Flt. Capt. Karrod Niac - From Guppies to Gormaganders
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Karrod Niac
May 7, 2026, 11:38:43 PM (7 days ago) May 7
to USS Ronin – StarBase 118 Star Trek PBEM RPG
((Bridge, Deck 3, USS Ronin, Nearly Three Hours Later))
Karrod's hands dug into the armrests of his chair as the chrono on the wall counted down the final minutes and sensors, what little use they were, confirmed they were approaching the source of the massive bioelectrical field. Keeping their warp field stable had been no small feat and at the helm, Lt. Nicolau had gone from stressed to harried to outright hunched over the consoles, tapping minute corrections and adjustments to their course every few seconds for the last hour. Now, as they closed the final distance, Karrod could feel his concerns about this mission coming to a head and looked around the bridge.
Niac: Mr. Raga, once we drop out of warp I want you to relieve Lt. Nicolau at the helm before she falls over. I think she has done her bit to get us close, you can bring us the rest of the way in. Mr. Kel, start gathering what data you can from our passive sensor systems...no active scans until we're reasonably certain it won't provoke a response from the creature. Mr. Kessler...bring the ship to yellow alert but I want our shields and tactical systems powered down until I say so...I don't want incite the response we're trying to avoid. Understood?
Raga/Kel/Kessler: Response
Karrod turned in his chair to their auxiliary stations where Lieutenants Venn and Velis had taken up positions.
Niac: Assuming we can make a successful close approach, I'm going to be looking for insights from the both of you...ideal places to scan, things to avoid, possible spots to send away teams if we get that far. If you've got anything else to tell us about this thing before we're up close and personal with it, now's the time.
Venn/Velis: Response
Huffing to himself as he turned back towards the viewscreen, the chrono ticked off the last few seconds and the ship dropped out of warp. Karrod stood without a thought, walking towards the image on the viewscreen like a man entranced. Bluewhite pulses of energy across an endless surface filled the viewscreen with a spectacular light.
Niac: By the Koala....reduce magnification, I want to see the whole thing.
Nicolau: Sir...we're at minimum magnification. It's...it's just that big.
Raga/Kel/Kessler/Venn/Velis: Response
The shimmering iridescent skin of the creature, or spacecraft, or whatever it was seemed to glow with inner veins of light that flowed across its surface in patterns that stretched and intersected across kilometers. His mind kept trying to find a frame of reference that made sense and the only thing Niac could summon was the Soliton Express, the massive kilometers long inter-system train they'd worked to save. Yet where that had been a vast bulk in space propelled along upon a rippling cloud of energy, this creature was a symphony of grace in motion. To his eye it seemed to be swimming, with rippling sections aft that seemed to sway and pulse with a regular rhythm. Kilometers forward towards what he could only assume was the creatures...bow, for lack of a better term, a massive two pronged structure extended outwards like some kind of hammerhead shark.
It was spectacular. It was breath taking. Niac did some quick math and realized it had to be hundreds of times the volume of the Ronin...yet it coasted through interstellar space at a speed their impulse engines would have to work to keep up with. The ship shuddered under his feet and he glanced to the helm as Commander Raga slipped into the chair, Lt. Nicolau looking nearly dead on her feet.
Niac: Well done Lieutenant, you got us here in time. Mr. Raga....steady as she goes...try to bring us on a parallel course to our...friend out there. Has there been any indication the creature is reacting to our presence?
Raga/Kel/Kessler/Venn/Velis: Response
The ship shuddered again as if they were passing through some kind of ionic turbulence. He turned away from the viewscreen and sat, glancing towards their occluded sensors for any indication of a problem.
Niac: What's causing that? Is it the creature?
Raga/Kel/Kessler/Venn/Velis: Response
He considered it for a few moments and knew it would be difficult...if not impossible...to do much more without bringing their full suite of sensors to bear. The risk was considerable but short of sending an Ensign onto the hull with an EVA suit and a holocam, there wasn't much else they could do.
Niac: Very well...Mr. Kel...begin active scanning...start with the low power bands...if our friend out there takes offense abort and we'll fall back. Ready on the helm Mr. Raga. Mr. Kessler...if you assess a threat I want those shields up as fast as possible. Lieutenants...you came all this way to see this...hope you're getting a good view because this is...unprecedented.
