[Repost] Flt. Capt. Karrod Niac - That Thing I Sencha
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Karrod Niac
Mar 20, 2026, 10:43:59 PMMar 20
to USS Ronin – StarBase 118 Star Trek PBEM RPG
((OOC: Sorry for missing tags from Ensign Zh'taan, I've sorted this out with Wren's subsequent reply included! Bingo for me!))
((Ready Room, Deck 3, USS Ronin))
Rubbing the bridge of his nose as he leaned back on the couch in his office, Karrod set aside the padd and closed his eyes. His desk terminal remained stubbornly and dubiously secured so he'd retrieved a padd from the Kurosawa which, still reasonably confident of his corporealness, let him access the ships mission reports and log entries without too much effort.
Part of him, the part that had been Sencha long ago, wished that he hadn't looked.
Ever since the truth of Sencha's death had come to light the already painful subject of her stolen research had taken on an even sharper edge within them. It made the discovery of yet another calamitous project based on her work that much more painful. Karrod's consciousness had drifted back as he let his impression of Sencha pour over the sensor logs and probe readings, studying the debriefings of the scarred Romulan administrator of 'The Lid' and his team. Karrod sympathized with them to a degree...foolish as their original efforts had been falling under the imposed authority of the Lattice Alliance was a fate he wouldn't wish on anybody.
Sencha still rippled in his thoughts, incensed at the whole thing and profoundly horrified at the damage the Ronin had barely prevented. She'd tried to take him through the math four separate times yet Karrod's understanding remained simplistic...it would've been bad. Very bad. For this and a variety of other colorful dimensions, one of which was tragically now down their own Karrod and Toryn.
He still hadn't been able to get his terminal to repeat the message or the datastream that had accompanied it. Yet the look on that other Karrod's face haunted him. That man had seen something bad enough to propel him to desperate self-sacrifice. And somehow all of it was tied to Sencha's work.
Sencha withdrew and Karrod's consciousness came into focus as the comm chirped. The channel opened without preamble and Karrod didn't even have a chance to open his eyes.
Zh'taan: =/\= Ensign Zh'taan to Captain Niac. Would you be available to come down to Lab 2? We need your insight. End transmission. =/\=
Kel: ::hurrying to add:: =/\= They'll be drinks! =/\=
Karrod chuckled as he stood from the couch, leaving the padd behind.
Niac: =/\= You always know just what to say Mr. Kel. I'll be there shortly. =/\=
Karrod rolled his neck to a variety of unpleasant pops and crunches as he headed out his ready room door and headed for the turbolift, Sencha still deeply disquieted within him. He gave his abdomen a gentle, sympathetic pat as the turbolift doors slid shut.
((Lab 2, Deck 10, USS Ronin))
Karrod had composed his thoughts and Niac had grown a bit quieter as he walked, glad to set aside the subject of Sencha's work and focus on anything else for a few hours. As he stepped through the door and audibly heard an eager Ensign's spine snap to attention he had a feeling he wouldn't quite get his wish.
Zh'taan: G-Good morning, Captain. ::straightens into an official posture:: Uh… I am Ensign Zh'taan, we would like to speak with you about Sencha radiation.
He also gave a nod of greeting to Ensign Wren.
Kel: ::nodding his head:: Morning Karrod, Ensign Wren. Ensign Zh'taan and I were just trying to break down some of what we experienced on our last mission.
Wren: Good morning, sir. And it's nice to meet you, Zh’taan, I heard good things about your work on the last mission.
Karrod crossed his arms and looked around the well equipped and comprehensively furnished laboratory space and then to V'Len with a deep and not entirely feigned scowl.
Niac: I was promised drinks, V'Len. I don't see any drinks, V'Len.
Kel: Given the nature of the phenomena, namely that it was a Sencha generator, you seemed uniquely qualified to give us some insight.
Wren: :: excited:: Yes, I've been curious about how Sencha radiation is formed.
He begrudgingly nodded, conceding the point while being uniquely unhappy about it.
Niac: Fair enough, I was just going over some of the mission reports. Well done, all of you...there's a part of me that feels particularly at blame for what you went through. I've gone over the sensor logs but that system was such a mess many of the readings are gibberish. Take me through what you've found.
Kel: Ensign Zh'taan, perhaps you can bring the Captain and Ensign Wren up to speed on our discussion.
