Lieutenant Jack Kessler - Can't see through the fog
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Joel Cannistraro
Jan 16, 2026, 9:38:39 AMJan 16
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((Bridge, Deck 3, USS Ronin))
The team on the bridge had gained a little more insight into the destruction of the Captain's yacht but nothing that would tell them the definitive answers they needed. With each little step forward it seemed another question or two, or even three popped up. That was how it typically went and Jack was not surprised by it. Very few investigations were ever straightforward and without some problem solving and that was just the nature of the beast they were dealing with here.
Kel: You think they had more in their conduits than standard plasma?
O’Connor: Do you guys see,...welll…not see that?
Kessler: ::a low humf:: The sensor void? About the same size as the Kurosawa? I am seeing that as well on my end. That should not be there if these chronitons are behaving in the normal context that we understand them to be.
Shortrith: I can see it too. Something's definitely not right.
Kel: That's an understatement doctor.
The comm chimed, interrupting the conversation.
Tucker: =/\= Tucker to Kel, are ya’ll have issue with the sensors? I’m having issues with the internal sensors, not to mention tricorders..=/\=
Kel: =/\= We're having issues up here as well, but I can safely say the space outside this ship is not normal. We've tried recalibrating. =/\=
Tucker: =/\= Well, that’s not good…Okay, we’ll get back to it and give you some answers when we get some. Tucker, out. =/\=
O’Connor: Well, that was weird.
V'Len rubbed the center of his forehead. Every time he thought he'd seen the weirdest the universe had to offer, the universe apparently took it as a challenge.
Kessler: ::to O'Connor:: What about this isn't weird? ::grinning before turning back to Kel and Shortrith:: Doc, earlier you asked if the probe could have passed through the anomaly so I just rechecked those coordinates and passing through it is not likely what happened. Look at this.
Shortrith: ::to themself:: How… ::to Kessler:: Any chance you could elaborate?
O’Connor: Please do. Not sure if I see it.
Kel: Is there something peculiar about that location?
Kessler: That is where the Kurosawa entered our space. See the void in the sensors? ::beat, putting up a side-by-side view of the probe's last known position:: This is where the probe disappeared. See the void in the sensors? It's much smaller because of the size differential between the probe and the Kurosawa but they are the same.
Shortrith: So it followed through… What are the chances it would go to when the Kurosawa came from?
O'Connor: Ok,ok. That could be huge.
V'Len came out of his repose and looked at O'Connor.
Kel: So we have a hole in time that is drawing thins into it?
Kessler: Correct, the probe was sucked into the temporal event and left a displacement as it entered just as the Kurosawa left a displacement when it emerged. Based on what I am seeing here, this should not be happening. The computer does not seem to have any record of an event like this.
Shortrith: Sounds like we need to make an educated guess with the knowledge we have, right?
O’Connor: Well, I certainly leave that to ya’ll science brains.
Kel: Now then Mr. O'Connor a broad team with varied expertise is always helpful. You're not getting out of this that easily.
Shortrith: What risk would there be if we sent out another probe and watched what happens?
O’Connor: I’d say minimal to us at this point.. I’ve got several routes plugged in. We can still fall back easily if something starts, well, for lack of a better term again, “getting weird”
Kel: I think we're well past "getting weird". But I agree the risk to sending another probe is minimal. We just need to make sure we don't lose of it completely this time.
Kessler: If we recovered the probes shielding to try and compensate for the temporal effects we might be able to get some more insight but I must point out that these readings indicate its very unlikely of getting too much more data from a probe.
Shortrith: That way we'd be able to see what happens when it goes through the temporal anomaly.
O'Connor: Agreed whole heartedly. What if we also rig a second probe as a temporal anchor. There was something I remember about using gravity wells to trap things in time as well as space. If we can keep the probes linked it should give us a channel to the “whenever.” Downside is that the gravity well will create severe radiation damage to the “our time” probe. It won’t last long.
Jack looked to O'Connor and gave an agreeing nod. He liked the suggestion and agreed it seemed to be the best and safest way to approach the next step in this search.
Kel: If we used a Class IV probe we might have a better shot. It's meant for stellar phenomena so they are pretty robust. We can also program the subprobes to release at intervals. We may lose the big probe, but maybe we can recover the small ones.
