Messages

[Deck 1 - Main Bridge - USS Discovery (The First)]

The Captain stared out the viewscreen, which had been zoomed onto the location of the crash.  The outside was unmistakable, right down to the lettering and scoring.  He had hoped it was some sort of trick.. like what the Tal Shiar did.  But the confirmation from T'Lara made his blood run cold... almost as cold as the blood in his counterpart's corpse.  How do you answer confirmation that your First Officer is looking at you dead?

"Acknowledged, Number One.  See what you can find.  We'll send down a medical officer to you shortly."

He closed the channel and opened one to sickbay, ordering for someone to go down there with a medical kit.  It was... odd.  That feeling of someone walking over his grave was strong, probably because he knew that it was literally happening about 10 or so kilometers below him.

"Mr. Graham... put us in geostationary orbit over the crash site.  Let Commander Lek know he is free to send down repair teams if he sees fit.  I want to know if the Discovery is salvageable, or if we need to scuttle it.  I'll be in my ready room." he stated, looking at Banan to let him know he had the con.  Nevir stood up, and walked over to the doors, letting them open and close behind him.

[Second Discovery - Same location]

At the same time, the doors to the Captain's ready room were able to be pried open, revealing the same simple room that was on their own Discovery.  Frozen PADDs on a frozen desk, but this time with light coming in from an exterior window.  Frosted, but otherwise whole.  This was clearly Captain's Tekin's ready room, as scattered around the office were personal effects that were otherwise too mundane to replicate for the sole purpose of deception.  Although both the holo-emitters and the okudagram panel were off, from the look of the desk set up, the computer had recently still been in use.

A shimmer of the air signaled an incoming transport, and on the bridge next to the ops station, Chief Medical Officer Marcus Thane materialized with a medical tricorder already in hand.  The Doctor was immediately startled by the sight around him of seeing his dead fellow crewmates, but quickly regained himself.  Trying to avoid looking at the dead Captain, or indeed the dead First Officer near the living one, he immediately moved over to both Nira and T'Lara.

"Seems peaceful... downright creepy.  But I guess this is better than beaming into Sickbay if the Bridge is any indication," he said, now trying to avoid looking at Nira hovering over... Nira.

"I have my teams looking over your scans now, but the Captain told me to come down immediately.  So... anything of interest?"

[Deck 5 - Impulse engine control - Discovery #2]

Unfortunately, the more Lek would move throughout the ship, the more he would start to see the dark truth they had discovered... more and more crew and officers would be found in the corridors, and especially in the auxiliary engineering room for Alpha.  Thankfully, the actual manual control room for the impulse engines was empty.  Still iced, but empty.

While there wasn't a way to get the engines online for thrust at the present time, they could still be activated.  And using the reserves for the engines power could be restored.  At least for the critical systems.  All in all, the damage to the engines, while serious, was repairable with the right tools and parts.  There was nothing yet to indicate that the ship couldn't be brought back to life fully.  However, for now, even with the impulse engines charging the ship, it would take time for the power to return to the ship... even the gel packs were frozen and needed to thaw.

[Deck 5 - Impulse engine control - Alternate Discovery]

Despite the horrible nature of having to maneuver around the dead of people you knew, even though you also knew they were alive was very difficult to reconcile for Lek. However, he'd gotten the impulse engines to start, at least for power, whether they would provide lift again was a different story, but at least they now had the hope of accessing the computers to find out what happened and, more importantly, when it happened.

"Lek to Commander T'Lara, good news. I was able to reinitialize the impulse engine. It will take about half an hour, but we'll finally have power for major systems. Although this ship has sustained significant damage, I believe it to be salvageable, but I'm going to need help. I'm going to start having repair teams join us. I'm headed for Deck 11 and take a look at the primary warp core. I will let you know what I discover. Lek out."

Lek turned to Crewman Gohun and said.

"Let's go. If we're going to repair this ship, we're going to need the industrial replicators and that means we have to have more power than the impulse engines can provide."

It was a fairly long climb to get to Deck 11, but at least it was going down. As Lek made his way to Main Engineering, he tapped his combadge.

"Lek to Gianetti. I'm going to need help over here. Send repair teams two, five, and six. While you're at it send team three as well. Lek out."

He'd added team three because Crewman Wynters was part of that team and he seemed to know his stuff.

"Now is a good time to see what he's really made of, because if you can handle seeing your dead self, then odds are you had the right stuff for Starfleet."

He muttered as he climbed.

[Other Discovery = Bridge]

With the Commander's words had calmed him. It had to be the Vulcan able to stay calm. Which was an addition to help Don from going stir crazy.

"He might leave it unlock," he suggested.

The thing had puzzled Don was the crew seemed to be at peace. He frowned. Like they died and someone placed them at their stations.

"You know, Commander I think I have another way that can help us. After checking the logs. We can check the personal crew quarters or personal where we are off duty," he had not liked this idea. "I know this going to sound eerie like going to a cemetery. We can see how they are placed? We can check corridors to see any crew are laying peaceful on the floor too. Cause what something had happened to them. And someone placed them where they are rest in peace," he stopped. He closed his eyes. He had not like saying that one bit. It was an angel. A clue for them to gain more information. "And we can check if there was any crash damage on the planet and figure what angel, speed when 'this' Discovery crashed. If I can get access to the helm  might figure it out."

Then he went to the Captain's ready room.

Don did take his time to check things out. The detail was down to the exact what he would know. "Commander, the computer seemed it was being used like few moments ago..." he was wondering more as he was checking the computer. "I wonder if the Captain had done something to save his crew from something...." he had been listening to much Nira's stories and theories. Perhaps that was a good merit to learn from someone who was in Security.

[Lieutenant Nira Said | Derelict Bridge | Deck One | Derelict Discovery]

Nira nodded at T'Lara, but furrowed her brow at mention of the EMH. "That's a good idea, with the EMH," she said. "The holoemitters everywhere on the ship would work better. Question is, how much would the EMH know?"

She kept looking down at herself and was startled when Doctor Thane beamed aboard the bridge. She provided him the scans she made and said, "Here's what I've gotten so far. I can't determine what's wrong, Doctor. My scans don't show anything wrong with the corpses...at least the corpse I'm studying so far...aside from the puzzling fact that...I'm...dead."

She sighed in frustration. She was realizing that she had a headache bordering on; she can't figure out what's wrong alone. Of course, that's the point of an away team, but Nira felt she needed assistance. She looked down at the kit she had. It was a small bag, enough room only for her tricorder, her ocular sensor, and a couple of vials in a pouch. Looking long and hard, she was realizing she was strictly Security, while she was holding what seemed more like a science kit. She therefore needed a Science Officer to help her.

"Commander," asked Nira, "would it be possible to have one or two other officers from Science and Medical to assist me? I was thinking of Lieutenant Savar. And Ensign Wentlock."

She felt instantly to ask for permission to have other department members assist her. More and more she felt she needed an inter-departmental team to help her, a forensics team of sorts. Not many people, given the technology of the day, but certainly not one person. Besides, the people she recommended were people she knew - Savar more intimately - and she felt their expertise would be of great help.

Once done with T'Lara, she followed Don into the ready room. She realized that, as a Security officer, she should be looking at clues; for analyzing, she definitely feels she needs help. She heard Don mention the computer and she looked at it. Sure enough, it definitely looked like the computer had been used recently.

"If it's being used recently," said Nira, "it means somebody on this ship is still alive. And is hiding biosigns from ship sensors. Unless it was a hologram in use, knowing the holoemitters...still, if we can access this, then we can get a good idea of how long this ship's been here...and how long the other 'us' have been dead."

Pity androids are illegal, Nira thought to herself. An android would be useful here.

[Deck 1 - Bridge - Alternate USS Discovery]

"T'Lara to Captain Tekin. Understood. Will keep you updated." 

Having done all she could for the moment, the first officer sent off the remainder of her scans as Thane showed up. Nira walked over to him to bring him up to speed, so she answered Lek's update.

"T'Lara to Commander Lek. Acknowledged. Let me know if you require my assistance. T'Lara out." 

Next she spoke with Don.

"These are valid points, Lieutenant. Records from any of the crew could prove useful." She raised an eyebrow at his next hypothesis. "Are you suggesting that this scene was staged? That perhaps it was not a crash that killed these bodies?...this possibility should not be ignored, however unlikely it may be. We truly have next to no idea what we are dealing with. When we restore power, more details may help us narrow down cause of death."

"Could it be murder? The sheer amount of people makes it hard to believe. However, Addams does have a point..."

She then acknowledged Nira.

"You may contact them, Lieutenant Said. The more hands we have, the faster we will find the right solution."

As Don's voice came from the ready room, she answered loud enough for him to hear, but maintaining a level tone.

"Perhaps...the cause of death was sudden. When we have power we will find out if Captain Tekin was aware of their fate." She had a thought just then. "We will need to figure out the cause of death before it happens to our Discovery. We may not have much time."

It was a distressing thought and she knew it would have an effect on the others.

