Lieutenant Commander Morro Caras - run aground, back to sea
Morro Caras
(( Bridge, Deck 1, USS Thor ))
Lieutenant Commander Morro Caras felt like the pause button had been hit. They had just been talking about fate, and how nothing could ever stay quiet, and of course, as Sevantha had said, fate was calling them out. Deep down Caras knew this, he just hated that every time there was an aversion to tempting fate. He disliked being constrained by artificial norms that served no purpose. He was all about culture, manners, and even ceremony. He liked a lot of those things. But superstition? That had never sat well with him. Now the moment was here. They had just received an S.O.S. from Captain Promontory aboard the luxury ship The Syren’s Song. The moment Caras thought some had been dreading, was here. But for some reason they weren’t moving.Caras had only seen Sevantha like this a few times, He was hoping it was temporary. He understood the immense weight that had probably just hit her. It was so powerful he felt a little of it over their link. He had to give her a little, gentle push.
Caras: Sev…. Commander Saa? Orders?
Her voice was small. Everyone on the bridge was now looking at Sevantha.
Saa: I…
Sevantha seemed frozen. Almost in time. This reminded Morro of his previous misadventure on the holodeck, he almost called out to make sure this wasn’t a simulation, but he didn’t want to confuse anyone else.
Tito: Experience told me we were about to move.
Talyra: … Of course, sir. Receiving a SOS does tend to get ships moving. I believe that is the goal of sending one, in fact.
Caras knew that the strength behind any commanding officer was the strength of their crew, and the bridge crew here was no joke. They would help Sevantha get to where she needed to go.
Tito: Dropping some probes so we can return and finish our sweep. I suggest we track the message and head there.
A good suggestion. Caras moved to his console to take a little bit of engineering inventory before giving any suggestions to the acting Captain. He didn’t want to overwhelm her, but she had to get moving.
Saa: R-right.
She was quiet. Despite all of the talk earlier about wanting to avoid anything happening, she didn’t seem mentally prepared for what kind of scenario might happen that would be bad news. Who really could. When you were in command, anything could happen. Caras felt confident that most of the time his immediate responsibilities were in his realm of control. All of engineering wasn’t a “tight grip” but it was something he had a deep knowledge about. Sevantha on the other hand was now in command of the entire ship, and actually knowing the depth of that reality never hit until moments like these.
Caras: I’m suspending any current maintenance, that can wait until we discover what this is. The entirety of engineering is ready to go. We are here for you.
Caras awaited but the bridge still felt suspended. It was like trying to push a large boat back in the sea. Sometimes you weren’t sure if you were making any progress. Caras wanted to maintain his firm support, and make sure that Saa was able to see it clearly.
Tito: Captain Promontory wouldn’t send that kind of message light heartedly.
Caras turned to Tito and then back to Sevantha as the impact of Tito’s words he. He was right, whatever it was, The captain had probably just enough time to react to send that message and nothing more. Or else he would have.
Caras saw another emotional wave hit Commander Saa as she gently shook her head.
Talyra: If we know the ship’s planned itinerary, that would cut down on tracing the source. Were any coordinates included in the SOS message?
Caras: No, but we did get multiple possible points of origin enough to get a good idea of where it might have been sent from. It should be an easy task to narrow down to the direct vicinity. The Syren’s song herself, as well as the localized event… if it’s not the entire ship.
Caras knew that those details were extremely important. The kind of signal they got out could mean that they were being held captive, or the ship was commandeered. It circumvented the normal communication routes. If the captain was being held, that would explain the method and the brevity of the message. It was even possible that they could be held hostage, and no one else on the ship would know. There were all kinds of situations like that.
Saa: Naledi was meeting with the Security and Intelligence to review their itinerary and route currently, request their review of the route. ::Voice still distant and disconnected as she stares into the viewfinder:: Compare it with the recorded cruise speed and message triangulation to give us the last known location of the Syren Song.
Now her wheels were turning. That was good. Caras stood ready for her full set of commands. She was still quiet though. The silence of the bridge was the only thing that allowed her whispers to carry over the air.
Tito: Aye Commander.
Saa: Morro… ::Not correcting herself:: I need Ral and yourself to review the schematics of the Syren Song as well as check fleet records for the USS Janaran’s information.
