Flt. Capt. Karrod Niac - House Calls
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Karrod Niac
Sep 20, 2025, 11:53:20 PM (2 days ago) Sep 20
to USS Ronin – StarBase 118 Star Trek PBEM RPG
((Bridge, Deck 3, USS Ronin))
Niac: Try to get them back, Toryn. Counselor, I think you just got your first look at how quickly this disease can affect someone.
Raga: Aye. Trying to reestablish comms. I’m not seeing any issues on our end.
Shortrith: With how fast diseases have been transmitted in the past, there's no second guessing ourselves at this stage.
Raga: This one is particularly nasty. ::he mused:: I’ll never understand the mindset of making bioweapons. There’s plenty of conventional ways to kill people horribly as it is.
In the center seat Karrod shook his head ruefully and glanced towards his XO.
Niac: Weapons like this aren't about lethality...they're about terror. This is meant to be a threat...an axe that looms over the heads of whoever opposes its creators. It's vile...but it's also a very effective tactic that the despicable have used for centuries to control populations or steer cultures.
Shortrith: I can continue monitoring the biosignals from here, but I don't know if I can do any more from here.
There were a few quiet moments on the bridge as heads were down, working stations and doing what little they could to help the team on the Rose from a distance. With difficulty he tore himself away from the immediate problems aboard the Rose and turned his focus to the bigger picture, tapping commands into the armrest and bringing up a sensor map of the system on one of his displays.
He could see the Valkyries and runabouts spreading out through the system while two separate flight groups angled towards the suspected location of the freighter, far ahead of the Ronin's current course. The smaller craft could take faster, more direct routes to get to their final destination than the Ronin could with its wounded sister ship in tow and try as he might to keep from being frustrated, the delay in their intercept was making the muscles in his neck tense painfully.
Raga: Captain. I’m seeing slightly fewer armed warheads on the Rose. It looks like they’re managing to disarm them. They’ve gotten at least five already.
He offered a small smile and a nod of salute towards the viewscreen and all those people on the other side of it.
Niac: Good to see our people are still working the problem. Ensign, pull the biomonitor data from their suits and transfer it to sickbay along with your observations...I want Doctor Beck to have as up to date a picture on this damn thing as he can get.
Shortrith: ::firmly:: I'll do what I can.
He turned his attention back to Toryn and pitched his voice low.
Niac: Do they have enough time?
Raga: It’ll be close. But if they keep up this pace they should have them all disarmed before we have to explain why we chipped the paint.
Karrod's eyebrows drew together in surprise at the flip remark but he appreciated that Toryn was dealing with the tension of the moment as best he could. As they all were. He offered a wry smile in return before turning his chair back towards the viewscreen.
Niac: Don't worry Mr. Raga, if we need a touch-up I'm sure there's a talented young ensign around who wouldn't mind going for a walk. Isn't that right Counselor?
Shortrith: Response
Raga: It’ll be closer than any of us like, but I trust our people. As for our hunt for that shuttle, it looks like they’re still chasing…
Toryn's update was cut short but the chime of the comm and the voice of their harried Chief Medical Officer.
Beck: =/\= Sickbay to Bridge. We got your message about locating the Tarrellian ship - I can confirm that what we're looking at is a heavily modified version of the plague. =/\=
Karrod's eyebrows shot up and he felt a throbbing all along his spots.
Niac: =/\= Modified? Doctor...are you telling me someone took the most destructive bio-weapon known to Federation science and felt like there was room for improvement?! =/\=
Shortrith: Response
((OOC: Since Naledi has since responded but didn't leverage any of the optional tags, I'm trimming those out of the rest of the response for clarity))
Raga: =/\= So someone altered the bioweapon? Please tell us you have good news, Doc. =/\=
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
There was a brief pause on the line and a hint of something...troubling in Quentin's voice when he responded.
Beck: =/\= I think there's some hope - Lieutenant Naledi, who was sent over from the Rose, appears to have some sort of natural resistance to this thing. I don't want to call it immunity, I don't have enough evidence to say that for sure, but they are progressing at a much slower pace compared to everyone else. Now that we know where to start, we might be able to make quick, significant progress while investigating why it isn't affecting them the same way. ::a pause:: There is one little caveat, though… =/\=
Niac: =/\= Considering that this bioweapon has puzzled every science team who has ever taken a look at it for a century I'll consider anything positive just this side of miraculous, Doctor. Take me through the caveat. =/\=
Shortrith: Response
Raga: =/\= I was waiting for the catch. Don’t hold back, Doc. =/\=
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
The pause this time was long enough for Karrod to share a look with Toryn that spoke of grave concern.