[Deck 4 - Matter/Antimatter Reactor - Alternate Discovery]

When Lek entered the compartment with the Alpha hull's warp core, he found it as depressing as the compartments he'd been in. The same layer of ice and the forlorn sense of abandonment that hung in the air like a cloud. There was much about this whole situation that didn't make sense, but the one that stood out the most to him was the fact that ship was in such good condition. They had to have landed under control, but based on the bodies, it didn't look like anyone survived and those two facts simply didn't fit together. Pulling himself away from pointless speculation, Lek began the initiation sequence to start the matter/antimatter reactor.

"If this thing will start, that will give enough power to access primary systems and maybe find out how and in which when it happened."

[Deck 4 - Auxillary Engineering - Discovery 2]

With power restored to the control panel, it wouldn't take too much of an issue to start the reactor... normally.  However when trying to get the start up sequence, two errors immediately flashed.  One was a fracture in the dilithium chamber, rendering the dilithium unable to regulate the reaction.  The second was even worst.  The magnetic interlocks were fused.  There would be no way to contain the reaction once it was started, and without the dilithium that reaction would have immediately gone critical.

A form at Lek's feet would reveal the body of another crewman... this time Everett Wynters.

[Deck 1 - Main Bridge - Discovery #2]

It wasn't immediately clear the cause of death.  There were no outward injuries or markings to suggest that anything happened to them at all.  Perhaps they needed someone with the proper knowledge.

There were too many questions right now, and their means of getting answers required access to ship systems.

T'Lara's comm badge would chirp.

"Discovery to Commander T'Lara.  Have you found anything down there?" 

[Deck 4 - Matter/Antimatter Reactor - Alternate Discovery]

When Lek realized there was no hope of activating the Alpha hull reactor without causing an immediate breach, he began to get frustrated.

"Dammit, why are the reactor controls so badly damaged when the ship is structurally sound?"

It was as he was going to leave when he found Wynters' body. Still shaken, but not as surprised as before, he was nonetheless, very rattled to know something had gone so hopelessly wrong. He moved around the corpse and headed for the exit signalling to Crewman Gohun to follow him. As he climbed down from deck 4 to deck 5, he contacted T'Lara.

"Lek to Commander T'Lara. The Alpha hull reactor is badly damaged and cannot be restarted safely. I'm heading for Deck 5 to try and start the Impulse engine. I will let you know what I find. Lek out."

As he climbed he muttered.

"It's like having a can of tube grubs in syrup, but the can opener is inside the can."

[USS Discover ii - freezer bridge]

The climb up to the bridge was what Don had needed for to warm up his body. He was fit. He had been taking boxing for a new sport.

As they entered the bridge it was cold. The crew was present at their stations. The hairs on his neck, hands and all the hairs all stood up. He had an ill feeling this was something one had not wanted to see.

He saw Nira catch sight of a frozen body at tactical/security station, T'Lara had this long stare at the body next...that was when he leaned to see the earring the Captain wore. He felt sick. He slowly turned to look at the bodies at helm and operations. It was a real site one would never dare want to experience. This was like a total out of the body experience. Worse, this was NOT an out of the body experience.

He took baby steps to go over to look at the Operations to see it was indeed Torra's frozen body. He felt sick. He held his hand about to touch her, but he withdrew his hands. "œTorra," he said to her frozen body. Her face was looking at his own frozen face. They died together. Or froze together. Then he was about to believe it was the one he married. He then remembered she was safe. This was NOT his Torra but it was her still in a way.

He then moved over to his sloped over body which laid over the helm. The hologram image was off. It had been from the rough landing. The landing was good too. "œI must compensate power over to reverse impulse like a crazy brake job."

The hard part was his body was literally on the console he was unable to see the information on the console.

What could cause all this? He was puzzled and he actually jumped in his own boots when the "˜warm living Captain' called to T'Lara to get heads up what had occurred down here on the planet.

If this was temporary they might be able to fix the problem, save the ship and the crew. But how? And how can they stop it from happening to them"¦

"œIf this is a temporal event. . . we are here. Which means it won't happen unless we stay here," he shared. It was a good science theory there. Unless there was a pattern where it happens in layers. They can be wave two and then maybe there will be wave three and so on.

"œYou think the Captain's ready room will have an update on what occurred? Does he make small report notes for daily activity?" he asked.

He bent down to look under the console of the helm and operations. He saw the panel where a phaser would be hidden. It was still there. And he figured he could attempt to restart the hologram computer to see more.

[Lieutenant Nira Said | Derelict Bridge | Deck One | Derelict Discovery]

Nira was frustrated. Her tricorder wasn't giving any good results. She couldn't find any markings, blemishes, anything to indicate what was wrong. For all she knew, the crew looked in good health, regardless of the fact they were obviously dead.

"I'm not getting any results, Commander," she said. "There's nothing to indicate how...we...died. I could scan to determine how long we've been dead, but it's proving tricky. I don't know what's wrong with my tricorder. Or my general forensics equipment overall."

That, in point of fact, was true. She had even put on an ocular exographic sensor, an essential part of her kit, the "Borg Monocle," as it was humorously nicknamed, giving her the look of a liberated Borg with a cybernetic eye - or fused monocle - when she put it on. Rather than its relations, the exographic targeting sensors, which can seek out any targets by seeing through walls, Nira's ocular exographic sensor was modified for a different purpose. It was designed as something as a lightweight ocular microscope, as well as an X-ray. She could easily see all the way into the bloodstream of an open wound if she could, see the blood cells up close and personal. But that's the microscopic range that it could go; otherwise, she would've been capable of seeing, with the ocular sensor, on the subatomic level, if she could. Of course, something like that was downright impossible, even with today's technology. Savar often borrowed the sensor at times for use in his experiments, and Nira allowed not just him, but the rest of the Science Department, to borrow it from time to time.

But even her ocular sensor could find nothing wrong with the corpse of herself. She tapped it a few times before she removed it in frustration.

Hoping to get her mind off her frustration, she looked at Don...and with another sharp inhale, she saw him looking at not just himself, but Torra. They died together. She could tell that he was just as disturbed as she was; she could feel it like a wave of cold that had nothing to do with the literal cold they were all feeling now.

Nira nodded at Don's suggestion of finding more information from the Ready Room and said, as she put her forensic equipment, from tricorder to ocular sensor, back into its kit, "That's a good idea, Lieutenant. In addition, once Lek gets power back up, maybe we can activate this ship's EMH, see if he can share more information...though I probably won't expect much, given frequency of activation. Then again, we'll have better chances of finding things out, and together; I can't seem to figure out how we died...and how long we've been dead."

[Deck 1 - Main Bridge - Alternate Discovery]

T'Lara had been taking scans, mostly for the sake of recording. She'd need data to bring back for analysis and comparison. She was not an expert in medical matters, but to her general understanding of the ticorder readings, the bodies in front of her seemed to have died peacefully. This did not make sense given the state of the ship. Unless they had come back here to die? The logic was not adding up. While she was pondering, a message came from Tekin. Raising an eyebrow, she belatedly realized she was supposed to have made a status report five minutes ago.

"T'Lara to Discovery. We have since traveled to the Bridge of this vessel. As far as we can ascertain, this ship is indeed an exact replica of our own. Commander Lek and Crewman Gohun are on deck four, attempting to regain power. Perhaps the most intriguing information to relay is that we have come upon bodies in various parts of the ship...they are the remains of members of our own crew. We need to regain power to find out more, but I will be sending scans of the bodies to medical for analysis. Unless you object, we will stay awhile longer to obtain more concrete answers. T'Lara out." 

Eyes sweeping the Bridge, she caught sight of Don caught up in his own emotional reactions to this reality. She almost wished she could transfer her own sense of calm in this situation to him, but she did not have the ability. She moved closer to him so she could respond as gently as she could.

"That may be true. Or else it is not a temporal event, and this reality we are seeing is not real at all." She paused a moment at his suggestion. "It is unlikely, but possible. More likely, the ships logs will be contained in the main computer. If Captain Tekin made a log on some other device we may not be able to access it, unless of course he used pen and paper."  Soon after, she received an update from Lek.  She looked to Don with a face that hopefully said he could investigate his idea, then responded to the chief engineer.

"Understood, Commander. Will standby for update. T'Lara out." 

She then looked to Nira, detecting the mood of her slightly defeatist statements.

"I can understand your frustration, Lieutenant. However, sometimes in science, receiving no answers is in itself an answer. What we see before us may not be meant for us to understand. We will send our readings back to Discovery for further analysis. We will wait for power to be restored so we can find out what we can from the EMH. If the answers turn out to be unsatisfactory...we will discuss other solutions. Understood?"

It appeared like she was attempting to regain control of her team's morale, and that very well may be the case. If the crew found themselves brought down by the 'doom and gloom' the presence of these bodies suggested, they'd be less likely to find a way to stop it from becoming their reality.

[Lieutenant Nira Said | Derelict Transporter Room | Deck Six | Derelict Discovery]

When Nira realized she got too close to Commander T'Lara, she backed off a pace or two. She didn't know why she did that...maybe her zeal of protecting the away team leader.

