SD 53102.21, 1300 hours, February 6, 2376

The crew of the Thames arrives for the mission to scout the orbital station, now designated Dyson Alpha, or Station Alpha for short. Moments after they perform their pre-flight checks, a group of personnel in battledress appear and hail the Thames, "Dyson Rapid Reaction Team One, PO2c Patton commanding, requesting permission to board, Lieutenant."

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 1):

"USS Thames here, Lt. Sloane, permission to come aboard." Sloane snaps his reply.

One by one, the RRT members enter through the forward portside door in the lower module. The first is a thirtyish blond Human male with a buzz-cut that would make a 20th century American Marine proud. "Patton, John Howard II, Petty Officer second class, Senior NCO, Rapid Reaction Team reporting for duty, sir! May I introduce my team—Thol, Servan,Crewman first class, of Tiburon, (Servan Thol is a fairly typical Tiburonian female of average height and build with the distinctive scalloped Tiburonian ears and hairless scalp) K'kat'k, K't'kal, Crewman first class, of Kaferia, our heavy weapons expert, (Crewman K'kat'k is a tall greenish coloured insectoid with faceted golden eyes.) Tova, Bertran, Crewman second class, our communications tech, (Tova is a short and slightly stocky man, with the characteristic black irises of the Betazoid and curly brown hair) Releth, S'kora, Crewman second class, of Efros, (S'kora is a gregarious and intensely curious man with coppery skin, smow white hair and eyes that look eerily like Argent's) and last but definitely not least, Sssskahll,  Crewman second class, of Cestus III, our medic." (Sssskahll is a massive Gorn who has to stoop to pass through the door)

Patton asks, "Is Lt. Swann present? I have something for her from the Commander," and holds out the TR-116 she'd replicated the day before. "Cdr. Samson's compliments, ma'am. Her analysis of the tricorder and transporter scans indicate that only a heavy disrupt setting will penetrate the... chamax's chitin, and she estimates that there is less chance of danger with a bullet. She does warn, though that if shot with a high-velocity projectile, there may be a splash of acid of unknown radius. Sssskahl has a canister of an anti-acid foam which should help in that eventuality. Each of our team in armed tith a type IIIa Compression Phaser Rifle and K't'kal has an Isomagnetic Disintegrator. Marissa had seen the weapon before but had never operated one.  Nivran eyes the Kaferian and Gorn, instinctively sizing them up.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 3):

Marissa stepped up, grinning at the PO, and took the rifle from him, shouldering it efficiently.
She then moved up to greet each of the team. "Thank you Petty Officer, spent some time myself as a Terran Marine, so I'm pretty comfortable with a gun in my hand.

Looks like you have a solid team here, and we shouldn't be needed to back you up, but I'll certainly step up should that prove incorrect."

Swann takes a moment to note each of the team, and either shake hands or nod in greeting.

Patton nods to Marissa in acknowledgement and proceeds to direct his team in stowing their equipment and check their suits for defects. Marissa recognises the focused intensity of their preparations in the face of what may be a conflict—both eager and apprehensive. Once their gear is stowed, PO Patton relaxes slightly and reports, "Lt. Swann, please inform Lt. Sloane that we are good to go."
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:19, Sun 13 Aug 2017.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 5):

"Lt. Swann, PO Patton.  Once ready you are free to sweep Dyson Alpha and confirm that it is clear. He acknowledges.

" As soon as it's clear we will send a team over to download its logs and data and get it back up and running."

In reply to Lt Zedrick Sloane (msg # 6):

Marissa suited up this time. Body armor, gloves and helmet with a HUD, low light, IR  and comms built in.

She ran a quick, but thorough check on her weapon and holstered her Phaser II as a backup.

She then nodded to Patton "Swann here, acknowledged Lieutenant. We are a go."

Body Armour? That would mean Marissa has requisitioned a combat environmental suit which does have all those features, similar to what the RRT members are wearing. The station is still in vacuum. The Efrosian RRT Releth carries a portable fusion battery to power the station, so Patton suggest they beam into the presumed engineering area and restore power. He provides software and firmware updates for the tricorders to help in detecting the chamax if there are indeed any remaining on board. afeter a half-hour flight, the Thames comes into view of the darkened station just as they had left it a day ago. Nivran reports that the area is clear of the interference closer to the Dyson star, and so the transporter is available. Shi has set up a lock on all the team's communicatores for an emergency beamout if needed, and shows up to accompany the away team in an environmental suit, with a compression phaser rifle. "Security Officer Nivran reporting," shi says.

Patton is impressed with the Mirak's warrior culture and indicates that Nivran should join the queue. "I suggest we beam over in two groups of four, using both transporters. Lt. Nivran and Releth, you beam over to the engineering section and establish power. Lt. Nivran, I understand you're also the Engineering Officer, so you'll be ideal for the task. Lt. Swann and I will beam over from the cockpit transporter and the others will follow. Does that suit you, ma'am?" he asks Marissa. "Where would you like to begin?"