Beck: =/\= The information on the plague we have is almost 40 years out of date. We were able to match biomarkers to what readings they could get on the Enterprise way back when, but uh… I think if we want to make any headway, we need a live sample that hasn't infected anyone just yet. =/\=
Niac: =/\= You mean a sample of the virus taken from where, Doctor? The Rose? The freighter? Some kind of uncontaminated culture? That's quite some...little caveat. =/\=
Shortrith: Response
Raga: =/\= And how do you suppose we do that? =/\=
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
Beck: =/\= I'd like to volunteer to lead the away team to dispatch to the plague ship. I have a pretty good idea what we're looking for, and I'm hoping maybe we'll get lucky and find the lab where they were modifying this thing. =/\=
He shared another look with Toryn as he stood and stalked towards the viewscreen.
Niac: =/\= Quentin, you must realize the gravity of what you're proposing. Tarellian ships...even the long dead wreckage of one...are under a blanket quarantine order issued by the Federation Council. The order uses the words 'under no circumstances' more than once. Anyone who beams to that ship is stuck there unless a treatment can be found and all traces of the disease entirely eradicated. =/\=
Shortrith: Response
Raga: =/\= That’s risky. We already have one of our senior most medical staff stuck over there. Our Acting CMO. If you’re over there too then.. =/\=
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
Beck: =/\= I... feel I should also mention another theory I've got floating around in my head. This is based on a conversation I had earlier with Doctor Kel - he said there's nanomachines involved that are actually modifying the host's proteins to better allow the virus to spread. That suggests a highly advanced AI is being used. Just... throwing that out there. =/\=
Karrod found himself shaking his head in a combination of frustration and fury.
Niac: =/\= Well Doctor, one thing I remember from my engineering courses is that making things more complex always introduces new and interesting ways for it to fail. Perhaps that nanotechnology is an attack vector you can leverage in your treatment plans, especially based on what you've learned from your examinations of the Roses survivors. =/\=
Shortrith: Response
Raga: =/\= Nanomachines? Someone enhanced the Tarellian plague with AI? What madman thought that was a good idea? =/\=
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
The emotion that found its way into Toryn's voice made Karrod turn and consider the man thoughtfully. Something about what he said hung in his mind for a moment and he could feel Niac pulling at the thread of his memory, trying to help him figure out why it seemed significant. Some half-forgotten detail...some minor entry in a mission report...something was chafing the edges of his memory. When Niac at last teased it out Karrod gasped audibly at the realization.
Niac: Someone with sophisticated resources and no compunction about how they're used. Someone proficient with robotics and artificial intelligence who has no qualms about using either for lethal ends. Someone who considers loss of life to be a necessary and even beneficial part of a broader strategy. Someone who has already been rebuffed more than once and may have been pushed to try yet another means to project their signature form of coercive violence around the region. Someone...very much like the Consortium, Mr. Raga.
Shortrith: Response
Raga: =/\= Quentin, you should know that at least one of our people has already been infected as well. Mister Kessler’s suit was punctured a few minutes ago and he’s already showing signs of the infection. =/\=
Karrod pulled himself back from his suspicions and focused instead on the present. He would have to make a choice very soon and he was forced to choose between a spectrum of terrible options.
Niac: =/\= Doctor...lets assume I agree with your proposal. Even if you were to get aboard that ship and find an unmodified sample of the original virus, what are our chances of developing a treatment before our team on the Rose begins to succumb to this...thing? =/\=
Shortrith: Response
Beck: =/\= Response =/\=
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
Listening to the Doctor lay it out Karrod evaluated their options while a chime from the sensors drew Toryn's attention.
Raga: There’s several fewer live warheads being registered and we just received an alert from the group looking for that shuttle. They’ve found one of the Rose’s escape pods adrift with life signs detected but are still in pursuit. I’ve already alerted our flight deck to send a recovery shuttle.
Niac: Very well, advise the flight crew to tractor that pod back to the Rose but make it clear they are to have no contact with any survivors.
Karrod realized he'd made his decision while considering those stranded survivors and the fact that, even if they were brought back, he was simply delaying their fate. Something in him that had been undirected fury at the situation grew quiet and cold and focused. He keyed the comm back to Doctor Beck.