Zh'taan: ::quickly checks his PADD:: Th-the Lieutenant Commander Kel and I, we… um… were trying to figure out how the Alliance managed to emit so much Sencha radiation without… um… it damaging the generator.
Niac: Relax Mr. Zh'taan, you're not giving a lecture at the Academy. You were both there and I wasn't...talk me through what you're thinking. That goes for you as well Ensign Wren...I need to understand as much as I can so we can figure out how to prevent it from ever happening again.
Kel: My key question is how the hell were they doing it. How did they generate Sencha will still using subspace to pull energy to pull energy from a star in another universe?
Zh'taan: We… we also think that Tholian technology is… could be involved.
Karrod blanched as Sencha considered what little they knew about Tholian systems. He didn't like the conclusions she came to.
Niac: That's troubling, Ensign. Go on.
Wren: ::encouragingly:: what we currently know about Tholoan technology is unfortunately limited to mostly offensive weaponry, but I've heard records of them manipulating space-time before.
Zh'taan: If… if I rely on Starfleet’s various documentation about the Tholians… uh… they are capable of creating structures that can alter space-time. We think that… that this ring ::he points at the ring on the schematic:: was built using Tholian technology, or at least contains part of… of that technology.
Sencha's memories unfolded within his consciousness and he walked over to a terminal, tapping in data from a lifetime ago as he spoke.
Niac: Sencha's original research was about tapping into subspace as a potentially infinite energy source, using focused particle beams to tunnel through and open a gap between an energetic layer of subspace and normal space. It would've been self-sustaining once the gap was established. It never quite worked that way but it seems like the anomaly in that system gave them a head start. The existing damage to subspace ::He stopped typing, Sencha's thoughts growing pained.:: They got close. Much too close. If you hadn't stopped them when you did...well, beings in the Andromeda galaxy would've gotten quite the light show. We'll have to confirm your theory.
Kel: Response
Wren: that's definitely possible ::to Niac and Kel, a little insecure herself:: do we still have the Tholian or Rurat’dari on board? It couldn't hurt to ask them for verification.
Karrod shook his head and looked to V'Len.
Niac: I didn't get to that part of your report, were they among the people we dropped off at DS33 or did they need extended treatment aboard?
Kel: Response
Zh'taan: So, we… we could almost think that this ring acts as an alignment point between our universe and the other one.
Wren: what if it's partially constructed from materials from that other universe? It's a bit of a longshot, but if the ring was constructed out of materials from this universe, maybe it would only be able to draw energy inwards from here. But if it was constructed from materials from that outside universe, even partially, maybe that would allow it to resonate at a frequency that would allow it to draw energy from both sides?
Karrod considered it for a moment while Sencha went quiescent in shock. It was something she'd never considered, something she'd never conceived of. It was lunacy. It was terrifyingly dangerous. It was also astonishingly brilliant. Karrod looked between the two Ensigns with a small smile.
Niac: That's...one hell of a theory...::He gestured towards his gut:: you two even managed to shut the slug up and that never happens. The Tholians figure out some way to manipulate the anomaly, focus it, and use it to extract materials from another universe. It's...it's what Sencha was trying to do but on a radically larger scale. The instability problems...I'm amazed it lasted as long as it did without blowing apart most of the quadrant.
Zh'taan/Kel: Response
Wren: The records aren't complete, but if it was able to draw energy from both universes simultaneously, that would….. I guess that would mean it could run indefinitely…. If it runs out of energy from one universe, it could just pick up the slack from the other one until its original source is replenished?
Karrod finished the thought now hanging heavily in the room.
Niac: Infinite energy. In the hands of the Lattice Alliance.
Zh'taan/Kel: Response
Wren: :: getting a little anxious:’ It's just a hypothesis, of course. I really think we need to find a way to negotiate for further information. If the Jem’Hadar and the Tholian aren't options, maybe we can get a full picture from tr’Kharis.
He considered it as he resumed tapping at the terminal, not entirely sure what Sencha was working on but letting her focus on it while he spoke.
Niac: Fortunately your clever little legal maneuver has lead to the Ferengi Alliance taking a vested interest in the system, so short of assembling a full scale armada I don't think the Alliance is going to make its way back into that system any time soon. We've got time to debrief them further or have Starfleet Security do it for us. My question is...did we stop it in time?
Zh'taan/Kel/Wren: Response
Niac: I mean, do you think they harvested enough of this extra-universal material to try this again somewhere else? Somewhere deeper in their territory where we wouldn't know about it until they were successful or until there was a big hole in subspace where our galaxy used to be.