Clare has managed to put together a deck layout now that there is no stellar interference. The plan above is now fully available and represents the station as the Thames left it yesterday.

[OOC: Please note where you would like the other beam-in points, or feel free to suggest another plan.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:19, Sun 13 Aug 2017.

This message was deleted by the player at 18:31, Sun 13 Aug 2017.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 8):

Marissa looks over the plan and waits for Patton to finish.

"We never checked that section Petty Officer and it could very well have been the source of the chamax.

What if we were to beam in as you say in two teams but place both in that central control room allowing the engineering team to make their way in clearing the area as they go, and should then run into something they need assistance with we could go back from wherever we are and come up on their 6 to provide a fall back position?

Our team could begin a sweep of the remaining portions and be prepared to hustle back if needed.

Lt Clare should also stay in constant contact and be ready to transport on command if requested to."

Just a helmet and torso armour, with armored gloves.

"If you say so, ma'am. You're the officer. Since the transporters are only two-placers, we'll need to beam over in two waves. Luckily, the specs on the Atlantic class's transporters say they have a much reduced cycling time, so if we hustle to get on the pads and immediately clear the target area, we should all be over in less than ten seconds. Okay, people, you heard the Lieutenant. Servan and Bertran, you'll use the upper pads with me and the elltee—K't'kal, you and Sssskahll follow S'kora and Lt. Nivran. It's showtime!" The four designated climb the ladder and enter the cockpit, where Marissa and Patton step onto the pads. Nivran reports from the lower pads that shi and Releth are ready. "Ready, Lieutenant?" At her nod, he says, "Mr. Clare on my mark, perform the transfer as discussed. Everyone, prepare to execute. Mark!"

The pads disappear in a blue sparkle to be replaced with the darkened command centre. Immediately, the suit lights snap on and the integral gravity boots engage. "Move!" orders Patton and all four of the first wave clear the beam-in zone. The remaining four beam in and Patton snaps, "Sound off!" Everyone reports their suit status and level their weapons. "Okay folks, Engineering is that way. Keep your eyes open and watch your tricorders. We don't know if any of these chamax are still around! Step to it!"


Marissa is impressed with the coordinated actions of the RRT's, who move like a smoothly operating machine. S'kora Releth opens the door quickly and he and Nivran step through. the room beyond is in vacuum. "Kitchen area to the right," reports Nivran. "Vacant storeroom beyond. Tricorder reads atmo in the next room..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:42, Sun 13 Aug 2017.

Meanwhile, on the Thames, Dahlakino is familiarising herself with the sensor systems under the supervision of Jon Clare. She notes an odd stellar prominence and focuses in on it. There is a disturbance around what appears to be a shielding signature. "Jon, I think I've spotted something deep within the photosphere. It looks like something... technological."

Clare looks over the readings on Dahlakino's screen and says, "Zed, Argent—you guys want to take a look at this?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:48, Tue 15 Aug 2017.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 12):

Zed steps over to look at the scans and asks "So what do they show, anything interesting, do we have any interference." 

He turns to whoever is on comes and says "Do a comms check with the away team.  What to make sure we have no interference."

"No interference to speak of," replies Clare. "Thames to away team. Comms check."

Nivran replies, "We read you loud and clear. No interference. Proceeding to enter the next chamber, over."

"Thank you, Lt. Nivran. Thames out." Clare motions Dahlakino aside and sits at the console. his fingers fly over the touch panel and a grainy, washed-out image appears.


"This is the best image we can get. It is on the surface of the star, after all. It's definitely a station of some sort, with metaphasic shielding. Hard to say at this point, but it appears to be somehow siphoning the solar plasma. No further data. Good job, Dahlakino!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:45, Wed 16 Aug 2017.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 14):

"Any thing of a similar technology in the database Dahlakino. Either here inside the sphere or elsewhere.  Or any idea what it might be?" Zed asks as he looks over the image.

"Can you tell if it's any risk to the stability of the Dyson star?" Sloane adds.

Dahlakino replies, "We can't get a good scan as it's well within the star's photosphere, but it superficially resembles the architecture of the Gamma station. Maybe we could ask the Avatar." From Zed's recollection of the briefings, this Avatar is the name Starfleet has given to the Sphere computer's interface representation. The Avatar was contacted during the exploration of the Gamma stations first by M'Rel and later by Cassiadora Dul. The Kapecki have granted the Starfleet mission access to the Sphere's computers through the Avatar.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 16:39, Fri 18 Aug 2017.