Nira nodded at Don's suggestion at the bridge. She understood if it will mean quite a walk, given the power levels. When T'Lara gestured for Nira to take the lead, she replied, "Aye, Commander. Be careful where we're treading, all, though," she added cautiously, still expecting a trap.

Naturally, Nira knew what routes to take without turbolifts, even to the Bridge. She had drilled on such procedures in the past. Some of her own security drills involved turbolifts; the trick being to remember what routes to take if turbolifts weren't operable. She never thought she'd be in a situation where she'd climb through a frozen derelict. A frozen derelict exactly like Discovery, which was why she was expecting a trap by the T'hunga, maybe even the T'hunga showing up unawares.

Aiming her light, she guided T'Lara and Don through the deck, to the nearest panel to get to a Jefferies Tube or to the stairs, if her memory served. All the while, she flared her empathic abilities, using them to ensure she could feel with her feelings, in case somebody was coming, biosigns hidden by sensors...then she remembered, or rather remembered as Najwa Said, escaped-harem-slave-turned-saloon-girl, tried to "read" a T'hunga, but not so much as felt nothing as so much she sensed a void. That was something she wouldn't forget. Mostly she kept her empathy on to feel T'Lara and Don, to make sure they were still behind her. If one of them got lost or disappeared, she will know, and she will respond as fast as she can.

[Lieutenant JG Savar | Sickbay | Deck Six | USS Discovery NCC-78393-B]

"Ah, yes, Doctor," said Savar, feeling it was more right; it would be unusual to actually say "Doc," even for a V'tosh Ka'tur. "I've meant to have my physical checkup for a while now. Plus, I may be coming down with something that has to do with mind melding. Maybe a variant of Pan'ar, but I'm not sure."

In fact, he wasn't sure why he was suddenly feeling so paranoid. Maybe he wasn't afflicted with Pan'ar after all. Maybe his excessive mind melding and neuro-pressure sessions with Nira the past three months was making him hypochondriac. Or maybe he had been in a relationship with Nira long enough, long enough to propose to her, long enough to wonder when a good wedding date can be set, to share in her paranoia about the T'hunga, and frankly, he didn't blame her, not with the amount of time she spent practicing with her blades, especially since she got back from her time in the Officer Exchange Program with Klingons, which also explained the mek'leth that hung under her decorative shamshir in their quarters, a gift from the crew she served with in the Program.

[Deck 2 - Auxillary Fusion Generators - USS Discovery #2]

The hardest part was disabling the mag-locks on the doorways; not only were they needing to be demagnetized, but being frozen made them all the harder to move.  But finding the right section above the upper auxiliary engineering for Alpha hall they were able to slowly get the door open.  Inside was much the same as the rest of the corridors; their light casting a blue tinge as the inside of the room was just as frozen as the outside.  Once they made their way inside, it wouldn't be until they reached the control panel that they would find anything.  The panel itself needed a tricorder just to turn it on, and the reactors, while able to be turned on, were going to be at low power levels at best.  It seemed their own power had been drained; they would be stuck on the bare minimum until the main power generation was restarted..the warp core.

There was a lump in the room near one of the generators, barely distinguishable from the rest of the room, but looking closer would find their first disturbing discovery... Crewman Kat Galvan. She was laying on the group near the generator, completely iced over and still.

[Deck 1 - Main Bridge - USS Discovery #2]

At the same time, though it was a higher climb, the access from the transporter room to the Bridge was a shorter route, and the other three found themselves under the Bridge's deck plate.  But instead of being able to open the emergency hatch directly to the bridge, they found the hatch would not budge.  A slight detour through the empty turbolift shaft was required to make it to the place they were in only 15 minutes or so ago.  After getting the doors open, they were greeted by a very similar sight.  The bridge looked absolutely the same, right down to the Discovery-only renovations that Captain Tekin had put in himself.  This wasn't just another Prometheus Class vessel with Discovery's ID tag... even the interior was clearly Discovery.

Before Lek would be able to get the power on, they would be able to look around the bridge.  For a moment, it looked occupied, but there were still no life signs.  It wouldn't take long before they saw that the bridge was indeed occupied.... by them.  Naturally, the first person really visible was a figure sitting in the Captain's chair, slumped over.  Covered in the same frost rime that covered the floors, panels, and ceiling of the ship, it would be hard to see who it was.  But a quick check would confirm it...

Captain Tekin Nevir was still seated in his position on the bridge, just slumped to the left over the arm of the chair.  His skin was white, but the earring on his ear still gleamed with the lights from their equipment.  It was only when they saw the second form positioned in the first officer's station that a dull blue light came on the bridge; the minimum power they could get.  But that light showed more than just the Captain and the first officer.  Every bridge station was occupied.  From the looks of it.. Alpha shift.  Which meant that most if not all of the senior officers were all around them; frozen where they all fell.

[Lieutenant Nira Said | Derelict Bridge | Deck One | Derelict Discovery]

It didn't take long to lead T'Lara and Don to the bridge hatch. The problem was it couldn't budge. Most likely it was iced over.

"The hatch is stuck," said Nira when she gave up trying to open it. "Looks like we'll have to go around. The best alternate route is through the turbolift shaft. Let's hope there are no turbolifts up at the bridge. And let's hope nobody minds climbing up a shaft with a seemingly bottomless pit."

Of course, Nira never minded it, it was also in her drills. She had to admit, when she first climbed a turbolift shaft in her drills at the Academy, she momentarily suffered vertigo, not to mention the "bottomless pit" unnerved her. But she got over it; the trick was to focus on the climb. And to simply not look down.

Fifteen minutes later, after climbing the ladder through the shaft, they were at the turbolift doors to the bridge. It took a moment to force the door open. Nira had to admit that she felt tense, what with trying to open a door at the edge of a precipice of sorts with a compression rifle and her forensics kit strapped on her back.

What she saw when she opened it was a sharp exhale enough that she looked like she was breathing out a column of steam, what with it being so cold her breath was steaming.

As she stepped in and allowed T'Lara and Don space to get in, she took in everything. There were bodies strewn about, but the most recognizable was the Captain. She recognized him through the ice rime. Then the lights came on and she saw T'Lara equally frozen dead in her station. She realized that it was Alpha Shift, which meant...

Nira approached the Tactical station. And there she was. She was looking at her frozen corpse. With exception to the frost and the lack of life and thus thought and emotion, it was like Nira was looking at herself. Asleep.

Dead at her station. Savar wasn't at her side. She was slumped against the chair, head up.

Nira got over the shock and set to work with her forensic kit. She may as well start with herself, see how everybody died...well, specifically how long they've been dead.

[Deck 2 - Auxiliary Fusion Generators -->Deck 4 Matter/Antimatter Reactor - Alternate Discovery]

When the fusion generator started up, Lek was pleased until he saw how low the power reserves were. They only just operational and most of the ship's major systems would not even initiate at such a low level. He knew he was going to have get either the impulse engine or the matter/anti-matter reactor for Alpha hull functional before they'd have sufficient power to accomplish anything useful. It was then that Lek found Crewman Galvan. He leapt back in surprised and squeaked at the discovery. This brought  Crewman Gohun running to see if Lek was okay.

"Sorry, the body surprised me. I guess if there was any doubt this was Discovery, then she's proof that it is. How we've gotten displaced in time to learn this, I don't know, but we are now without doubt in some sort of temporal event. We've got to get to deck four."

Lek gathered his tools and headed for the nearest ladder. As he did, he tapped his combadge.

"Lek to Commander T'Lara. I've found the body of one of the crew of this Discovery and it's someone from engineering from our Discovery. I don't know how or even if we can avoid it, but this ship is clearly our ship. I'm on my way to see if I can get the matter/anti-matter reactor on deck four operational. Lek out."

Lek began climbing down the ladder and thought.

"Just don't let this be a pre-destination paradox. There has to be a way to alter our fate."

[Transporter Room --> Bridge - Alternate Discovery]

The journey was not without its obstacles, understandable given the state this Discovery was in. They had to backtrack a bit when the hatch proved too strong to move manually. As they climbed, T'Lara thought the extra effort of taking this route was useful, as it helped her keep up her body heat. However, if they had not needed to take this route, power would have been on and ship temperatures would be at normal parameters. The Vulcan shook off this cancelling logic and focused on the task ahead. Not having any emotional thoughts on the possible implications of their surroundings, T'Lara was not inclined to engage in the atmosphere of eeriness. If she had been; the cold, lifeless nature of this ship would certainly bring a shiver to the back of her neck. The air reeked of ghosts and memories. What it would feel like, she assumed, if you returned to a home you had left in childhood only to find it abandoned.

They strolled in this fashion for a period of time, the exact number T'Lara of course had logged in her thoughts. They would need to make a status update soon. They reached the door, and the XO assisted Nira in opening it. When the three of them stepped through, the sight that met them encouraged a similar reaction to that of the initial beam onto the transporter. However, this room felt different, stronger. This was a place they spent the majority of their time, and the life and activity that normally filled it had been sucked out.