Raga/Kel/Kessler/Venn/Velis: Response
================================
Fleet Captain Karrod Niac
Commanding Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
V239509GT0
Karrod's hands dug into the armrests of his chair as the chrono on the wall counted down the final minutes and sensors, what little use they were, confirmed they were approaching the source of the massive bioelectrical field. Keeping their warp field stable had been no small feat and at the helm, Lt. Nicolau had gone from stressed to harried to outright hunched over the consoles, tapping minute corrections and adjustments to their course every few seconds for the last hour. Now, as they closed the final distance, Karrod could feel his concerns about this mission coming to a head and looked around the bridge.
Niac: Mr. Raga, once we drop out of warp I want you to relieve Lt. Nicolau at the helm before she falls over. I think she has done her bit to get us close, you can bring us the rest of the way in. Mr. Kel, start gathering what data you can from our passive sensor systems...no active scans until we're reasonably certain it won't provoke a response from the creature. Mr. Kessler...bring the ship to yellow alert but I want our shields and tactical systems powered down until I say so...I don't want incite the response we're trying to avoid. Understood?
Raga/Kel/Kessler: Response
Karrod turned in his chair to their auxiliary stations where Lieutenants Venn and Velis had taken up positions.
Niac: Assuming we can make a successful close approach, I'm going to be looking for insights from the both of you...ideal places to scan, things to avoid, possible spots to send away teams if we get that far. If you've got anything else to tell us about this thing before we're up close and personal with it, now's the time.
Venn/Velis: Response
Huffing to himself as he turned back towards the viewscreen, the chrono ticked off the last few seconds and the ship dropped out of warp. Karrod stood without a thought, walking towards the image on the viewscreen like a man entranced. Bluewhite pulses of energy across an endless surface filled the viewscreen with a spectacular light.
Niac: By the Koala....reduce magnification, I want to see the whole thing.
Nicolau: Sir...we're at minimum magnification. It's...it's just that big.
Raga/Kel/Kessler/Venn/Velis: Response
The shimmering iridescent skin of the creature, or spacecraft, or whatever it was seemed to glow with inner veins of light that flowed across its surface in patterns that stretched and intersected across kilometers. His mind kept trying to find a frame of reference that made sense and the only thing Niac could summon was the Soliton Express, the massive kilometers long inter-system train they'd worked to save. Yet where that had been a vast bulk in space propelled along upon a rippling cloud of energy, this creature was a symphony of grace in motion. To his eye it seemed to be swimming, with rippling sections aft that seemed to sway and pulse with a regular rhythm. Kilometers forward towards what he could only assume was the creatures...bow, for lack of a better term, a massive two pronged structure extended outwards like some kind of hammerhead shark.
It was spectacular. It was breath taking. Niac did some quick math and realized it had to be hundreds of times the volume of the Ronin...yet it coasted through interstellar space at a speed their impulse engines would have to work to keep up with. The ship shuddered under his feet and he glanced to the helm as Commander Raga slipped into the chair, Lt. Nicolau looking nearly dead on her feet.
Niac: Well done Lieutenant, you got us here in time. Mr. Raga....steady as she goes...try to bring us on a parallel course to our...friend out there. Has there been any indication the creature is reacting to our presence?
Raga/Kel/Kessler/Venn/Velis: Response
The ship shuddered again as if they were passing through some kind of ionic turbulence. He turned away from the viewscreen and sat, glancing towards their occluded sensors for any indication of a problem.
Niac: What's causing that? Is it the creature?
Raga/Kel/Kessler/Venn/Velis: Response
He considered it for a few moments and knew it would be difficult...if not impossible...to do much more without bringing their full suite of sensors to bear. The risk was considerable but short of sending an Ensign onto the hull with an EVA suit and a holocam, there wasn't much else they could do.
Niac: Very well...Mr. Kel...begin active scanning...start with the low power bands...if our friend out there takes offense abort and we'll fall back. Ready on the helm Mr. Raga. Mr. Kessler...if you assess a threat I want those shields up as fast as possible. Lieutenants...you came all this way to see this...hope you're getting a good view because this is...unprecedented.
Raga/Kel/Kessler/Venn/Velis: Response
================================
Fleet Captain Karrod Niac
Commanding Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
V239509GT0
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