Flt. Capt. Karrod Niac - No Umbrellas In A Brainstorm (Pt1)
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Karrod Niac
Apr 28, 2026, 10:55:43 PMApr 28
to USS Ronin – StarBase 118 Star Trek PBEM RPG
((Conference Room, Deck 03, USS Ronin))
Relived as he was that the transfer had gone off without a hitch, Karrod couldn't put aside his irritation that someone at Starfleet Command had authorized something so wildly unsafe. Below his irritation was a sense of worry that Niac was all to aware of, another of those signs that whatever they were being sent to do was being treated with the kind of breathless urgency typically saved for the most dire of emergencies. He forced himself to put that aside for the moment as he headed for his seat at the head of the table, nodding to their guests in welcome as he went past.
Niac: Lieutenants...welcome to the Ronin. Glad you made it over in one piece.
Raga: Welcome aboard. Commander Toryn Raga.
Velis: ::smiles:: Lieutenant Serin Velis. A pleasure to meet you, Commander.
Venn: Alira Venn. Thank you for your welcome, sirs.
Kessler: ::looking to his security team:: Dismissed.
Raga: Thank you, Chief. Now, I hope the two of you can explain why we just risked two ships and both of your lives in such a risky transfer? I understand there’s an urgency but we’ve been curious as to what could require this level of haste.
Venn: Yes, sir. Long-range sensors have detected a biological organism that appears to be of massive size, and Starfleet has some … concerns.
Karrod's eyes narrowed for a second as he took in the young woman, her words not entirely aligning with the gravity of her delivery.
Niac: Starfleet has us on a wild Gormagander chase? And someone was willing to risk your lives for it? Either you two have seriously upset someone in San Francisco or there is a lot more to this situation than someone being...concerned. That said...Mr. Raga, it sounds like we'll need engineering and medical to join us. I just hope we have enough chairs...
Raga: Right. That bears further details but we’re missing a few people who should be here for this. =/\= Raga to Sickbay and Engineering. Quentin, Marty. Drop whatever you’re doing and report to the conference room immediately. You’re going to want to hear this. =/\= ::he tapped at the controls on the table:: Our new course has us heading practically right on the Alliance and Consortium’s doorsteps.
Velis: All the more reason for urgency, wouldn’t you say?
Kel: It's a pretty remote sector. No known M-class planets. Is there some kind of treasure on a rocky moon we're after?
Venn: The presence of the Lattice Alliance and the Consortium adds to the concerns that Starfleet has about this creature.
He could hear a great deal more being left unsaid in the Lieutenants answers and looked them over again. Where their colleague seemed excited if somewhat...frazzled by their situation, Lt. Velis had the kind of cool, calculating look he recognized from years of dealing with Starfleet Security. The brevity of their answers simply added to his impression.
Niac: While I accept that those two are threats in and of themselves, I fail to see how this...creature being near their territory is such a cause for alarm.
Raga: ::he nodded:: We’ve squared off with them both many times, more than anyone except for maybe the Khitomer. Although, I don’t recall if they’ve had the displeasure of dealing with the Consortium, but the Lattice Alliance most certainly.
Kel: Both parties are surprisingly difficult to deal with.
Karrod nodded to Marty and Quentin as they completed the assembly of senior staff and took their customary positions, his attention never wandering far from their visitors.
Raga: This is our CMO and our Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commanders Beck and Tucker. Quentin, Marty, these are Lieutenants Venn and Velis. ::he looked at Alira and Serin:: If you’d be so kind as to repeat what you told us to them?
Beck: V-squared, huh? Good to meet you, Venn, Velis. That definitely won't get confusing later.
Tucker: ::under his breath:: Can we give them name tags?
Smirking under his beard he looked between them and shrugged.
Niac: I trust my senior officers to figure it out...but there is a pattern for holo-tags in the database I've used a few times. Surprisingly helpful. Now...you said large and you said organism...I'd like details, Lieutenants. A lot of them.
Kel: What can you say about the creature's physiology? How is it propelling itself? Do we have any ideas on size.
Raga: Is it sentient?
