Flt. Capt. Karrod Niac - Pandorum (PT1)
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Karrod Niac
Sep 16, 2025, 12:49:58 AM (6 days ago) Sep 16
to USS Ronin – StarBase 118 Star Trek PBEM RPG
((Bridge, Deck 3, USS Ronin))
Niac: What in the hell is that…
Raga: A vessel for certain. I can’t quite place it but it feels familiar. Not like anything I’ve seen before firsthand, but I feel like it’s been in a security brief perhaps?
Shortrith: To me, it appears to be similar to the shuttle that escaped from the Rose…
The visual on the screen became more defined as the probe moved closer. The large asteroid flared white with reflected sunlight as it slowly rotated one face towards the systems primary and Karrod caught the long black scar where the ship had gouged out a furrow on impact. Again he felt a distant nagging in the back of his memory, some faint but undefinable sense of alarm felt subconsciously. The image flickered and broke apart and he looked towards an anxious Lt. Nicolau.
Niac: What happened? Did we lose the probe?
Rapid tapping on her console and a few digitized blats later, Lt. Nicolau turned towards him with a perplexed expression.
Nicolau: No sir, the probe is still online but there's especially heavy interference near the asteroid, I think there may be refractory metals of some kind in the rock strata. I'm re-calibrating the probe to filter it out now.
Niac: Very well. ::He glanced towards Toryn and saw the concern written on his features:: Mr. Raga...let's see if the computer can identify that vessel from the data we did manage to gather. There's something about that hull profile...
Raga: Computer, cross reference the vessel in the probe scan with any Federation or Starfleet security alerts. Are there any matches?
Computer: Affirmative. There is one possible match. Vessel identified as Tarellian Plague Ship, based on an eighty three percent likelihood. Further detailed scans of the vessel in question required for a more precise estimate. Recommend Red Alert and General Quarters Six immediately.
Karrod was standing and crossing to Toryn's console a moment later, eyes scanning the data almost as fast as the Ronin's computer could spit it out. It had already reconstructed the remaining fragments of the vessel, spread over a crashsite of at least several kilometers, into the shape of an elegant starship on the display. There were large gaps in the reconstruction where their data was incomplete but the conclusion was clear enough to quicken Karrod's pulse. His thoughts turned to his people on the Rose and then to the crew still aboard the Ronin, where a failing isolation ward shielding system could expose them to the most deadly bioengineered pathogen ever encountered in Federation history. He wondered how many had already been exposed and didn't like the number his mind conjured up. A voice from the science station drew his attention back to the present.
Shortrith: I hate to sound naive, but will this lead to a possible outbreak on the Ronin?
Karrod stood and took a breath, unwilling to let his apprehension bleed into his voice. He managed a tone that sounded steady and almost but not quite normal to his ear.
Niac: Not directly, Ensign...it's not a spaceborn pathogen, thankfully. That's part of why those ships were so feared...they held the last infected survivors from that planets final biological war. The Tarellians had poured all their genius into the development of bioweapons the way some cultures pursue atomic weapons or rudimentary fusion reactions. Apparently they considered germ warfare more civilized...until it ended their civilization almost overnight. The few that got away were carriers...and because of the highly adaptive nature of the Plague, they ended up spreading it and killing anyone and anything they came in contact with.
From the conn he just heard Madalain's voice as if she was speaking to herself.
Nicolau: Like the Rose...
Raga: At the risk of sounding like a harbinger of doom, if memory serves, the security alerts specify there’s still no known cure to the Tarellian Plague.
Karrod allowed himself a small huff as he headed back to the Chair.
Niac: That's my understanding as well XO...just for being in the same system as that thing Starfleet medical is probably going to probe us for weeks before they let the ship near another installation. They'll have an entire task force out here when we report in. I wouldn't be surprised if they put the entire Kappa-214 system under a general quarantine order.
At the helm Karrod could swear he heard a strained but bemused guffaw of laughter. She looked up at him, almost startled at herself.
Nicolau: Sorry sir it's just...well, I'm never coming back to this system whatever Starfleet Medical says...sir. Once was...plenty.