When she stepped in with the others, her flashlight scanned at range the area in front of her until she came to a stop at flight control. This was where she could most clearly see the form of a body. A...person. Quickly, she stepped forward into the very center of the room (if anyone with hostile intentions was present they would have attacked already). She turned her back to the main view screen and shined her light on the Captain's chair, searching the features of the frozen form residing there. It was indeed their own Captain Tekin. She almost did not want to look, but her eyes strayed the few feet to her left to confirm the presence of her own lifeless shell. Before she could suck in an astounded breath, the lights blinked on.

Turning in a circle, T'Lara took recorded evidence of what they were seeing. Each station was filled with a corpse, each one as strikingly chilled and rigid as the last. To T'Lara, seeing her own likeness was like seeing a pause in time. As if her body had been cryogenically frozen, but none of the safety measures insuring her survival had been implemented. Nira began working on studying the bodies, and T'Lara began conducting her own data collection and analysis. She had done a sweep of everyone but herself, having saved the most jarring for last. Before she could start, Lek's comm came in.

"T'Lara to Commander Lek. We have discovered bodies of the same nature, members of our Bridge crew. I concur with your statement. I shall be giving our ship a status update presently. If there is any additional information you would like me to relay, state it now. T'Lara out." 

That message sent, her mind returned to the sight in front of her. Her own face white as a sheet and eyes closed. She did not know why she chose this particular detail to focus on, but she noticed the relaxed set of the cheeks and eyelids. Whatever had transpired here, whether it had happened several days or thousands of years from now, she must have let her guard down before letting death take her. She looked to be...content in her eternal rest. What a disappointment.

She reached out a hand with a tricorder and scanned, not taking her gaze off the ice-kissed eyelashes of this mysterious puzzle.

[Deck 6 - Transporter Room 1 - USS Discovery... the other one]

Watching the transporter room while being beamed out almost gave a sense of time.  As they materialized on the crashed Discovery's transporter room, the room changed to be darker, and a thin layer of frost or ice coating most of the surfaces.  Power itself was completely down; that much was already certain by the engineering scan of the ship.  Not just the warp cores, but the generators were also offline.  This meant besides the glow of the transporter pad, it was relatively dark.

There was no one in the transporter room itself, alive or otherwise.  But there was also nothing to suggest that this was anything but their actual ship.  It was so far an exact duplicate, except frozen over and powerless.

With no power, they would have to climb up the decks to the bridge or find a way to get some power restored.  Either way, there weren't any answers here in the transporter room.

[Transporter Room - Alternate Discovery]

Lek swung his flashlight around the room and felt a deep chill. Yes, it was partially attributable to the cold, but not all of it. The ship had obviously been here for some time for so much rime ice to form. However, the ice gave him exactly no insight as to how long ago this had occurred. As this was a temporal event, given the perfect conditions for long term preservation, this Discovery could have been here six months or six centuries. The only way to know more was to restore power and access the ship's logs.

"We're on deck six. Auxiliary engineering is on deck five. I'm heading there and will try to see if I can restore any internal power. If not, I'll have an power generator beamed down and use that to get us some power. Ladder is this way."

Lek then headed off, not bothering to look to see if anyone was following. Not his usual cautious approach, but this was an engineering puzzle and that focused him in a way few other things did.

[Lieutenant Nira Said | Transporter Room 1 >- Derelict Transporter Room | Deck Six >- Deck Six >- USS Discovery NCC-78393-B >- Derelict Discovery]

"Oh, and Mister Gohun, drop by my forensics lab before the armory first, please, to get my forensics kit," said Nira, remembering her kit and realizing there's a definite possibility of examining bodies.

Once she had her kit and compression rifle, Nira was ready for what lay in the derelict lookalike Discovery.

Once the beaming was completed, Nira blinked in surprise. If one wasn't aware of all the frost and the cold, they would've remained where they were after beaming. Well, that and lack of people. No bodies...yet. But Nira remained ever on the alert. The light shining from the flashlight attached to the rifle, shining as much as the other flashlights the away team had, didn't seem to help much, but at least Nira could see.

Hearing Lek's intention of restoring power, Nira turned to Mister Gohun and said, "Mister Gohun, go with Commander Lek. I'll stick with Commander T'Lara. And keep your ears out for anything unusual. If this is the work of the T'hunga, be prepared for any surprises, even if there are no lifesigns."

As paranoid as Nira sounded about the T'hunga, she needed to act as fast as possible if she they showed themselves. Of course, she was still expecting a trap. As much as the computer detected no lifesigns, just because there were no lifesigns to be detected did not mean there are lifeforms; she was sure that there are ways to hide biosigns from sensors. The T'hunga would easily be so adept at avoiding detection.

Besides, Nira hated the idea of Lek wandering off alone. A party of two is bounded to have lower odds of being surprised than one. She then moved to T'Lara's side, almost in a manner of a bodyguard.

[USS Discovery - Darkside colder Discovery]

The chill of the darkness was felt on Don's face. If there was light he would see the mist slipping out from his mouth and nostrils. He wished they had brought some jackets for warmth. They had flashlights. They figured there was no power then they had some resource with light.

Don brought his torch light to see ice on the wall. That could be humid air in the atmosphere in the ship which causes possible humid form into ice.

Lek had started to go to Engineering "œSuggest someone go with him?" He might be jealous of the small fellow but he still has to look out for each other.

Thank the stars that Nira had ordered someone to be with Lek. He was starting to dislike this darkness as in a tunnel. What if they had T'hunga on this ship. He had not wanted to be a mind slave in their story again. He had made him feel he was not a man and husband to his own wife. He hated how he felt he had to wives and made him dream about a woman who was not real.

"œI reckon we're going to work our way to the bridge?" he asked T'Lara.

[Transporter Room - Alternate USS Discovery]

When they materialized, T'Lara felt the cold hit and shivered for half a second. Having been away from her home planet for quite some time the Vulcan XO had learned to acclimate to her much cooler surroundings on Earth and on starships, but she still reacted to extreme cold before she had the chance to mask the response. Switching on a light source, she scanned their surroundings. Except for the ice and the absence of power, it appeared to be a duplicate of the place they'd just come from. At least, from what she could see. There could be a small difference, a knob out of place on the transporter console, a panel slightly crooked. Still not convinced this was "their" Discovery, T'Lara was on the lookout for discrepancies such as these. If it was light enough for her to see them, that is. At present it was not. They needed to restore power, and Lek was already on it.

When the Ferengi engineer started on his way and Nira assigned Gohun to follow, she gave a simple nod of approval. She was technically in charge of this team, but Lek was now a command officer and had just as much authority to do as he wished. Even if this had not been the case, she trusted him to carry out logical tasks.

With the two of them gone, that left her with Said and Addams. Nira had moved closer to her, almost to the point where she was uncomfortable. However, T'Lara realized that the security chief was simply doing her job and was therefore allowed. Even if the XO knew she was perfectly capable of defending herself if they found themselves in a combative situation. She addressed Don.

"Indeed, Lieutenant. We will have to walk there manually. Perhaps, by the time we get there, Commander Lek will have restored power."

With that she indicated for Nira to take the lead, and they exited the transporter room through the door Lek had already opened. From there they would need to get to the stairs, climb up to Deck One, and manually open the door to the Bridge.

[Lieutenant Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Discovery NCC-78393-B]

Nira was shook back to reality by Lek's words. She remembered seeing him working during an inspection of the torpedoes, but his mention of the T'hunga, and that there was likely some influence that he missed, made her squirm inside. She hated to meet a T'hunga again, in that she didn't want to come out of it mentally scarred; three months worth of weekly neuropressure sessions with Savar weren't for nothing, but to her, the T'hunga mind control was scarring. Nira was a little surprised, she would've expected Lek to have finished by now, three months after returning to the present, three months after chasing subspace terrorists...for want of a better word.

T'Lara's call for a scan called Nira back to the sensors and she scanned for lifesigns. Once the analysis was complete, she looked back up at T'Lara, a grim expression on her face.

"None," she said simply. "No. Life. Signs." She spoke slowly because she was still shocked, and the shock had increased further at finding the result, added to the unease of the possibility of the T'hunga's involvement...or if something planted by the T'hunga onto Discovery was responsible.

The Captain calling for an away mission including Nira definitely jolted her out of her shocked reverie. She was now fixed with determination. Much as she was expecting to find lifeless...them, a part of her was still expecting a trap, but now she was expecting T'hunga instead of Romulans. She tapped her boots to make sure her knives were sheathed, and she heard a slight metal tinking that indicated that there were. And she already knew who to bring for minimal security.

"Aye, sir," said Nira, then she tapped her comm badge as she made her way to the turbolift, following T'Lara, Lek and Don.  "Lieutenant Said to Mister Gohun. Report to Deck Six, Mister Gohun, you'll be informed which transporter room. Stop by the armory on the way and bring along the usual phasers. And a compression rifle for myself."