There it was. She was in motion. Caras wondered what had held her up. They should talk about it later. Caras made his own mental note to see why she froze. Usually she was more aware and on the ball than he was. It was odd to see her lag behind particularly when she was in command, something, Caras thought, that suited her naturally.
Caras: Aye commander. You’ll have the preliminary in a matter of minutes. I’m sending the messages to prepare for an emergency review. Once the files are ready, I'll need to excuse myself from the room to head down to main engineering. I wouldn’t dare snag the big table up here, so I'll need the big one down there to do a comprehensive review.
There was something about Saa that still seemed a bit sluggish to Morro. Actually more like nearly frozen water, the waves coming in only a little bit at a time.
Talyra: Commander Tito, the data we just got could be used to filter out the signal noise more efficiently.
Saa: …
Sevantha seemed to be taking it all in as the Bridge now had come alive from its sleep state.
Caras finished making his requests.
Caras: We’re having the computer look over the schematics of both, we’re having it make an outline of key components, as well as a possible trace of where the initial communication could have been sent from.
Caras knew that as soon as Ral saw the message, he’d be on his way to engineering as well. Caras also sent a message to a junior officer to come replace him on the bridge.
Tito: Response
As she pulled back to go to her seat, commander Saa once again was in a stand off with the legendary hammer.
Saa: …I see
Sevantha seemed to center herself now. Caras could see it in her body language.
Caras: No time like the present captain.
Once again Caras tried it out, and found that he liked it on Saa. She had found her focus, the frozen ocean had cleared now was the time for action.
Tito: Response
Talyra: Oh, probe telemetry looks good so far, by the way.
When Caras turned, she was holding it.Mjölnir. He knew she had been worthy the entire time. He couldn’t keep himself from smiling.
Caras figured a part of it was knowing that you were worthy. Getting over the fear that you weren’t. Worthiness was not something that was beset upon someone. It was something that one earned.
Morro knew in his heart that Sevantha had earned it. He would follow her anywhere.
He watched wordlessly as she brought the hammer up to her shoulder.
Saa: How far out are we from the Syren Song’s path and how quickly can we get to them?
Compared to her previous mutterings, Sevantha’s voice boomed like thunder across the bridge.
Caras: With minor maintenance suspended it will take about an hour to spin down the processes and bring the parts we need for readiness back into alignment. Sensors, power distributions, everything that was put aside for astrometrics.
Caras was hoping they could work a little faster than that.
Tito: Response
Then that was settled.
Saa: We need to be ready to go in under an hour. ::Turning to Caras:: Set us to Yellow Alert
Caras: Yellow Alert.
Caras set the alert for the system and announced it to the bridge. The Condition flashed across most visible consoles.
Caras finished his work and moved forward to the exit of the bridge.
Tito/Talyra: Response
He turned at the door as Sevantha made an announcement to the crew. Pressing her combadge, Sevantha’s voice once again boomed loud and clear, this time to the entire ship.
Saa: =/\= Crew of the USS Thor, this is Commander…. And currently acting Captain Sevantha Saa. We have received an SOS from our Captain onboard the Syren’s Song and have learned the USS Janaran is unresponsive. I need every Department Chief to start preparations for their teams to depart in under an hour. =/\=
She made a pause, thinking about something for a moment.
Saa: =/\= Lieutenant Tito and Commander Aislin will be temporary joint Chief Science Officers until Commander DeVeau is back with us. =/\=
Saa: =/\= Once we’ve set out all Chiefs report to the Ready Room for debrief. =/\=
Sevantha turned towards their destination. Now there was something to do, and fate had now laid it out for them.
Saa: Let’s go get our crew.
Caras: I’m having Miss Ekko relieve me until either myself or Ral become available for the bridge, but for now Captain, I’m more of use in engineering.
Caras turned as the door opened, his relief had arrived. He gave a dutiful nod to Tito, Talyra, and Saa, and moved with haste into the hallway to the turbolift.
Tito/Talyra: Response
[[End Scene for Morro Caras]]
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Lieutenant Commander Morro Caras
Chief of Engineering
USS Thor
O240106MC1
he/him/his (player/character)