Karrod nodded in grim understanding and agreement.
Shortrith: Understood.
His mulling of this newest horrifying wrinkle in their situation was interrupted by the comm and the strained voice of the ships Chief of Security.
Kessler: =/\= Kessler to Ronin. Captain we have a problem in the torpedo bay. The Rose's crew activated all the torpedoes before the computer went down. Bad news, these are all Mark VI torpedoes. They are fully fueled and armed.=/\=
Karrod looked to his XO and began tapping an alert to the transporter room into his armrest as Toryn sprang into action.
Raga: =/\= We hear you mister Kessler. Mark Sixes can’t be deactivated easily or quickly once they're armed and fueled. I doubt you’ll have time to do so for that many. We need to get them off the Rose, now. Do you have enough transporter tags to get all of them? =/\=
Niac: Mr. Raga, even if we beam them into space at maximum range both ships are going to take a pounding. Helm, close up our distance with the Rose to one hundred meters, we may need to extend the shields around her again.
Nicolau: Aye sir.
He barely heard her curt acknowledgment as he directed the entirety of his attention towards the comm.
Kessler: =/\= No, we do not have enough tags and with the computer down I can't tell you how long these will stay armed before they go critical. Can you use the Ronin's cargo transporters to lock onto everything in this bay and transport it off the ship? Just leave it as energy though, do not rematerlize it. =/\=
Raga: =/\= Can our pattern buffers handle that much energy in stasis? =/\= ::The question was to everyone but he tapped an icon on the console and muted the line:: It might be possible but if the computer is correct, that means mister Kessler has the Tarellian Plague. Incurable for decades. I think we should tell him, but given the security risks not doing so until we have confirmed a hundred percent might be warranted. Then again…
Shortrith: It'd be better to tell him, instead of leaving him in the dark.
Nicolau: Rose now at one hundred meters dead astern, sir.
Karrod answered automatically as he considered what to tell a man he barely knew in the midst of an incredibly tense situation.
Niac: =/\= Standby Mr. Kessler, we're working the problem from here. Get as far from that section as you can. =/\=
He muted the comm channel and turned his attention towards his officers.
Niac: What in the hell is that…
Raga: A vessel for certain. I can’t quite place it but it feels familiar. Not like anything I’ve seen before firsthand, but I feel like it’s been in a security brief perhaps?
Shortrith: To me, it appears to be similar to the shuttle that escaped from the Rose…
The visual on the screen became more defined as the probe moved closer. The large asteroid flared white with reflected sunlight as it slowly rotated one face towards the systems primary and Karrod caught the long black scar where the ship had gouged out a furrow on impact. Again he felt a distant nagging in the back of his memory, some faint but undefinable sense of alarm felt subconsciously. The image flickered and broke apart and he looked towards an anxious Lt. Nicolau.
Niac: What happened? Did we lose the probe?
Rapid tapping on her console and a few digitized blats later, Lt. Nicolau turned towards him with a perplexed expression.
Nicolau: No sir, the probe is still online but there's especially heavy interference near the asteroid, I think there may be refractory metals of some kind in the rock strata. I'm re-calibrating the probe to filter it out now.
Niac: Very well. ::He glanced towards Toryn and saw the concern written on his features:: Mr. Raga...let's see if the computer can identify that vessel from the data we did manage to gather. There's something about that hull profile...
Raga: Computer, cross reference the vessel in the probe scan with any Federation or Starfleet security alerts. Are there any matches?
Computer: Affirmative. There is one possible match. Vessel identified as Tarellian Plague Ship, based on an eighty three percent likelihood. Further detailed scans of the vessel in question required for a more precise estimate. Recommend Red Alert and General Quarters Six immediately.
Karrod was standing and crossing to Toryn's console a moment later, eyes scanning the data almost as fast as the Ronin's computer could spit it out. It had already reconstructed the remaining fragments of the vessel, spread over a crashsite of at least several kilometers, into the shape of an elegant starship on the display. There were large gaps in the reconstruction where their data was incomplete but the conclusion was clear enough to quicken Karrod's pulse. His thoughts turned to his people on the Rose and then to the crew still aboard the Ronin, where a failing isolation ward shielding system could expose them to the most deadly bioengineered pathogen ever encountered in Federation history. He wondered how many had already been exposed and didn't like the number his mind conjured up. A voice from the science station drew his attention back to the present.