As much as Nira looked to be too heavily armed, or looked potentially paranoid about the T'hunga, she had good reason: she was so taken by surprise by the T'hunga the last time she encountered them, she was determined to respond to threats faster, hence why she had her knives sheathed in her boots, but that was for close-quarters combat, and hence her request for a compression rifle. Whether or not the T'hunga show up, or even if there was no T'hunga, Nira planned to be prepared for them and to defend the away team. And she had Mister Gohun, her "ears to the ground," to back her up.

[Deck 1 - Main Bridge - USS Discovery]

The silence on the bridge was palpable.  For the second time today, an impossible realization was revealed.  Nevir stared out of the viewscreen in a state of shock, unable to really believe what he heard.  It was their ship, down to the letter B.  He didn't want to, but he was sure if he had visual sensors magnify the location, he would see a Prometheus class vessel too.  Every Captain was trained on this type of situation, but the odds were supposed to be astronomically low that they would encounter this type of situation. Temporal displacement?  Definitely.  Anachronistic Ship contact?  Certainly.  Seeing a duplicate of your ship?  Much less likely.  And yet... here he was.  Here they were.

The Captain wouldn't speak until Nira answered the First Officer, but once she did... it only made him even MORE uncomfortable.  His Chief Engineer was already taking responsibility for... what exactly?  But the Captain only raised his hand as a response to the Ferengi.

"Temporal Uncertainty Protocol, Mr. Lek.  If this is a result of the T'Hunga, then sending crews as well as you to search the rest of the ship may end up sending us there.  We will keep on our current course until there is cause to diverge from it." he said, standing up.

"Number One, take an away team to investigate.  See if that is really... us.  Lek, Nira, Don, you three go with her.  Take minimal security; the less amount of crew knowing, the better.  We treat this like any other Federation ship.  Understood?" he ordered, crossing his arms as he stood before the viewscreen.

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

T'Lara could understand the shock Nira seemed to be going through. However, it was not entirely necessary to assume the worst. Everyone around her shared similar expressions to Said's, including the captain. Their minds had automatically jumped to the most improbable conclusion, but others were possible. Perhaps the crew, their own crew, had actually left the ship and were still alive somewhere. Or the sensors were faulty due to the nature of the possible temporal mechanics at hand. Or maybe this was something else entirely, and what they saw before them was only an extremely complex illusion. There were plenty of possible reasons and the only way they would be able to shed some light on the subject would be to go there, and that's what they were about to do.

"Aye, Captain." She motioned to the others to follow her as she left the Bridge.

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

Lek grimaced when the Captain brought up the Temporal Uncertainty Protocol. It was the one element of Temporal Mechanics that he hated. As he stood and headed for the transporter, he went through the concept in his mind.

Essentially, one couldn't deviated from standard procedures to try to avoid a temporal event, because altering from standard procedure might be the cause of the temporal event. However, in Lek's mind, that was a circular logic loop. How was it possible to know that by following standard procedures, you didn't cause the temporal event in the first place?

Lek didn't believe that time was irrefutably linear where each person had to follow events until their conclusion to learn the outcome. Sure, one had to play the an entire game of Tongo to know who won, but not everything was so restrictive. Obviously, in one timeline, the Discovery crashed on this nameless frozen planet. That was an irrefutable fact as the evidence of that happening was right in front of them. But because in the multi-dimensional model, all decision points occur, there had to be at least one where Discovery didn't crash into this nameless frozen planet. More out of a need to vent nervous energy, Lek spoke to the others in the turbolift.

"I don't know what happened to the lifesigns, but the ship itself was in fairly good condition for a forced landing. Much better than the last time we crashed into a planet. I don't if that's good or bad, but its something, because for the other ship to be in the shape it's in, it had to be a controlled landing. Perhaps the survivors found shelter outside the ship after the crash."

Lek couldn't say the thought made him feel better, but the idea that there was no way to avoid crashing was a much worse idea.

"No, there has to be a way to avoid this. We figure that out, and that wreck below will cease to exist."

That thought did provide some comfort as Lek took the phaser handed to him and he stepped on the transporter platform. He wasn't fond of away missions, but this was one time an engineer was critical to avoiding the crash and that was also comforting.... a little.

[USS Discovery - Bridge]

After Captain Tekin had announced who was in the landing party he had sent a message to his assistant Alexander Graham.

Alex: Report to bridge duty. You are in charge of the department until I return from the away mission. Lieutenant D.D. Addams

[Jump scene to Transporter on USS Discovery - Transporter room]

Don had pushed the T-Hunga away. He had many counselling sessions, many hours with his wife, many hours self exploring, losing sleep and took to gain some solid reality. Once a while he slips in a nightmare, but he learns to push it away.

He was not sure if there was a truly temporary hiccup where they get caught in and crash. Are they going to crash too? He had no way because he was not a Captain to have science to do scans for disturbance in space or the space they entered.

Did they bother looking at the LOGO of what the ship presented? There could be a chance that it was a Mirror universe ship. Again he figured it was too late to find out. It was an interesting theory.

He heard Lek talking about how he was seeing things. "œWe can always check their computers to see what logs they had," he suggested.

Then he stepped on the transporter pad. Missed his wife, but that was fine. He could do this and she had other matters to attend. He just wished he had the time to say bye.

[Turbolift --> Transporter Room 1 - USS Discovery]

As they traveled from the Bridge to the transporter room, some constructive discussion ensued. T'Lara was not opposed to any of the officers Tekin had chosen, and she found it acceptable that Nira had called Gohun over as well. If anyone could figure this out, it would be all the great minds accompanying her.

"I agree with you, Commander," she spoke to Lek, "there are many possible reasons for why we received those sensor readings. We must be prepared to handle whatever confronts us down there."

She also nodded at Don. "A useful procedure when investigating a distress signal. I am not one to believe in the usefulness of the expression called hope, but in this case it would be advantageous for us if the odds were in our favor and the ship's logs are retrievable."

Equipping herself with standard phaser, she stepped on the transporter pad and waited to be taken to the site of this supposed Discovery duplicate.

[Lieutenant Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Discovery NCC-78393-B]

Nira had immediately set to work with the sensors. She was still wary of a trap, and as such she was prepared to expect a Federation ship crippled by an unknown enemy or a trap ready to be sprung with the aforementioned Federation ship. She was not expecting what the computer told her.

"I have where the distress signal's originating," said Nira. "It's in a mountain valley, up in the planet's northern hemisphere...which, of course, means it's trapped on the icy part of the planet. Fortunately, the planet's atmosphere is breathable, given high concentrations of CO2, even if it is a Class L, though it is at the edge of its star's habitable zone; there's more flora than there is fauna, but given the ice age look of the planet..."

She left the sentence hanging as she analyzed the distress signal. The computer seemed to be having trouble discerning the distress signal...almost as if it was confused.

"The distress signal is definitely of Federation origin," she said. "It's definitely a Federation ship...the computer's trying to work out what it is, I don't know why it's so slow with..."

The results came back with the beeping; the computer has finished its analysis.

"The computer has finished analyzing," she said, "It has identified the shi...Oh. Good. Allah," she said in surprise, gobsmacked with what she saw. With every word she spoke next, her brow furrowed in confusion, and by the time she was finished, her eyebrows were so scrunched together in surprised confusion that, had they scrunched further, they would've connected to a unibrow: "Registry...NCC...seven-eight..three-nine-three..B. Name: USS...Discovery."

She was absolutely flummoxed. What the hell was this? No wonder the computer was so slow with its analysis, perhaps it was more gobsmacked than Nira was. Once again, hypotheses scrambled through her head. She still considered the possibility it was a trap, but it looked like a stupid one; at least, those who set the trap, if they were expecting a starship to pick up Discovery's signal...they wouldn't be expecting Discovery itself. But if it wasn't a trap, was this some sort of time distortion?

She shook her head to clear her mind of hypotheses, but she just still stared at the viewscreen, gazing in surprise at the planet below, jaw dropped after the last word, still in surprise, enough that, if she wasn't in good mental health, she would've been in catatonia with the amount of surprise she had gotten.

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

The odds of the identification Nira read off being there own were unsurprisingly not high. However, given their past experiences with temporal anomalies they could possibly be a little higher. The unfortunate reality was that this version of themselves, probably their future, was in distress. Unless it was a faulty or fabricated reading, they had to be extra careful with how they were going to approach this. She glanced at Nira and the captain, wondering what their thoughts were on how to proceed.

"Life signs?" She asked simply. They needed to know everything about the crew of that ship, whether it was actually them or not.

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

When Nira reported the identity of the wrecked ship, Lek's head snapped so fast in her direction that he felt his neck twinge in protest. He sat there open mouthed and found everything on the bridge had become a muddled mass of incoherent sounds and images. It took several seconds before his portion of the universe and the rest of it caught up and he could process what was going on around him. As he'd always been fascinated by temporal mechanics, this situation fit into that realm and thinking in four dimensions made the impossible, all too possible. Now that he felt he had a place in this space time continuum, he could now comment and have the words come out in a form that would make sense to others.