--
The team on the bridge had gained a little more insight into the destruction of the Captain's yacht but nothing that would tell them the definitive answers they needed. With each little step forward it seemed another question or two, or even three popped up. That was how it typically went and Jack was not surprised by it. Very few investigations were ever straightforward and without some problem solving and that was just the nature of the beast they were dealing with here.
Kel: You think they had more in their conduits than standard plasma?
O'Connor: Response
Kel: If they truly traveled through time, perhaps they flooded the Kurosawa's system with chronitons.
Kessler: ::turning to look back at Shortrith and Kel:: Could something have super-charged the conduits?
O'Connor: These readings near where the probe disappeared. It’s as almost if the there is a loop there. Slightly off but almost a repeated pattern.
Kel: ::grabbing his antennae:: Ugh. Does anyone else feel that.
Kel: If they truly traveled through time, perhaps they flooded the Kurosawa's system with chronitons.
Kessler: ::turning to look back at Shortrith and Kel:: Could something have super-charged the conduits?
O'Connor: These readings near where the probe disappeared. It’s as almost if the there is a loop there. Slightly off but almost a repeated pattern.
Kel: ::grabbing his antennae:: Ugh. Does anyone else feel that.
Jack looked from Kel to O'Connor and then back to Kel and then to Shortrith. He felt nothing and by the look on O'Connors face, he did not either. Jack paused his thought and turned back to his scans of the anomaly ahead of them.
Kessler: What do you feel? I am not feeling anything different.
Shortrith: I can feel a slight burning, if that's what you're referring to.
Kel: Something must be getting through to the ship. All stop, full forward shields.
O'Connor: Aye, Full stop.
Kessler: Nothing on sensors that I can see. ::turning to Shortrith:: Anything on your end Doc?
Shortrith: No, nothing on my end either.
The pain had diminished some, but his antennae still burnt slightly.
Shortrith: That strange burning feeling… That could have had negative impacts if we didn't stop when we did. Good call.
V'Len tried to give Renaie a reassuring look.
Kel: That's why you're here doctor, to pull me out if I lose my mind.
Kessler: What do you feel? I am not feeling anything different.
Shortrith: I can feel a slight burning, if that's what you're referring to.
Kel: Something must be getting through to the ship. All stop, full forward shields.
O'Connor: Aye, Full stop.
Sensors showed nothing from an external point that would be affecting the ship. Jack ran the scans again and rechecked the sensor pallets.
Kessler: Nothing on sensors that I can see. ::turning to Shortrith:: Anything on your end Doc?
Shortrith: No, nothing on my end either.
The pain had diminished some, but his antennae still burnt slightly.
Shortrith: That strange burning feeling… That could have had negative impacts if we didn't stop when we did. Good call.
V'Len tried to give Renaie a reassuring look.
Kel: That's why you're here doctor, to pull me out if I lose my mind.
Something caught O'Connor's attention and Jack spun back around to his console as O'Connor spoke up.
O’Connor: Do you guys see,...welll…not see that?
Kessler: ::a low humf:: The sensor void? About the same size as the Kurosawa? I am seeing that as well on my end. That should not be there if these chronitons are behaving in the normal context that we understand them to be.
Shortrith: I can see it too. Something's definitely not right.
Kel: That's an understatement doctor.
The comm chimed, interrupting the conversation.
Tucker: =/\= Tucker to Kel, are ya’ll have issue with the sensors? I’m having issues with the internal sensors, not to mention tricorders..=/\=
Kel: =/\= We're having issues up here as well, but I can safely say the space outside this ship is not normal. We've tried recalibrating. =/\=
Tucker: =/\= Well, that’s not good…Okay, we’ll get back to it and give you some answers when we get some. Tucker, out. =/\=
O’Connor: Well, that was weird.
V'Len rubbed the center of his forehead. Every time he thought he'd seen the weirdest the universe had to offer, the universe apparently took it as a challenge.
Kessler: ::to O'Connor:: What about this isn't weird? ::grinning before turning back to Kel and Shortrith:: Doc, earlier you asked if the probe could have passed through the anomaly so I just rechecked those coordinates and passing through it is not likely what happened. Look at this.
Jack turned back to his console and put a narrow scanned window up on the viewscreen, surrounding the area of interest with a tactical box.
Shortrith: ::to themself:: How… ::to Kessler:: Any chance you could elaborate?
O’Connor: Please do. Not sure if I see it.