Niac: =/\= Doctor...if you were to have any hope of developing a treatment, you'll need the resources aboard the Ronin...and as our acting CMO and second officer are both off the ship at the moment, you'll need to be here to leverage them. Which is why I'll be going to the Tarellian ship myself. You'll walk me through whatever tasks I need to do over the comm and I can collect the samples and send them back in stasis directly to your lab. That should limit any chance of exposure and give you what you need to kill this damned thing. =/\=
Raga/Shortrith: Response
Beck: =/\= Response =/\=
Karrod held up a hand.
Niac: I appreciate that Mr. Raga but I've put enough people in harms way today. =/\= Doctor...tell me I'm wrong. Tell me this plan has a better chance of success with you stuck in the frozen remains of a dead ship, waiting for your EVA suit to run out of air. In this scenario I'm far more expendable than you are and you know it. =/\=
Raga/Shortrith: Response
Beck: =/\= Response =/\=
Karrod could feel Toryn glaring at him but chose to ignore it for the moment.
Niac: =/\= In that case report to the shuttlebay as soon as possible with suitable sample collection equipment and be prepared to brief me on what you need. I'll take a shuttle, get your sample back to the ship then make my way to the Rose. At the very least I'll be in a position to help the teams over there...for however long we all have. =/\=
Raga/Shortrith: Response
Beck: =/\= Response =/\=
Karrod could feel the weight of the silence on the bridge as he walked past the chair and nodded at Toryn.
Niac: In that case I need to do a few things before disembarking. You have the bridge, Mr. Raga. Your orders are to intercept that freighter, contain or eliminate any threat of further contamination it poses, then support our teams aboard the Rose as best as possible. Should you...lose contact with the Rose wait one hour and then I expect you to follow general order six to the letter....scuttle that ship, Toryn. Make sure there's nothing left. Understood?
Raga: Response
Karrod walked across the bridge and towards his ready room, the ringing silence and the beating of his own heart deafening in his ears. This was a desperate gamble but, in his estimation, the one that gave the crew the greatest chance at beating something most would consider unbeatable. For their tomorrows...he might very well have to give his today.
[Tags/End act 2 for Karrod!]
((OOC: Loving the flow of things so far - I'll give everybody a couple days to start winding down act 2 and we'll kick off into our final act in the next few days!))
===============================
Fleet Captain Karrod Niac
Commanding Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
V239509GT0
Niac: Try to get them back, Toryn. Counselor, I think you just got your first look at how quickly this disease can affect someone.
Raga: Aye. Trying to reestablish comms. I’m not seeing any issues on our end.
Shortrith: With how fast diseases have been transmitted in the past, there's no second guessing ourselves at this stage.
Raga: This one is particularly nasty. ::he mused:: I’ll never understand the mindset of making bioweapons. There’s plenty of conventional ways to kill people horribly as it is.
In the center seat Karrod shook his head ruefully and glanced towards his XO.
Niac: Weapons like this aren't about lethality...they're about terror. This is meant to be a threat...an axe that looms over the heads of whoever opposes its creators. It's vile...but it's also a very effective tactic that the despicable have used for centuries to control populations or steer cultures.
Shortrith: I can continue monitoring the biosignals from here, but I don't know if I can do any more from here.
There were a few quiet moments on the bridge as heads were down, working stations and doing what little they could to help the team on the Rose from a distance. With difficulty he tore himself away from the immediate problems aboard the Rose and turned his focus to the bigger picture, tapping commands into the armrest and bringing up a sensor map of the system on one of his displays.
He could see the Valkyries and runabouts spreading out through the system while two separate flight groups angled towards the suspected location of the freighter, far ahead of the Ronin's current course. The smaller craft could take faster, more direct routes to get to their final destination than the Ronin could with its wounded sister ship in tow and try as he might to keep from being frustrated, the delay in their intercept was making the muscles in his neck tense painfully.
Raga: Captain. I’m seeing slightly fewer armed warheads on the Rose. It looks like they’re managing to disarm them. They’ve gotten at least five already.
He offered a small smile and a nod of salute towards the viewscreen and all those people on the other side of it.
Niac: Good to see our people are still working the problem. Ensign, pull the biomonitor data from their suits and transfer it to sickbay along with your observations...I want Doctor Beck to have as up to date a picture on this damn thing as he can get.
Shortrith: ::firmly:: I'll do what I can.
He turned his attention back to Toryn and pitched his voice low.
Niac: Do they have enough time?