"Sir, I think we have a temporal split here. I don't know if it hasn't happened yet or has and we don't know it has, but clearly we are or will be facing an event that causes us to crash on this planet. Basic temporal mechanics and multi-dimensional theory tells us that in some dimension, every decision point happens. For example, in one dimension, we immediately withdraw and ask another ship to look into this. In another, we make standard orbit and conduct our own investigation, and in at least one of those dimensions, the Discovery ends up in that mountain valley.

Lek paused and cringed.

"I knew I should have kept searching for Thunga influence. I stopped on deck ten. This could be my fault. At the very least Sir, we know Alpha and Beta hull are not compromised. I can get crews working on Gamma hull right away if you want."

Lek seemed to be entirely certain the ship sending the distress signal was indeed them. T'Lara trusted his judgement, though she herself was open to other possibilities. In light of this fact, she crept back to the science console and began doing her own analysis of the distress signal and the planet, conferring with ops and science. If the Thunga were involved they would have something tangible to combat, but if it was something else they could not go in blindly.

T'Lara refrained from grabbing the bottle from Torrian, because her strength combined with the Andorian's inebriated state would likely not end well. As she listened, her face did not change one bit from the straight focus she generally assumed. The best way to handle this was to meet the anxiety and panic with complete calm. She could feel the emotions like a sticky fog permeating around her, but the only thing she could consciously do about it was talk.

She did not want to tell Torrian what she needed to know, because it would only make the situation worse. Once more, she was certain a medical professional would do a better job than her right now, but it appeared she was stuck here for the time being. She thought through the jumbled mess of words that had been thrown at her and decided to clarify what the real question was instead of focusing on the negatives.

"You do not need to apologize. Does your partner have an adun, a husband, or a sa-kugalsu, a betrothed?"

She knew this would be awkward for Torrian, but all this information would help her determine whether the solution would be easy or hard.

[[ USS Discovery - Bridge ]]

[ USS Discovery - Bridge ]

Kesah stared ahead at the holographic display of her console, studying the charts and allowed Lek's voice to fade into the white noise of her mind. A familiar territory of space, nothing out of the ordinary. Her hands folded into her lap while she continued to dismiss the angry lizard with the bulging eyes and cracked teeth. An ugly species who valued profit over people was not her concern at the moment, her concern was continuing to fly under the radar.

Or so she thought.

A more stern reprimand came from the top of the bridge. Kesah's neck craned over to see the Bajoran captain of the Discovery, Tekin Nevir take his rightful throne. Her body stood upright and at attention, she whipped around quickly to face the voice. Her ridges crinkled in disappointment and a hand settled on the headrest of her seat. Kesah ignored the heat in her chest, the fury that flashed in her eyes with dual reprimand from second officer to captain.

Submission. It was typical of Bajoran men, she saw the way her father had sparred with her mother over words; rhetoric was divisive. The Federation wielded rhetoric well. The Chakrel women of the second house owed everything to their Reverand Mother. Kesah had gone up against the religious figure many times, leaned into the crinkles along her eyelids.

Her father was birthed of the Shakaar Resistance's flames. The Dominion War had ravaged her spirits as a civilian scientist in Federation space. Her eyes darted to the Vulcan commander, brows furrowed despite the fury that her arched brow implied.

"I apologize for my... insolence, Captain. As a cum laude graduate of the University of Bajor with a degree Exobiology, minor in Astrophysics, and Masters in Quantum Physics, I suppose my expertise wasn't required due to... gossip that I overheard at the commencement ceremony." While Kesah was the expert of white lies, she chose to remain still despite the wave of nausea overwhelming her.

Her head bowed to the Ferengi. "Congratulations, Lyoo-ten-ahnt Lick."

Despite the commendation from Deanna Troi as a peace offering between the great houses of Betazed, she still felt like a foolish girl in front of the entire crew. Heat rose to her cheeks but she remained upright in her convictions, in her truths as a Bajoran woman who had been offered as the sacrificial lamb of her family while the other traversed on behalf of government.

The theatrics of it all was a display in itself.

A choke. A sniffle. "I won't do it again," Even though the ensign was hoping to ensnare the captain, she kept mindful of the Vulcan telepath. Barriers were up. That was a secret for another day. An empath and a telepath on board was a dangerous game and if Kesah was good at playing anything, stupid was her forte.

Leaning into her Betazed theatrics, "I did not ahhsk to join the bridge crew for this... endeavor. I was ordered here by Lyoo-ten-ahnt Cod-berry. He was ordered to bed rest by medical as he has been working round the clock to cover shifts for our CSO." And while she wanted to throw in 'for the record', she kept her lips tightly shut.

Her eyes threw daggers at the Vulcan commander, "I won't do it again. I promise."

And like everything else politics had taught her; deny, deny, deny.

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

T'Lara could see that Kesah was challenging the CLOs a little. She could see past the emotional lie, the show the science ensign was putting on. There were many things she could say, things she would have discussed in a private meeting if she was the chief science officer. But those days were over, so all she could do was talk to Cadbury and HalverstrÁ¶m. For now Tekin had control of the situation, and Lek was letting his emotions take the lead in his contribution. However, for her last statement, an almost plea for mercy, Kesah had her gaze on the XO. Before Tekin launched into an explanation of their situation, T'Lara stepped closer to the science ensign and spoke softly.

"It seems you are quite adamant on that declaration. Your credentials have me surmising that this was not an innocent error. I will be checking to see if your story is correct. Because you have recently transferred, I have no existing judgement of your character. If I find that you have indeed broken protocol, that judgement will be less than satisfactory. Your statement should therefore be a true one."

[Deck 1 - Main Bridge - USS Discovery]

The Captain stared long and hard at the new Ensign, his eyes only shifting once to look at her earring.  Lek started up again, and Nevir took that opportunity to sit up.

"I'll let you in on a little secret about me.  It just so happens I hold degrees from Bajor as well.  Geology, meteorology, planetary processes, astronomy, and astrophysics.  This may be a ship designed for combat, but her Captain is a science officer.  I will speak with Mr. Cadbury separately at a later time.  In the meantime, the general rule is this; do not act unless the Captain orders it or asks for it.  It is not your place to take matters into your own hands, nor to criticize others in the crew.  If there is an issue, you take it up the chain of command.  I trust that someone from my alma mater won't make a repeat of this incident." he said, turning back to the front.  At least now the senior staff was in fact hear.

"The reason why I called you to stations is that we did indeed pick up a distress signal.  It's still heavily garbled, but we are decoding it.  What we have been able to figure out is that it's an automatic distress signal, and it's Federation in origin. And its location is deep into unknown territory.  We are currently on course for the source of the signal, but based on it being Federation, this is now a priority.  Lek, we'll need to get engineering teams ready to assess the damage and render assistance.  Obviously, we need to know if it's a go or blow.  Said, we are going to need security to monitor all traffic, and make sure we don't have company.  Plus it would be nice to know the cause of the distress.  Miss Ozal," he said, turning back to the science station.  "Inform medical to have teams standing by, and prepare for injuries and casualties.  In the meantime, keep the sensors active; we don't need to run into anything that will prevent us from rendering aid," he said, looking around the bridge.

"Let's get to work, eta is estimated in two hours.  And Lek, if you decide not to man the bridge station, make sure you have a station connected to the Bridge in Engineering."

With the orders now given, and the ship at warp, it was now a waiting game... or drama.  Whichever came first.

When her piece had been said, she walked quietly back to her post and listened as Tekin brought light to the other subject at hand. It seemed some work had to be done before they knew exactly what they were dealing with; work that did not directly involve her. She sat back down and attempted to provide tips to science on the best ways to get the answers they needed. Other than that, she was also forced to wait. 

[Alright everyone, after a brief absence during the month of June, Discovery has returned. Please submit your POTM nominations here!]

Alright everyone, after a brief absence during the month of June, Discovery has returned. Please submit your POTM nominations here!

[XO's Quarters - USS Discovery]

T'Lara was in her bedroom with the lights on the lowest setting and a candle lit in front of her kneeling form. The room itself was absent of any clutter, save for a Vulcan lyre she kept on top of a dresser which had not been played in years. When she heard the very anxious command coming from her badge, the Vulcan broke out of her concentration and her eyes blinked. The message was not from one of the senior officers, which were the only people she expected to receive correspondence from. All others were supposed to go through the chain of command. Upon not hearing the voice of Tekin, Lek, or one of the department heads, T'Lara surmised that whoever this was either did not care to follow protocol, did not recall the protocol, or was in some sort of emergency. The last possibility appeared to be the truth as within seconds another comm came through, even more urgent than the first.

T'Lara raised an eyebrow as she gracefully got to her feet and tapped her badge. Whoever this was really seemed to need her help.

"T'Lara to Sickbay. I will be there in approximately three minutes."

Message sent, she slipped out of her casual outfit and into a clean uniform. Then she walked out of her quarters and took a turbolift to deck nine.