Kel: Is there something peculiar about that location?
Kessler: That is where the Kurosawa entered our space. See the void in the sensors? ::beat, putting up a side-by-side view of the probe's last known position:: This is where the probe disappeared. See the void in the sensors? It's much smaller because of the size differential between the probe and the Kurosawa but they are the same.
Shortrith: So it followed through… What are the chances it would go to when the Kurosawa came from?
O'Connor: Ok,ok. That could be huge.
V'Len came out of his repose and looked at O'Connor.
Kel: So we have a hole in time that is drawing thins into it?
Kessler: Correct, the probe was sucked into the temporal event and left a displacement as it entered just as the Kurosawa left a displacement when it emerged. Based on what I am seeing here, this should not be happening. The computer does not seem to have any record of an event like this.
Shortrith: Sounds like we need to make an educated guess with the knowledge we have, right?
O’Connor: Well, I certainly leave that to ya’ll science brains.
Kel: Now then Mr. O'Connor a broad team with varied expertise is always helpful. You're not getting out of this that easily.
Jack looked between the three other officers but had no explanation for this. He was not a science officer and although he could read and analize the data as well as the others he would have rather had a dedicated science officer standing over his shoulder. What he did know was that the even ahead of the Ronin was acting like nothing he or the Ronin had ever seen. He was somewhat excited and nervous all at the same time as being angry and frustrated with what had lead them here.
Shortrith: What risk would there be if we sent out another probe and watched what happens?
O’Connor: I’d say minimal to us at this point.. I’ve got several routes plugged in. We can still fall back easily if something starts, well, for lack of a better term again, “getting weird”
Kel: I think we're well past "getting weird". But I agree the risk to sending another probe is minimal. We just need to make sure we don't lose of it completely this time.
Kessler: If we recovered the probes shielding to try and compensate for the temporal effects we might be able to get some more insight but I must point out that these readings indicate its very unlikely of getting too much more data from a probe.
Shortrith: That way we'd be able to see what happens when it goes through the temporal anomaly.
O'Connor: Agreed whole heartedly. What if we also rig a second probe as a temporal anchor. There was something I remember about using gravity wells to trap things in time as well as space. If we can keep the probes linked it should give us a channel to the “whenever.” Downside is that the gravity well will create severe radiation damage to the “our time” probe. It won’t last long.
Jack looked to O'Connor and gave an agreeing nod. He liked the suggestion and agreed it seemed to be the best and safest way to approach the next step in this search.
Kel: If we used a Class IV probe we might have a better shot. It's meant for stellar phenomena so they are pretty robust. We can also program the subprobes to release at intervals. We may lose the big probe, but maybe we can recover the small ones.
Jack knew exactly where V'Len was going with the idea and immediately started inputting the command sequence for the Class IV probe and the subprobes.
Kessler: I like it, gives us better odds at getting more detailed scans from inside this thing.
Shortrith: I'd say it's worth a shot, but ::turning to Kel:: the choice is yours, sir.
Kel: Do it. Jack get the probe prepped let me know when it's ready to launch.
Kessler: On it Commander. We will daisy chain the subprobes back to us so we get a longer feed and data stream.
O’Connor: Sir, I’d like permission to prep a shuttle, too. I’m not saying we should go in there…yet. Not without way more data. But I’d like to start adding some modifications in case we want to explore that option after we get more info.
Jack glanced over to O'Connor, eyed the man and then gave a gentle nod. He hated sitting here on the bridge and although he would not risk the crew at this moment, he would certainly risk the trip himself to see if they could reverse what had happened.
Kel: Get started. I hope we don't need it, but it's better to be prepared.
O’Connor: I’m gonna need help for the science team…and Gods help me…I’d like to use Poagie. He pulled a scheme a while back that used chronitons to age some kind of Ferengi barley beetle whiskey. Anyway, he actually has some experience working with chronitons.
Kel: Check in with Wren, see how those other probes came back. Maybe we can learn something.
Kessler/Shortrith: Response
O'Connor left the helm and as smooth as one could be, Vomek sled into the pilot's seat. It had been a while since Jack had seen Vomek and was happy to have a familiar face on the bridge.
Kessler: I like it, gives us better odds at getting more detailed scans from inside this thing.
Shortrith: I'd say it's worth a shot, but ::turning to Kel:: the choice is yours, sir.