Raga: It’ll be close. But if they keep up this pace they should have them all disarmed before we have to explain why we chipped the paint.
Karrod's eyebrows drew together in surprise at the flip remark but he appreciated that Toryn was dealing with the tension of the moment as best he could. As they all were. He offered a wry smile in return before turning his chair back towards the viewscreen.
Niac: Don't worry Mr. Raga, if we need a touch-up I'm sure there's a talented young ensign around who wouldn't mind going for a walk. Isn't that right Counselor?
Shortrith: Response
Raga: It’ll be closer than any of us like, but I trust our people. As for our hunt for that shuttle, it looks like they’re still chasing…
Toryn's update was cut short but the chime of the comm and the voice of their harried Chief Medical Officer.
Beck: =/\= Sickbay to Bridge. We got your message about locating the Tarrellian ship - I can confirm that what we're looking at is a heavily modified version of the plague. =/\=
Karrod's eyebrows shot up and he felt a throbbing all along his spots.
Niac: =/\= Modified? Doctor...are you telling me someone took the most destructive bio-weapon known to Federation science and felt like there was room for improvement?! =/\=
Shortrith: Response
((OOC: Since Naledi has since responded but didn't leverage any of the optional tags, I'm trimming those out of the rest of the response for clarity))
Raga: =/\= So someone altered the bioweapon? Please tell us you have good news, Doc. =/\=
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
There was a brief pause on the line and a hint of something...troubling in Quentin's voice when he responded.
Beck: =/\= I think there's some hope - Lieutenant Naledi, who was sent over from the Rose, appears to have some sort of natural resistance to this thing. I don't want to call it immunity, I don't have enough evidence to say that for sure, but they are progressing at a much slower pace compared to everyone else. Now that we know where to start, we might be able to make quick, significant progress while investigating why it isn't affecting them the same way. ::a pause:: There is one little caveat, though… =/\=
Niac: =/\= Considering that this bioweapon has puzzled every science team who has ever taken a look at it for a century I'll consider anything positive just this side of miraculous, Doctor. Take me through the caveat. =/\=
Shortrith: Response
Raga: =/\= I was waiting for the catch. Don’t hold back, Doc. =/\=
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
The pause this time was long enough for Karrod to share a look with Toryn that spoke of grave concern.
Beck: =/\= The information on the plague we have is almost 40 years out of date. We were able to match biomarkers to what readings they could get on the Enterprise way back when, but uh… I think if we want to make any headway, we need a live sample that hasn't infected anyone just yet. =/\=
Niac: =/\= You mean a sample of the virus taken from where, Doctor? The Rose? The freighter? Some kind of uncontaminated culture? That's quite some...little caveat. =/\=
Shortrith: Response
Raga: =/\= And how do you suppose we do that? =/\=
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
Beck: =/\= I'd like to volunteer to lead the away team to dispatch to the plague ship. I have a pretty good idea what we're looking for, and I'm hoping maybe we'll get lucky and find the lab where they were modifying this thing. =/\=
He shared another look with Toryn as he stood and stalked towards the viewscreen.
Niac: =/\= Quentin, you must realize the gravity of what you're proposing. Tarellian ships...even the long dead wreckage of one...are under a blanket quarantine order issued by the Federation Council. The order uses the words 'under no circumstances' more than once. Anyone who beams to that ship is stuck there unless a treatment can be found and all traces of the disease entirely eradicated. =/\=
Shortrith: Response
Raga: =/\= That’s risky. We already have one of our senior most medical staff stuck over there. Our Acting CMO. If you’re over there too then.. =/\=
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
Beck: =/\= I... feel I should also mention another theory I've got floating around in my head. This is based on a conversation I had earlier with Doctor Kel - he said there's nanomachines involved that are actually modifying the host's proteins to better allow the virus to spread. That suggests a highly advanced AI is being used. Just... throwing that out there. =/\=
Karrod found himself shaking his head in a combination of frustration and fury.
Niac: =/\= Well Doctor, one thing I remember from my engineering courses is that making things more complex always introduces new and interesting ways for it to fail. Perhaps that nanotechnology is an attack vector you can leverage in your treatment plans, especially based on what you've learned from your examinations of the Roses survivors. =/\=
Shortrith: Response
Raga: =/\= Nanomachines? Someone enhanced the Tarellian plague with AI? What madman thought that was a good idea? =/\=
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
The emotion that found its way into Toryn's voice made Karrod turn and consider the man thoughtfully. Something about what he said hung in his mind for a moment and he could feel Niac pulling at the thread of his memory, trying to help him figure out why it seemed significant. Some half-forgotten detail...some minor entry in a mission report...something was chafing the edges of his memory. When Niac at last teased it out Karrod gasped audibly at the realization.