When she entered, T'Charr pointed her in the direction of Torrion's post, which was apparently a biobed tucked in the back of the PCU. She saw the precariously strewn bottles before her eyes set on the image of a disheveled Andorian huddled among the remnants of her indulgence. Stepping close enough to be heard, but not too close as to enter her space, T'Lara cleared her throat. Very quickly she matched the face before her to the roster.

"Ensign Sh'riall," she said loud enough to get her attention, then softened slightly as she took in the mental state the medical officer was in. [color-crimson]"I received your message. How can I be of assistance?"[/crimson]

By looking at her T'Lara thought that what this person really needed was the help of a counselor, but she waited to hear their reasoning before making a decision on the matter.

Don smiled to the newly rank Commander. "I will be right back with your Vulcan brandy," Don replied. He would get anyone their drinks.

[Forward Lounge - USS Discovery]

After the Captain pinned on the new open pip that complemented the two full pips he already had, Lek wasn't sure if his heart would stay in his chest it was beating so fiercely. He had attained his goal. He was now truly a Chief Engineer and he couldn't be prouder. He wasn't so sure about the second officer part, that was additional work that would only serve to drag him from the engine room, but he was certain that he'd be able to fob that off on someone at a later date. Someone that had the knack for command, maybe Addams or Said, but for now, he wouldn't let anything dampen the pride he felt in this moment. Once the ceremony was over, he went and shook the hands of all the others that had been promoted. Except for T'Lara as he knew Vulcans preferred to avoid physical contact to her he said.

"It is pleasing to see you recognized for your accomplishments Commander."

When Addams offered to get drinks, Lek was oblivious to the pilot's jealousy and and simply said.

"Vodka, neat for me."

Once he had his drink, there was only one person he wanted to see and found her tucked away in a corner looking out of one of many windows in the lounge.

[Forward Lounge]

T'Lara gave a neat bow to Don in place of a smile as he grinned at her and went to retrieve her drink. To Lek, she gave a nod.

"I will say the same for you, Lieutenant Commander. It has been an agreeable time spent working with you this last year or so. May we continue to grow in friendship," she attempted some semblance of fondness in her tone, but was not sure if it came across as amiable.

Soon, Don was back with both their drinks and the two males dispersed to be with their significant others. Not having such a thing, T'Lara stayed in her preferred spot, watching those around her. She took a sip of the brandy, taking in the sharp citrus and smooth finish. She did not make a habit of drinking and therefore had no idea if what she had in front of her was "the good stuff." Amidst a moment of contemplation she noticed Tekin leave, and briefly considered joining him. But with Lek preoccupied she decided that at least one commander should remain for chatting with the group as a whole, if said group members desired. They were tiresome, these events. Not physically, but mentally. The Vulcan officer had to constantly think up scenarios and how to best respond to them. Her image did not used to matter, but since becoming an executive officer she worked to maintain a general "likeableness."

The two new crewmembers seemed to be having a conversation, one that she did not necessarily want to interrupt. She decided this by attempting to read their body language, but of course she could be wrong. It was a shame, because now would be the best opportunity to get to know them. Perhaps something like this would happen again. T'Lara continued to people watch for a time, until she got the comm.

[Deck 1 - Main Bridge - USS Discovery]

It was a quiet period of time.  But finally, the computer chimed.

"Captain, the computer has been able to clean up the signal.... oh my god."

"What is it?"

"Captain... it's a Federation distress signal."

There was silence on the bridge.  The Discovery was supposed to be the first ship out this far.  When did another ship go missing?  When?  Still, the Federation meant their people.. and they were in distress, then needed assistance.  "Understood, keep decoding the message."

"Aye, sir."

Nevir hit the comm on his chair.    "All senior officers report to the bridge." 

[Lieutenant Nira Said | Forward Lounge >- Bridge | Deck Six >- Deck One | USS Discovery NCC-78393-B]

Nira decided to return to the conversation and make her proposal with Ariste. This was the perfect opportunity she was waiting for...

"Anyway, Ariste," said Nira, "I wanted to discuss holographic AI with you because I was thinking of bringing in an implementation of the Emergency Command Hologram. It's something necessary I feel for Discovery, in the event of the starship's crew, down to the command staff, taken away or incapacitated in any way, or if a starship unexpectedly went crewless. And with a ship full of holoemitters, it would be perfect. Of course, there hasn't been a technician available from Jupiter Station, but with your expertise at AI, you're just the right person..."

Suddenly, the Captain called for senior officers. Nira instinctively thought in alarm, I knew it! But Nira corrected herself; the fact there wasn't an alarm of any kind, something was up, but there wasn't an attack...yet.

On the way to the bridge, Nira pulled up next to T'Lara, the next best thing and before the opportunity passed, and said, "Ah, T'Lara, if you'll excuse the timing, and my personal congratulations, I've been meaning to bring this up for a while; I wanted to recommend one of my officers for a promotion, Helga Tragnar. Just wanted to bring this to your attention before we get too caught up, but I'll be sure to bring this up when things calm down a little."

Once on the bridge, Nira approached the tactical station where the officer at station, Junior Lieutenant Bivaal, was on hand. "What's going on, Lieutenant?" she asked.

"Automated Distress signal, Chief," Bivaal replied. "Federation origin, near the edge of the galaxy."

Nira pursed her lips as she relieved him. Distress signal? Near the edge of the galaxy? Of Federation origin? Out here in claimed Romulan territory? Nira was immediately suspicious. Naturally, she smelled a trap. Until she saw that it was a Federation starship and determined completely it is, Nira would instantly be on the alert.

[Forward Lounge --> Bridge - USS Discovery]

Just when she was about to join a group, the message came and almost immediately the senior officers started shuffling out. She would have headed straight for the Bridge, only Nira had a matter to discuss. T'Lara refrained from dismissing her with a phrase like "This is not really the best time," or "I would love to discuss this in private," and instead listened as she walked. She paused for just a moment to respond. "Tragnar is certainly worthy of discussion. Please submit the request in writing so I have record of it."

With that, they were on the Bridge and had gone to their respective stations. It was only then that they were made aware of a certain ensign's forwardness and a sort of dressing down ensued.

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

Lek was by no means a disciplinarian. Despite having a reputation for being grumpy, something he allowed to continue because it fit his role as chief engineer and all chief engineers were considered grumpy. However, when the new science ensign stepped onto the bridge and began imperiously berating the crewman on duty and ordering the launch of a probe, that was one step over the line for Lek.

Perhaps it was his new designation as second officer that made him speak up, he'd like to think it was something that noble, but the fact was, he was annoyed at being called to the bridge while trying to reconnect with Helga that was the real reason.

"Computer! Belay probe launch. Authorization Lek four one gamma eight."

"Authorization confirmed. Launch aborted."

He then stood up and faced the new ensign with an expression that brooked no debate.

"Ensign... whoever you are. What in the Purple Moons of Nimbus do you think you are doing? I'm not sure what academy you attended, but in Starfleet Academy, ensigns to not walk onto the bridge while the Captain and Second Officer are present and begin issuing orders, especially before being briefed on the situation.

"Now what you will do is sit down next to Crewman Montana and observe how bridge operations are supposed to be conducted by an experienced member of the crew. And consider yourself lucky that I haven't put you on report...yet. Do I make myself clear?"

Lek then gave the unknown ensign a hard stare and dared her to question his order.

[Deck 1 - Main Bridge - USS Discovery]

While the senior officers arrived, Nevir kept still in his chair.  It wasn't until someone he was not too familiar with suddenly walked on the bridge and proceeded to act as a senior officer that his attention was grabbed.  He didn't have to say anything; his new Second Officer was on her like a Bajoran Hawk.  He kept quiet, gesturing for the others to take their stations.  It wasn't until the two continued that he stepped in, with a clearing of his throat.

"Alright, I think you made your point Commander," the Captain said, his voice calm in contrast.  "Take your station," he said gesturing to the Engineering station.  That done, he turned to the Ensign.  "Ensign, there are two things.  First, is when I called for the Senior officers, I meant the Department heads.  So who told you to come to the Bridge?" he asked, giving her an opportunity to answer.  Once that was done, his second point was ready.

"Alright, and two... and very important.  Who said anything about a distress signal?  I certainly hadn't.  And I know no one here was talking to you beforehand.  So what made you think you needed to send out a probe with absolutely no information or even direction?"

Listening to all of this, the XO made a note to alert HalverstrÁ¶m about Kesah's behavior; for though she was on leave, she still needed to be made aware. Whether she made a decision to return forthwith was up to her. She then contacted Cadbury with a request for clarification on the matter. Lastly she tucked away another task, this time in the off-duty category. To look more closely at Kesah's transfer records. Looking up from her PADD, she finally set her gaze on Tekin.

"Status, Captain?"

Captain's Log, Stardate 76565.53

The day that we've longed for finally is in sight.  After the work we have done assisting and establishing the new Romulan government, the Federation has agreed to officially recognize the Romulan Free State as the legitimate government, and successor to the Star Empire following the Hobus Star event more than a decade ago.  An alliance with the recognized government is also sought, or at least a warming of relations.  The Free State doesn't have the full control of the Empire's region, and the former Neutral Zone is now a lawless barrier between the powers, but this is a first step in a new chapter of Romulan relations.

