have been experiencing possible auditory hallucinations since we entered the gate. Or perhaps psychic aural intrusions. I am assuming that neither of you have been encountering this phenomenon?
Reynolds: No, nothing. ::A small frown caught on her brow, yet another thing to feel uncomfortable about.:: We had similar reports back in the facility. It's odd. Not all telepaths have heard it, and not everyone who heard it is a telepath. Unless Commander Marshall has a secret she hasn't shared with the class.
Valek: Negative Ensign. I have spent many years developing mental defenses against external psychic influence. It is possible this training has prevented the intrusions you describe.
Suddenly the ground shook again. It felt like the entire planet had moved and shook, but not hard enough to knock down the three officers as they kept their stances wide and balanced. A large deep crack opened upon the ground just ahead of them. Not very large or wide, but it allowed for more of the red vines to crawl out of the gap.
Spelvan: Interesting. It appears the vines may have a rhizomatic network - that is, they grow horizontally, unlike trees with a central trunk.
Reynolds: I wonder if they're vines at all, at least in the manner we know them. I have no idea whether they even vaguely qualify as plants, other than looking like one. ::She frowned.:: The nervous system is rhizomatic, too.
Valek: Logic suggests the planet may be a single living organism. Such a prospect is concerning.
Spelvan: Response
Reynolds: Do you think there's a way to follow them to the power source? They were particularly interested in the facility's main reactor, especially once the team there interfered with the energy coming through the gate from this dimension.
Valek: I concur, Admiral. The flora and plants we encountered appeared attracted to the station’s power source. It is therefore likely they require a comparable energy source in this dimension.
Spelvan: Response
As they moved further on, toward the new direction of their scans, Valek looked ahead, the plain was dry, reddish and dusty. Rock formations in the distance. They moved steadily forward but carefully, as the planet could easily reconfigure without notice. Out in the distance as they walked, Valek saw something in the distance, near one of the rock formations. It was there for only a second then gone.
Valek did not hallucinate, he was sure what he saw in the quick glimpse.
Valek: Admiral, Ensign, visual observation indicates possible movement near the rock formation at a distance of approximately 150 meters. ::taking a hand off his phaser rifle and pointing toward the formation::
Spelvan / Reynolds: Respond
Valek: The figure appeared broadly humanoid, though larger in stature and hunched in posture. I was unable to obtain additional details. We should assume we are under observation.
Spelvan / Reynolds: Respond
***
Ensign Valek
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Gorkon | NCC-82293
G240302V12
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