Kel: Do it. Jack get the probe prepped let me know when it's ready to launch.
Kessler: On it Commander. We will daisy chain the subprobes back to us so we get a longer feed and data stream.
O’Connor: Sir, I’d like permission to prep a shuttle, too. I’m not saying we should go in there…yet. Not without way more data. But I’d like to start adding some modifications in case we want to explore that option after we get more info.
Jack glanced over to O'Connor, eyed the man and then gave a gentle nod. He hated sitting here on the bridge and although he would not risk the crew at this moment, he would certainly risk the trip himself to see if they could reverse what had happened.
Kel: Get started. I hope we don't need it, but it's better to be prepared.
O’Connor: I’m gonna need help for the science team…and Gods help me…I’d like to use Poagie. He pulled a scheme a while back that used chronitons to age some kind of Ferengi barley beetle whiskey. Anyway, he actually has some experience working with chronitons.
Kel: Check in with Wren, see how those other probes came back. Maybe we can learn something.
Kessler/Shortrith: Response
O'Connor left the helm and as smooth as one could be, Vomek sled into the pilot's seat. It had been a while since Jack had seen Vomek and was happy to have a familiar face on the bridge.
Kel: Let's pause for a moment. We know the region around where the Kurosawa was is strange, but we've made an assumption there.
Kessler: ::turning to Kel:: What are you thinking Commander?
Kessler: ::turning to Kel:: What are you thinking Commander?
Shortrith: Response
Kel: We assumed that the rest of the Ross-580 system was normal. We hadn't even started our survey when the Kurosawa appeared.
Kel: We assumed that the rest of the Ross-580 system was normal. We hadn't even started our survey when the Kurosawa appeared.
Jack eye'd his friend for a moment and then looked at Shortrith and Vomek before looking back down to his console and the sensor scans.
Kessler: You're thinking there might be a clue to this in the star system itself?
Kessler: You're thinking there might be a clue to this in the star system itself?
Shortrith: Response
Kel: We don't think there's anyone else out there, but let's see what is there. How many planets? Asteroid belts? Gas clouds?
Jack could see the logic behind what V'Len was thinking and turned the sensors towards the heart of the star system. He clenched his teeth together as distortion waves from the anomaly seemed to be disrupting the short range scans. The Ronin would need to move into a different position to get a better scan of the system.
Kessler: ::staring at his scans:: With long range sensors offline, the distortion field from the anomaly is affecting the short range sensors with us being this close. We will need to reposition the Ronin sir for a more detailed scan of the system.
Kel: We don't think there's anyone else out there, but let's see what is there. How many planets? Asteroid belts? Gas clouds?
Jack could see the logic behind what V'Len was thinking and turned the sensors towards the heart of the star system. He clenched his teeth together as distortion waves from the anomaly seemed to be disrupting the short range scans. The Ronin would need to move into a different position to get a better scan of the system.
Kessler: ::staring at his scans:: With long range sensors offline, the distortion field from the anomaly is affecting the short range sensors with us being this close. We will need to reposition the Ronin sir for a more detailed scan of the system.
Kel/Shortrith/Vomek: Response
Jack knew that V'Len and most likely the others hated moving the ship from its position while an investigation was underway. The other teams aboard needed to remain in this location to continue collecting their data so that really only left two other options.
Kessler: Well, we have two other courses of action we could use. A series of probes launched deeper into the star system or we send out a shuttle to get the detailed scans we need, that would keep the Ronin on station for the other teams.
Kel/Shortrith/Vomek: Response
Kessler: Probes can't give you the human factor and reaction time that a shuttle can but a shuttle puts crew in harms way, which at this point is a risk I am willing to take and I think anyone else here is too.
O'Connor had already asked to prep a shuttle and get a team ready, they could simply divert him and that effort to scanning the star system. They all knew the risk and at this point Jack was ready to take the shuttle himself to get the answers but he also had the Ronin and her crew to worry about. As ships tactical officer, the Ronin's safety was his paramount responsibility so that meant, unless ordered off the ship after what happened to the Captain's yacht, he was not likely going to volunteer to leave the ship when he was unsure of what lay ahead of them. O'Connor and the team he was putting together seemed like the best choice in Jack's head.
Tags/TBC
Tags/TBC
Lieutenant Jack Kessler
Chief Tactical/Security Officer
USS Ronin
T239901JK1
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