For our part, the Discovery is nearing the end of her own current mission; mapping out the rest of the unknown regions near the edge of the galaxy.  Its been an absolute pleasure; we may be a warship, but being able to not only do a survey mission, but literally go where no one has gone before.  At least no Federation being.  The crew is looking forward to returning to known space, and likewise so do I.  Our brief break following repair of Discovery did bring some changes.  And while some of those changes were already apparent, its not until now that I get to perform one of the best duties of a commanding officer....

[Deck 6 - Forward Lounge - USS Discovery]

He had been looking forward to this ceremony for a long time, and with the assembled officers and crew, it was finally time.  With official PADD in hand and the small box with him, the Captain stood at the podium... the ceremony had already started.

"Pursuant to Starfleet Regulations and the Uniform Code of Conduct, on the Recommendation of Captain Tekin Nevir, command officer, USS Discovery, Starfleet Command has seen fit to acknowledge and allow the promotion of officers aboard the USS Discovery, citing exemplary work in both duty and beyond.  As the senior officer of command, I, Captain Tekin Nevir, do hereby announce the following promotions of rank:"

The officers about to be called were already at the front... Nevir smiled and looked down the line.  Popping open the box, he pulled out the tiny objects inside, and walked to the end of the line.

"Cadet Lucy Bell Wentock.  I almost called you crewman.  On the recommendation of the staff of Starfleet Academy, you are hereby promoted to the commissioned track, at the rank of Ensign. You are now hereby considered an officer on this ship, with all rights and privileges therein.  Congratulations, Ensign, you worked hard for this." he said, pinning the single solid pip on her collar.  With that, he moved up closer.

"Petty Officer Alexander Graham.  I didn't think we'd have a pilot as crazy as Addams, but you latched onto your Department Head and proved that there is no shortage of guts in Flight.  I can safely say that I have the upmost confidence in your ability to keep Discovery together, and trust your hands wholeheartedly.  By the recommendation of your superior, I hereby promote you to the rank of Petty Officer, First Class, and all the rights and privileges therein."

Finished with the crewman's collar, Nevir then moved down to his ops officer.  "Ensign Danjar-Torra Addams, when you first came aboard, you were a jack of all trades.  I asked you to pick a department, and since then, you have proven yourself more than exemplary as my ops officer.  On the advice of your Department head... and my own recommendation, I hereby promote you to the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade, with all the rights and privileges therein.  Congratulations." he said, putting the open pip on her collar as well, and offering a hand to shake.  He then moved up closer to the last two.

"For ingenuity, innovation... and saving our butts on more than a few occasions." he stated, getting some chuckles from other crewmen.  "Lieutenant Lek, I hereby promote you to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, with all rights and privileges thereof." he stated, reaching for the Ferengi's collar to pin  the open pip on his rank.  "In addition, you are hereby assigned as not only the Chief Engineering Officer, but as Second Officer of the Discovery.  Congratulations, sir." he said, extending his hand to shake.  He then moved down the line to the officer next to the podium, and despite her straight face, he couldn't help but smile.

"Lt. Commander T'Lara.  I handpicked you as my First Officer for the same reason I was years ago; a fellow science officer who can hold the ideals of Starfleet while performing the tasks required.  And you have not disappointed me one bit.  On the recommendation of me, I hereby promote you to the rank of full Commander... and of course will keep you as my First Officer.  Congratulations." he said before walking back behind the podium.

"This concludes our ceremony.  Please join me in congratulating your fellow officers." he stated, clapping as he took a step back from the podium, which then went out of focus and faded as the computer removed the holographic piece of furniture.

[Forward Lounge - USS Discovery]

It was a happy occasion, but of course the first officer had no emotions to show. She was, of course, ready to recognize the efforts of her fellow officers in any way she could. Wearing a freshly laundered uniform, she stood at the front with the other four individuals being recognized. Listening to the speech, she nodded slightly as each person before her received their pips. Each one was rightly deserved, and an event like this was good for ship morale. She was particularly pleased to hear that Luby's hard work had achieved a positive result, as the same could not be said for many cadets in the program. It was well deserved indeed. Graham had been an unassuming presence while on duty, but an almost constant one as he was given more responsibilities on each away mission. A good pilot was always a valuable asset, and Graham had quickly proven himself to be one. T'Lara had not interacted with Torra in quite some time, but her efforts always showed themselves during missions and were often a large contribution to the ship's survival. She was talented at all she attempted, and the XO knew she would go far. Similar things could be said for Lek, who held the ship together. Figuratively, of course.

Clasping her hands behind her back, T'Lara realized she was the last to go, and when she looked up from her bowed posture to see the smile on her captain's face she closed her eyes at his statements. As she listened, she noticed that what he had to say was more personal than gushing praise. It made sense to her, and it was comforting to know that he saw a certain connection between their careers. The two of them made a good team, and this promotion could only strengthen that.

Unlike with the others he did not shake her hand, as was customary in her own culture, so when he had replaced the dark pip with a gold one she gave him a deep, respectful bow of appreciation. When she straightened the room had erupted in applause and she quickly reminded herself not to join in. She stood with the others until they began to disperse and mingle.

[Quote by Don Damien Addams]

Don was happy for his wife. She was the first one he had greeted and hugged. He was going to give he a special treatment dinner, and a date. He was going to spoil her rotten.

He had moved himself to Alex. Held his hand out to his Alex. "Congratulations Petty Officer, First class," he held his hand out to Graham. "So proud of you. And as assistant too."

Then he went to Luby. "Congrats Luby, see I told you made it! Ensign. Very proud of you!"

Then after that he had to force himself to be manly mannered, polite, and pull off the biggest lie in his life. "Lek! I am so proud of you! Imagine a Lieutenant Commander!" he was doing okay. Unless a Betazoid could read that Don was jealous. But he was showing he was proud. Well, Don was happy for Lek but like a child growing up with siblings who gets the prize of doing well. The other children can tend to be jealous.

Then he had moved over to Lieutenant Commander who was now. "Congrats Commander. You deserve it like Lieutenant Commander Lek. And everyone else," he said to T'Lara. "May I get anyone a drink?"

Why? He thought with a huge disappointment. He had to push that feeling aside and focus on the positive. He will later relieve the stress!

The newly minted Commander situated herself in a position that was not the center of attention, but still easily accessible to anyone who may want to exchange words with her, as Tekin encouraged. Sure enough, Don was one of the first to do so. As it was a sort of blanket statement and not an invitation for further conversation, the Vulcan did not try to be involved. The offering of a drink, however, had her hesitating. She did not know if refusing would be rude. She blinked for a moment, then set her gaze on the pilot.

"In an effort to follow the custom...I will request a Vulcan brandy."

Hi there, I know you just made me a new ID card, but T'Lara was promoted to full commander. XD Work your magic.

Character(s) affected: Ruth Sigurdsdottir, Luby Wentock, Hrafn Falleg - Tekin
Assigned ship(s): Challenger, Discovery, Katra
Period of time absent: 1 week
Date of last period of activity: approx. 7/24/21
Date returning: 8/2/21

Any relevant comments: Requested by player via Facebook Messenger, health-related. Will review possible return a week from now.

[Deck 1 - Main Bridge - USS Discovery]

Nevir stood there in silence for a long while after T'Lara revealed her scans. There was nothing.  Either the ship was atomized and pulled into the rift... or they were able to use the rift.  Unfortunately, there was no way to know.

"Stand down from red alert.  Get repairs crews to the affected decks." he stated, as the red lights stopped pulsing and the lighting on the bridge increased.

The called from Lek was expected, and cautious... and with full merit.    "Understood, Chief.  We're leaving the system now."

"Helm, lay in a course out of the system.  I need three communication probes ready to broadcast to all ships this is an area of damaged subspace." he ordered, turning around as he said it.

"I think its time we returned to our course.  With hope, this is just an isolated incident.  They could have been interdimensional beings.. but we'll never know." he said, leaning back.

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

There had been no information available to her. Whatever these...people? Beings? had done, they had outsmarted the sensors and used the tear to do it. There was no reason to think of what could have been, it was not logical. She could no more 'wish' for data about their target to appear than she could wish her mother back to life. After she gave her lackluster report, she sat down as Lek gave his report and the whole ship mood went from tense to begrudgingly relaxed. The red alert was gone. With all their efforts and suffering gone futile in the span of minutes, the Bridge was quiet except for the next orders. With nothing left to do about it in the foreseeable future, they were to leave it alone. She could list off the probability of this being an isolated incident to replace Tekin's uncertain belief in the idea of hope, but she could see that there was no need for it. The emotions around her wanted something to make them feel better, and she could not provide it.

As Tekin prepared to oversee the ship's progress, T'Lara glanced at him as if she was about to say something. Instead, she took out her own PADD and began answering reports.