Zh'taan/Kel/Wren: Response
[Tags/TBC!]
================================
Fleet Captain Karrod Niac
Commanding Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
V239509GT0
((Ready Room, Deck 3, USS Ronin))
Rubbing the bridge of his nose as he leaned back on the couch in his office, Karrod set aside the padd and closed his eyes. His desk terminal remained stubbornly and dubiously secured so he'd retrieved a padd from the Kurosawa which, still reasonably confident of his corporealness, let him access the ships mission reports and log entries without too much effort.
Part of him, the part that had been Sencha long ago, wished that he hadn't looked.
Ever since the truth of Sencha's death had come to light the already painful subject of her stolen research had taken on an even sharper edge within them. It made the discovery of yet another calamitous project based on her work that much more painful. Karrod's consciousness had drifted back as he let his impression of Sencha pour over the sensor logs and probe readings, studying the debriefings of the scarred Romulan administrator of 'The Lid' and his team. Karrod sympathized with them to a degree...foolish as their original efforts had been falling under the imposed authority of the Lattice Alliance was a fate he wouldn't wish on anybody.
Sencha still rippled in his thoughts, incensed at the whole thing and profoundly horrified at the damage the Ronin had barely prevented. She'd tried to take him through the math four separate times yet Karrod's understanding remained simplistic...it would've been bad. Very bad. For this and a variety of other colorful dimensions, one of which was tragically now down their own Karrod and Toryn.
He still hadn't been able to get his terminal to repeat the message or the datastream that had accompanied it. Yet the look on that other Karrod's face haunted him. That man had seen something bad enough to propel him to desperate self-sacrifice. And somehow all of it was tied to Sencha's work.
Sencha withdrew and Karrod's consciousness came into focus as the comm chirped. The channel opened without preamble and Karrod didn't even have a chance to open his eyes.
Zh'taan: =/\= Ensign Zh'taan to Captain Niac. Would you be available to come down to Lab 2? We need your insight. End transmission. =/\=
Kel: ::hurrying to add:: =/\= They'll be drinks! =/\=
Karrod chuckled as he stood from the couch, leaving the padd behind.
Niac: =/\= You always know just what to say Mr. Kel. I'll be there shortly. =/\=
Karrod rolled his neck to a variety of unpleasant pops and crunches as he headed out his ready room door and headed for the turbolift, Sencha still deeply disquieted within him. He gave his abdomen a gentle, sympathetic pat as the turbolift doors slid shut.
((Lab 2, Deck 10, USS Ronin))
Karrod had composed his thoughts and Niac had grown a bit quieter as he walked, glad to set aside the subject of Sencha's work and focus on anything else for a few hours. As he stepped through the door and audibly heard an eager Ensign's spine snap to attention he had a feeling he wouldn't quite get his wish.
Zh'taan: G-Good morning, Captain. ::straightens into an official posture:: Uh… I am Ensign Zh'taan, we would like to speak with you about Sencha radiation.
He also gave a nod of greeting to Ensign Wren.
Kel: ::nodding his head:: Morning Karrod, Ensign Wren. Ensign Zh'taan and I were just trying to break down some of what we experienced on our last mission.
Wren: Good morning, sir. And it's nice to meet you, Zh’taan, I heard good things about your work on the last mission.
Karrod crossed his arms and looked around the well equipped and comprehensively furnished laboratory space and then to V'Len with a deep and not entirely feigned scowl.
Niac: I was promised drinks, V'Len. I don't see any drinks, V'Len.
Kel: Given the nature of the phenomena, namely that it was a Sencha generator, you seemed uniquely qualified to give us some insight.
Wren: :: excited:: Yes, I've been curious about how Sencha radiation is formed.
He begrudgingly nodded, conceding the point while being uniquely unhappy about it.
Niac: Fair enough, I was just going over some of the mission reports. Well done, all of you...there's a part of me that feels particularly at blame for what you went through. I've gone over the sensor logs but that system was such a mess many of the readings are gibberish. Take me through what you've found.
Kel: Ensign Zh'taan, perhaps you can bring the Captain and Ensign Wren up to speed on our discussion.
Zh'taan: ::quickly checks his PADD:: Th-the Lieutenant Commander Kel and I, we… um… were trying to figure out how the Alliance managed to emit so much Sencha radiation without… um… it damaging the generator.