Niac: Someone with sophisticated resources and no compunction about how they're used. Someone proficient with robotics and artificial intelligence who has no qualms about using either for lethal ends. Someone who considers loss of life to be a necessary and even beneficial part of a broader strategy. Someone who has already been rebuffed more than once and may have been pushed to try yet another means to project their signature form of coercive violence around the region. Someone...very much like the Consortium, Mr. Raga.
Shortrith: Response
Raga: =/\= Quentin, you should know that at least one of our people has already been infected as well. Mister Kessler’s suit was punctured a few minutes ago and he’s already showing signs of the infection. =/\=
Karrod pulled himself back from his suspicions and focused instead on the present. He would have to make a choice very soon and he was forced to choose between a spectrum of terrible options.
Niac: =/\= Doctor...lets assume I agree with your proposal. Even if you were to get aboard that ship and find an unmodified sample of the original virus, what are our chances of developing a treatment before our team on the Rose begins to succumb to this...thing? =/\=
Shortrith: Response
Beck: =/\= Response =/\=
Wyla/Nemes: (optional) Response
Listening to the Doctor lay it out Karrod evaluated their options while a chime from the sensors drew Toryn's attention.
Raga: There’s several fewer live warheads being registered and we just received an alert from the group looking for that shuttle. They’ve found one of the Rose’s escape pods adrift with life signs detected but are still in pursuit. I’ve already alerted our flight deck to send a recovery shuttle.
Niac: Very well, advise the flight crew to tractor that pod back to the Rose but make it clear they are to have no contact with any survivors.
Karrod realized he'd made his decision while considering those stranded survivors and the fact that, even if they were brought back, he was simply delaying their fate. Something in him that had been undirected fury at the situation grew quiet and cold and focused. He keyed the comm back to Doctor Beck.
Niac: =/\= Doctor...if you were to have any hope of developing a treatment, you'll need the resources aboard the Ronin...and as our acting CMO and second officer are both off the ship at the moment, you'll need to be here to leverage them. Which is why I'll be going to the Tarellian ship myself. You'll walk me through whatever tasks I need to do over the comm and I can collect the samples and send them back in stasis directly to your lab. That should limit any chance of exposure and give you what you need to kill this damned thing. =/\=
Raga/Shortrith: Response
Beck: =/\= Response =/\=
Karrod held up a hand.
Niac: I appreciate that Mr. Raga but I've put enough people in harms way today. =/\= Doctor...tell me I'm wrong. Tell me this plan has a better chance of success with you stuck in the frozen remains of a dead ship, waiting for your EVA suit to run out of air. In this scenario I'm far more expendable than you are and you know it. =/\=
Raga/Shortrith: Response
Beck: =/\= Response =/\=
Karrod could feel Toryn glaring at him but chose to ignore it for the moment.
Niac: =/\= In that case report to the shuttlebay as soon as possible with suitable sample collection equipment and be prepared to brief me on what you need. I'll take a shuttle, get your sample back to the ship then make my way to the Rose. At the very least I'll be in a position to help the teams over there...for however long we all have. =/\=
Raga/Shortrith: Response
Beck: =/\= Response =/\=
Karrod could feel the weight of the silence on the bridge as he walked past the chair and nodded at Toryn.
Niac: In that case I need to do a few things before disembarking. You have the bridge, Mr. Raga. Your orders are to intercept that freighter, contain or eliminate any threat of further contamination it poses, then support our teams aboard the Rose as best as possible. Should you...lose contact with the Rose wait one hour and then I expect you to follow general order six to the letter....scuttle that ship, Toryn. Make sure there's nothing left. Understood?
Raga: Response
Karrod walked across the bridge and towards his ready room, the ringing silence and the beating of his own heart deafening in his ears. This was a desperate gamble but, in his estimation, the one that gave the crew the greatest chance at beating something most would consider unbeatable. For their tomorrows...he might very well have to give his today.
[Tags/End act 2 for Karrod!]
((OOC: Loving the flow of things so far - I'll give everybody a couple days to start winding down act 2 and we'll kick off into our final act in the next few days!))
===============================
Fleet Captain Karrod Niac
Commanding Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
V239509GT0
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