Velis: ::folds her hands:: In truth, we don’t know much about the creature. Only that it is very large, more so than our instruments and scans can measure without days, possibly weeks of deeper research. None of the ships that have been sent to study it have been able to get close enough for more than cursory studies. We haven’t wanted to risk provoking it to defend itself.
He shot a displeased glance towards Toryn and received one in reply.
Beck: Um. All due respect, but considering all of the previous ships you've sent to study this thing haven't had much luck, what makes the Ronin any different? Don't get me wrong, I love the girl, but we're not exactly on the cutting edge when it comes to Science vessels.
Kessler: ::folding his arms now across his chest:: The doctor makes an excellent point. ::beat:: You've sent other ships to study this thing with no results? You do not want to risk provoking it to defend itself? What defenses does it have, or do you think it has which have you concerned? What other ships were sent in and what happened to them?
Venn: The information on the other vessels was not passed along to me, but the information I did receive indicated that the creature was massive. I also wasn’t informed as to why they couldn’t get close enough to get information. Maybe Velis has more on that, but they didn’t tell me.
It was a struggle to keep from pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. He let out a slow breath.
Niac: Let me guess...all the information was compartmentalized for reasons of operational security...so the right hand isn't even aware the left hand is doing anything and none of the relevant data has been shared. So, with the exception of your presence and your delightfully cryptic concerns, we have very little to go on.
Kel: Spaceborne life forms are a long-standing interest of mine. We've been tracking several signals which we believe could be cosmozoan. I'll get the data sent to you.
Tucker: I’m going to agree with the good doctor, what makes us, basically, a war relic, going to have those other ships don’t. Now, that’s not me bad-mouthing the Ronin, but we do have limits to what we can accomplish.
Raga: Because she’s rugged, has survived a great deal of damage of the last two years and worst case, has a lot of torpedoes.
He snorted but rapped the table with a knuckle. By that logic he was a war relic as well but they still had a bit left to give...as the Ronin has so capably demonstrated time and time again.
Velis: ::thoughtfully:: My task is to work with your science and medical personnel to learn more about the creature. :: glances at Venn :: The lieutenant can perhaps enlighten you more as to her purpose.
Venn: I cannot speak as to why your ship was chosen, sirs, although I am sure Commander Raga is right on one aspect. However, I would also presume it’s due to your proximity to the creature as opposed to other vessels, but it could just as much have to do with your experience with the Lattice Alliance. There is a concern there. My role here is to assist with a threat assessment.
Raga: That’s not a simple ask if the creature is bigger than expected.
Kessler: ::looking to Raga and then Niac:: I strongly recommend a careful review of any tactical data these two have before we put the Ronin in harms way. ::looking at Raga:: She maybe rugged but if these two leave out any details because we are not deemed a need to know, being rugged might be the only hope we have of coming out of this alive should things go south.
Niac: Agreed, I am not going to risk the safety of everyone aboard this ship by stumbling in blindly based on some vague warnings. Come on Lt. Venn...surely we're at the point where we 'need to know.' I'm reasonably confident there are no spies lurking behind the bulkheads...tell us what you know...everything you know...or I'm going to put a halt to this nonsense right now and I'm more than happy to say that to the Admiralty. Haven't gotten into a good yelling match with them recently...don't want to get rusty.
Kel: Surely, we won't be taking the creature out of its natural environment?
Beck: If this thing is as big as they're making it sound, I'm not sure we could take it out of its natural environment. ::a beat:: Still… I echo Doctor Kel's sentiment. We know next to nothing about this thing, do we really want to see what happens if we try to push it into a cage?
Tucker: Corning something we know nothing about? What part about that seems like a good plan? I’m up for figuring out what this thing is, but we’ve got to be smart about it.
Kel: Sir, it's one thing to study a creature, it's something else to attempt to contain or relocate it.
Beck: I'm not sure they make lassos big enough to wrangle something like this, anyway.
Tucker: ::to Beck:: I’m sure I could whip something up, on a bit larger scale. It’s all theory, but I bet there’s a way to lasso it, so to speak. ::he shrugged:: It’d take some finagling.
Raga: I imagine we’d have to use the tractor beam, assuming we even could. With or without also using our shuttles.