Shortrith: I hate to sound naive, but will this lead to a possible outbreak on the Ronin?
Karrod stood and took a breath, unwilling to let his apprehension bleed into his voice. He managed a tone that sounded steady and almost but not quite normal to his ear.
Niac: Not directly, Ensign...it's not a spaceborn pathogen, thankfully. That's part of why those ships were so feared...they held the last infected survivors from that planets final biological war. The Tarellians had poured all their genius into the development of bioweapons the way some cultures pursue atomic weapons or rudimentary fusion reactions. Apparently they considered germ warfare more civilized...until it ended their civilization almost overnight. The few that got away were carriers...and because of the highly adaptive nature of the Plague, they ended up spreading it and killing anyone and anything they came in contact with.
From the conn he just heard Madalain's voice as if she was speaking to herself.
Nicolau: Like the Rose...
Raga: At the risk of sounding like a harbinger of doom, if memory serves, the security alerts specify there’s still no known cure to the Tarellian Plague.
Karrod allowed himself a small huff as he headed back to the Chair.
Niac: That's my understanding as well XO...just for being in the same system as that thing Starfleet medical is probably going to probe us for weeks before they let the ship near another installation. They'll have an entire task force out here when we report in. I wouldn't be surprised if they put the entire Kappa-214 system under a general quarantine order.
At the helm Karrod could swear he heard a strained but bemused guffaw of laughter. She looked up at him, almost startled at herself.
Nicolau: Sorry sir it's just...well, I'm never coming back to this system whatever Starfleet Medical says...sir. Once was...plenty.
Karrod nodded in grim understanding and agreement.
Shortrith: Understood.
His mulling of this newest horrifying wrinkle in their situation was interrupted by the comm and the strained voice of the ships Chief of Security.
Kessler: =/\= Kessler to Ronin. Captain we have a problem in the torpedo bay. The Rose's crew activated all the torpedoes before the computer went down. Bad news, these are all Mark VI torpedoes. They are fully fueled and armed.=/\=
Karrod looked to his XO and began tapping an alert to the transporter room into his armrest as Toryn sprang into action.
Raga: =/\= We hear you mister Kessler. Mark Sixes can’t be deactivated easily or quickly once they're armed and fueled. I doubt you’ll have time to do so for that many. We need to get them off the Rose, now. Do you have enough transporter tags to get all of them? =/\=
Niac: Mr. Raga, even if we beam them into space at maximum range both ships are going to take a pounding. Helm, close up our distance with the Rose to one hundred meters, we may need to extend the shields around her again.
Nicolau: Aye sir.
He barely heard her curt acknowledgment as he directed the entirety of his attention towards the comm.
Kessler: =/\= No, we do not have enough tags and with the computer down I can't tell you how long these will stay armed before they go critical. Can you use the Ronin's cargo transporters to lock onto everything in this bay and transport it off the ship? Just leave it as energy though, do not rematerlize it. =/\=
Raga: =/\= Can our pattern buffers handle that much energy in stasis? =/\= ::The question was to everyone but he tapped an icon on the console and muted the line:: It might be possible but if the computer is correct, that means mister Kessler has the Tarellian Plague. Incurable for decades. I think we should tell him, but given the security risks not doing so until we have confirmed a hundred percent might be warranted. Then again…
Shortrith: It'd be better to tell him, instead of leaving him in the dark.
Nicolau: Rose now at one hundred meters dead astern, sir.
Karrod answered automatically as he considered what to tell a man he barely knew in the midst of an incredibly tense situation.
Niac: =/\= Standby Mr. Kessler, we're working the problem from here. Get as far from that section as you can. =/\=
He muted the comm channel and turned his attention towards his officers.
[TBC, Tags in Pt2]
===============================
Fleet Captain Karrod Niac
Commanding Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
V239509GT0
Fleet Captain Karrod Niac
Commanding Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
V239509GT0
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