Nivran says, "Lt Swann, before I open the door, could you detail someone to seal the door behind me and to my left? Assuming that this room is air-tight, we'll conserve the atmo in the next room." The door in question is to an area cleared the bay before. "The next two rooms are in partial pressure, as is one to the right," shi continues. "Unfortunately, the power room is in vacuum, according sensors."

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 17):

"I'll take care of it.

 PO Patton is in charge of where we go, I am here to assist"

With that she turns to Patton"John you know your team and it's tactics, so it is your show.
I just didn't fancy seeing that team trapped with possible hostiles between us and them. That could have been a proper Charlie Foxtrot"

On your mark Petty Officer" she said that for the benefit of his team.

"Once I have this door shut, I have your six covered"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:19, Sat 19 Aug 2017.

In reply to Dahlakino (msg # 16):

"Dahlakino, do we have remote access to the Avatar, or will we need to wait until they are done sweeping the base." Zed asks.  "It has gotten my curiosity peaked."

Patton replies, "Yes ma'am. I recommend we ignore the atmo loss. The station appears to leak like a sieve anyway." He switches to the team frequency. "Alright, people, we're gonna follow on S'kora and Nivran's heels so no xenos get 'em. OK, Mr. Nivran pop it."

Nivran pumps the handle to open the door and air puffs out around hir, freezing to crystals which sublimate in the vacuum. The room thus exposed has four large tables with seating for ten at each. The next door is a double in the far wall. Tricorder scans reveal nothing but Crewman Tholl checks under each and in all the corners before giving the all-clear.

"OK, the next room has a room to the right with atmo, so K't'kal and Bert pop that door to clear it before we move on. Nivran, if you will..." Again Nivran opens the door. This room has a gaming console in the centre and seating areas in each corner. There are double doors in all four walls. "The room to our left is in vacuum, so K't'kal, Bert, check out the right." Bert Tova scans through the door and mutters, "Damn. PO, we got a signature on the beastie's chitin. Long-chain polysaccharides. No life signs or acid, though. Elltee, what do you want us to do?"

The turquiose alien regards Zed coolly. "I don't think they've got a relay set up, so perhaps we should just chart it for later examination. Maybe R. Olivaw knows something about it," she says.

"Damn," says Tony. "I'd like to get a look at something that can stand solar temperatures for that long. It could really boost our technology!"

In reply to Dahlakino (msg # 21):

She followed content to let the team function. She wanted to see them in action to gauge their effectiveness in the event the Thames need them in the future.

"Well if it was me I'd have someone pump the handle and get the heck outta Dodge, while the
guy with the Isomagnetic Disintegrator  directly covers the door opening, and two others from 45% vectors on each side.

But as I said your team Petty Officer and I meant that"

"OK K't'kal, front and centre. Bert and Servan, on guard with the Type 3's. I'll open the door. Elltee, you cover Nivran and S'kora." He moves up to the door. Taking the handle, he pumps the door open and dives to the deck. The room is seemingly empty. A bank of lockers is flanked by bunks set into the wall. a ceiling tile hangs down from the overhead, exposing a ventilation duct. K't'kal moves in, pointing his weapon up into the opening while the other two cover him. He pokes the muzzle of the massive weapon into the duct and withdraws it, saying, "It's just an empty husk, like the young leave behind when they molt." A transparent section of chitin hangs from the barrel of the isomagnetic disintegrator. "There's other debris in there, like teeth and a prosthetic hand. Must've been its lair and this is stuff it couldn't digest..."

"I want a high-level scan of the entire room. Miss nothing!" orders Patton.

K't'kal rummages turns off his gravity boots so he floats up to the hole in the ceiling. His head and shoulders disappear into the vent. "It's clear up here. Just more debris and molted chitin. No traces of acid, no life signs at all. There's an emergency bulkhead closing off the vent—probably slammed shut when the atmosphere started escaping. All clear so far." He pushes himself down and reengages his gravity boots. He holsters his phaser II and retrieves the isomagnetic disintegrator. The other two RRTs then search the bunks and the lockers, revealing nothing more than personal effects from the crew of the station.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 24):

"Are we able to send a probe to investigate that station a bit closer.  I would like to get more intel on it while the are sweeping Alpha Station." Sloane asks. "Also confirm we still have locks on all the away team members" Zed adds.

Jon replies, "We've got a solar probe in our inventory... Configuring its multiphasic shielding. Trying to match the shield frequencies of the station."

Several minutes pass before he announces, "Got it, Zed. Mark 34 solar microprobe preprogrammed and ready to deploy. Waiting for your mark."

He swivels his chair to face Sloane. "We won't have two-way communications with the probe while it's in the photosphere, so I've programmed it to enter the station's shield envelope, scan it and come back home."

Back on the derelict Alpha Station, the Tiburonian Servan Thol pulls back the privacy curtain on one of the bunks. She steps back quickly and calls out, "PO, Lieutenant, we got something anomalous! looks like a cocoon of some sort!"