Kessler: ::turning to Tucker:: I would recommend you pull TK Cabrillo into that team. He did some pretty interesting alterations to the Butlers's tractor beam assembly for a mission project.
Karrod held up a hand and the room silenced.
Relived as he was that the transfer had gone off without a hitch, Karrod couldn't put aside his irritation that someone at Starfleet Command had authorized something so wildly unsafe. Below his irritation was a sense of worry that Niac was all to aware of, another of those signs that whatever they were being sent to do was being treated with the kind of breathless urgency typically saved for the most dire of emergencies. He forced himself to put that aside for the moment as he headed for his seat at the head of the table, nodding to their guests in welcome as he went past.
Niac: Lieutenants...welcome to the Ronin. Glad you made it over in one piece.
Raga: Welcome aboard. Commander Toryn Raga.
Velis: ::smiles:: Lieutenant Serin Velis. A pleasure to meet you, Commander.
Venn: Alira Venn. Thank you for your welcome, sirs.
Kessler: ::looking to his security team:: Dismissed.
Raga: Thank you, Chief. Now, I hope the two of you can explain why we just risked two ships and both of your lives in such a risky transfer? I understand there’s an urgency but we’ve been curious as to what could require this level of haste.
Venn: Yes, sir. Long-range sensors have detected a biological organism that appears to be of massive size, and Starfleet has some … concerns.
Karrod's eyes narrowed for a second as he took in the young woman, her words not entirely aligning with the gravity of her delivery.
Niac: Starfleet has us on a wild Gormagander chase? And someone was willing to risk your lives for it? Either you two have seriously upset someone in San Francisco or there is a lot more to this situation than someone being...concerned. That said...Mr. Raga, it sounds like we'll need engineering and medical to join us. I just hope we have enough chairs...
Raga: Right. That bears further details but we’re missing a few people who should be here for this. =/\= Raga to Sickbay and Engineering. Quentin, Marty. Drop whatever you’re doing and report to the conference room immediately. You’re going to want to hear this. =/\= ::he tapped at the controls on the table:: Our new course has us heading practically right on the Alliance and Consortium’s doorsteps.
Velis: All the more reason for urgency, wouldn’t you say?
Kel: It's a pretty remote sector. No known M-class planets. Is there some kind of treasure on a rocky moon we're after?
Venn: The presence of the Lattice Alliance and the Consortium adds to the concerns that Starfleet has about this creature.
He could hear a great deal more being left unsaid in the Lieutenants answers and looked them over again. Where their colleague seemed excited if somewhat...frazzled by their situation, Lt. Velis had the kind of cool, calculating look he recognized from years of dealing with Starfleet Security. The brevity of their answers simply added to his impression.
Niac: While I accept that those two are threats in and of themselves, I fail to see how this...creature being near their territory is such a cause for alarm.
Raga: ::he nodded:: We’ve squared off with them both many times, more than anyone except for maybe the Khitomer. Although, I don’t recall if they’ve had the displeasure of dealing with the Consortium, but the Lattice Alliance most certainly.
Kel: Both parties are surprisingly difficult to deal with.
Karrod nodded to Marty and Quentin as they completed the assembly of senior staff and took their customary positions, his attention never wandering far from their visitors.
Raga: This is our CMO and our Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commanders Beck and Tucker. Quentin, Marty, these are Lieutenants Venn and Velis. ::he looked at Alira and Serin:: If you’d be so kind as to repeat what you told us to them?
Beck: V-squared, huh? Good to meet you, Venn, Velis. That definitely won't get confusing later.
Tucker: ::under his breath:: Can we give them name tags?
Smirking under his beard he looked between them and shrugged.
Niac: I trust my senior officers to figure it out...but there is a pattern for holo-tags in the database I've used a few times. Surprisingly helpful. Now...you said large and you said organism...I'd like details, Lieutenants. A lot of them.
Kel: What can you say about the creature's physiology? How is it propelling itself? Do we have any ideas on size.
Raga: Is it sentient?
Velis: ::folds her hands:: In truth, we don’t know much about the creature. Only that it is very large, more so than our instruments and scans can measure without days, possibly weeks of deeper research. None of the ships that have been sent to study it have been able to get close enough for more than cursory studies. We haven’t wanted to risk provoking it to defend itself.