Niac: Relax Mr. Zh'taan, you're not giving a lecture at the Academy. You were both there and I wasn't...talk me through what you're thinking. That goes for you as well Ensign Wren...I need to understand as much as I can so we can figure out how to prevent it from ever happening again.
Kel: My key question is how the hell were they doing it. How did they generate Sencha will still using subspace to pull energy to pull energy from a star in another universe?
Zh'taan: We… we also think that Tholian technology is… could be involved.
Karrod blanched as Sencha considered what little they knew about Tholian systems. He didn't like the conclusions she came to.
Niac: That's troubling, Ensign. Go on.
Wren: ::encouragingly:: what we currently know about Tholoan technology is unfortunately limited to mostly offensive weaponry, but I've heard records of them manipulating space-time before.
Zh'taan: If… if I rely on Starfleet’s various documentation about the Tholians… uh… they are capable of creating structures that can alter space-time. We think that… that this ring ::he points at the ring on the schematic:: was built using Tholian technology, or at least contains part of… of that technology.
Sencha's memories unfolded within his consciousness and he walked over to a terminal, tapping in data from a lifetime ago as he spoke.
Niac: Sencha's original research was about tapping into subspace as a potentially infinite energy source, using focused particle beams to tunnel through and open a gap between an energetic layer of subspace and normal space. It would've been self-sustaining once the gap was established. It never quite worked that way but it seems like the anomaly in that system gave them a head start. The existing damage to subspace ::He stopped typing, Sencha's thoughts growing pained.:: They got close. Much too close. If you hadn't stopped them when you did...well, beings in the Andromeda galaxy would've gotten quite the light show. We'll have to confirm your theory.
Kel: Response
Wren: that's definitely possible ::to Niac and Kel, a little insecure herself:: do we still have the Tholian or Rurat’dari on board? It couldn't hurt to ask them for verification.
Karrod shook his head and looked to V'Len.
Niac: I didn't get to that part of your report, were they among the people we dropped off at DS33 or did they need extended treatment aboard?
Kel: Response
Zh'taan: So, we… we could almost think that this ring acts as an alignment point between our universe and the other one.
Wren: what if it's partially constructed from materials from that other universe? It's a bit of a longshot, but if the ring was constructed out of materials from this universe, maybe it would only be able to draw energy inwards from here. But if it was constructed from materials from that outside universe, even partially, maybe that would allow it to resonate at a frequency that would allow it to draw energy from both sides?
Karrod considered it for a moment while Sencha went quiescent in shock. It was something she'd never considered, something she'd never conceived of. It was lunacy. It was terrifyingly dangerous. It was also astonishingly brilliant. Karrod looked between the two Ensigns with a small smile.
Niac: That's...one hell of a theory...::He gestured towards his gut:: you two even managed to shut the slug up and that never happens. The Tholians figure out some way to manipulate the anomaly, focus it, and use it to extract materials from another universe. It's...it's what Sencha was trying to do but on a radically larger scale. The instability problems...I'm amazed it lasted as long as it did without blowing apart most of the quadrant.
Zh'taan/Kel: Response
Wren: The records aren't complete, but if it was able to draw energy from both universes simultaneously, that would….. I guess that would mean it could run indefinitely…. If it runs out of energy from one universe, it could just pick up the slack from the other one until its original source is replenished?
Karrod finished the thought now hanging heavily in the room.
Niac: Infinite energy. In the hands of the Lattice Alliance.
Zh'taan/Kel: Response
Wren: :: getting a little anxious:’ It's just a hypothesis, of course. I really think we need to find a way to negotiate for further information. If the Jem’Hadar and the Tholian aren't options, maybe we can get a full picture from tr’Kharis.
He considered it as he resumed tapping at the terminal, not entirely sure what Sencha was working on but letting her focus on it while he spoke.
Niac: Fortunately your clever little legal maneuver has lead to the Ferengi Alliance taking a vested interest in the system, so short of assembling a full scale armada I don't think the Alliance is going to make its way back into that system any time soon. We've got time to debrief them further or have Starfleet Security do it for us. My question is...did we stop it in time?
Zh'taan/Kel/Wren: Response
Niac: I mean, do you think they harvested enough of this extra-universal material to try this again somewhere else? Somewhere deeper in their territory where we wouldn't know about it until they were successful or until there was a big hole in subspace where our galaxy used to be.
Zh'taan/Kel/Wren: Response
[Tags/TBC!]
================================
Fleet Captain Karrod Niac
Commanding Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
V239509GT0
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