He shot a displeased glance towards Toryn and received one in reply.
Beck: Um. All due respect, but considering all of the previous ships you've sent to study this thing haven't had much luck, what makes the Ronin any different? Don't get me wrong, I love the girl, but we're not exactly on the cutting edge when it comes to Science vessels.
Kessler: ::folding his arms now across his chest:: The doctor makes an excellent point. ::beat:: You've sent other ships to study this thing with no results? You do not want to risk provoking it to defend itself? What defenses does it have, or do you think it has which have you concerned? What other ships were sent in and what happened to them?
Venn: The information on the other vessels was not passed along to me, but the information I did receive indicated that the creature was massive. I also wasn’t informed as to why they couldn’t get close enough to get information. Maybe Velis has more on that, but they didn’t tell me.
It was a struggle to keep from pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. He let out a slow breath.
Niac: Let me guess...all the information was compartmentalized for reasons of operational security...so the right hand isn't even aware the left hand is doing anything and none of the relevant data has been shared. So, with the exception of your presence and your delightfully cryptic concerns, we have very little to go on.
Kel: Spaceborne life forms are a long-standing interest of mine. We've been tracking several signals which we believe could be cosmozoan. I'll get the data sent to you.
Tucker: I’m going to agree with the good doctor, what makes us, basically, a war relic, going to have those other ships don’t. Now, that’s not me bad-mouthing the Ronin, but we do have limits to what we can accomplish.
Raga: Because she’s rugged, has survived a great deal of damage of the last two years and worst case, has a lot of torpedoes.
He snorted but rapped the table with a knuckle. By that logic he was a war relic as well but they still had a bit left to give...as the Ronin has so capably demonstrated time and time again.
Velis: ::thoughtfully:: My task is to work with your science and medical personnel to learn more about the creature. :: glances at Venn :: The lieutenant can perhaps enlighten you more as to her purpose.
Venn: I cannot speak as to why your ship was chosen, sirs, although I am sure Commander Raga is right on one aspect. However, I would also presume it’s due to your proximity to the creature as opposed to other vessels, but it could just as much have to do with your experience with the Lattice Alliance. There is a concern there. My role here is to assist with a threat assessment.
Raga: That’s not a simple ask if the creature is bigger than expected.
Kessler: ::looking to Raga and then Niac:: I strongly recommend a careful review of any tactical data these two have before we put the Ronin in harms way. ::looking at Raga:: She maybe rugged but if these two leave out any details because we are not deemed a need to know, being rugged might be the only hope we have of coming out of this alive should things go south.
Niac: Agreed, I am not going to risk the safety of everyone aboard this ship by stumbling in blindly based on some vague warnings. Come on Lt. Venn...surely we're at the point where we 'need to know.' I'm reasonably confident there are no spies lurking behind the bulkheads...tell us what you know...everything you know...or I'm going to put a halt to this nonsense right now and I'm more than happy to say that to the Admiralty. Haven't gotten into a good yelling match with them recently...don't want to get rusty.
Kel: Surely, we won't be taking the creature out of its natural environment?
Beck: If this thing is as big as they're making it sound, I'm not sure we could take it out of its natural environment. ::a beat:: Still… I echo Doctor Kel's sentiment. We know next to nothing about this thing, do we really want to see what happens if we try to push it into a cage?
Tucker: Corning something we know nothing about? What part about that seems like a good plan? I’m up for figuring out what this thing is, but we’ve got to be smart about it.
Kel: Sir, it's one thing to study a creature, it's something else to attempt to contain or relocate it.
Beck: I'm not sure they make lassos big enough to wrangle something like this, anyway.
Tucker: ::to Beck:: I’m sure I could whip something up, on a bit larger scale. It’s all theory, but I bet there’s a way to lasso it, so to speak. ::he shrugged:: It’d take some finagling.
Raga: I imagine we’d have to use the tractor beam, assuming we even could. With or without also using our shuttles.
Kessler: ::turning to Tucker:: I would recommend you pull TK Cabrillo into that team. He did some pretty interesting alterations to the Butlers's tractor beam assembly for a mission project.
Karrod held up a hand and the room silenced.
[TBC]
================================
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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