When they move up to inspect the bunk, there is a pulsing, gelid sac attached to the underside of the upper bunk. It is a transparent amber colour and small shapes the size of a doubled fist can be seen moving inside. Tricorder scans are inconclusive, but do not detect any recognisable life signs. The composition of the cocoon seems to be a flexible version of the polysaccharide chitin.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 26):

Zed looks at Jon and say "Launch, once the probe has completed it scan, review the logs and report what you see. And just in case the station down there has automated defences keep tabs on the probe itself just in case it doesn't return."

Zed gets up from his chair and walks over to the replica and calls up a plain old glass of water. While he sips the water he surveys the crew and makes sure everything is as expected.

"Aye, aye, sir," says Clare. "Incoming message from Lt. Nivran."

"Nivran to Thames. Lt. Sloane, the RRT's have detected what appears to be a cocoon with what appears to be larvae in it. Tricorders do not give a clear scan. The larvae are moving in the cocoon on visual inspection."

Back on the station, Nivran asks, "Lt. Swann, can we get a visual to the Thames?"

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 29):

A maddening week I will try to get a post in tomorrow or Saturday at the latest

In reply to Lt Marissa Swann (msg # 30):

"Sloane here, be careful. Do you think it is possible to collect one of the larvae? Do you need us to transport a stasis pod over to your location? So you can put a sample into." Sloane replies.

Patton replies, "That's one way we could handle it, sir. Or, alternatively, we could cut the corner of the bunk free so you could beam it into a stasis container. I'll let Lt. Swann decide. But, that way, you won't have to rely on a transporter lock on the cocoon, just the bunk fragment. Here's a visual, sir."


The image he transmits appears on Zed's screen. It shows a bunk-bed underside with a pulsating amber sac attached by strands of organic materials, obviously lit by suit beacons.

Patton turns to Marissa. "Well, ma'am, orders?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:59, Fri 01 Sept 2017.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 32):



Marissa continued to be impressed with Patton and his team. She nodded in agreement with his assessment of using the transporter.

"Swann to Lt Sloane. Cutting the bunk and using the transporter seems like the least intrusive to the creature. Please be ready and transport on my Mark."

" Alright Petty Officer, put your steadiest hand on the cutting tool; have someone train a phaser on light stun on it, but hold fire for my order. Let's do this"


The moment the bunk is free Marissa transmits"Mark"

Crewman Servan Thol pulls out her hand phaser and cuts around the area where the cocoon is attached to the bunk. In the lack of gravity, it floats free. Thol takes the edge of the bunk fragment and guides it to a clear area. She signals "All clear, ma'am!" and steps away from the floating cocoon.

Marissa gives the command and the transporter sparkle dissolves the cocoon and the bunk fragment. Lt. Clare responds, "XO, we have the cocoon secured in the stasis container and all tell-tales are green, over."

A swift search of the bunk room reveals the usual clutter of personal effects and clothing, but nothing else. Examination of the debris in the duct reveals a small pile of items like partially dissolved buttons, fasteners and other inedible clothing components, a corroded energy weapon (too damaged to function) and the prosthetic hand. The flesh-like covering has been dissolved and the alloy pitted, but it appears to have been made for a three-fingered hand with an opposable thumb, the same anatomy as that of the survivor and the prisoner Farl.

Patton says, "The room beyond that door," pointing at the other door to the room, "is in hard vacuum."

Nivran rumbles, "Shall we proceed to the engineering room?" from the entrance.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 34):

Marissa nodded to Patton. "On your mark and orders Petty officer. Go to it"

Patton replies, "Okay, people, you heard Lt. Swann—back on task. S'kora, you and Lt. Nivran have the point. . Everyone keep your eyes open in case there's another of the chamax beasties here. And remember, we just captured its kiddies, so it'll be pissed. K't'kal, keep that disintegrator hot!"

The next room is similar to the second—obviously another lounge. This one has a shelf filled with hardcopy books and armchairs. In the centre of the room is a gaming table flanked by two sofas. There are closed doors in both the left- and right-hand walls as well as the end wall. All three register as being in hard vacuum. Minimal power readings of a small fusion battery come from the end room, obviously the engineering room.

Patton looks toward Swann and says, "Same plan as before. K't'kal, front and centre." He pumps the door as before and dodges as all the air in the room shrieks out, leaving the room in vacuum. K't'kal pokes his weapon into the room. "Clear!"

S'kora Releth and Nivran hurry forward. A few moments later, Nivran calls out, "Gravity warning." The artificial gravity plates come on and everyone feels their weight return. Bright blue-white light shines from the entire ceiling, throwing everything into sharp focus.

Releth calls out, "We got a hull breach in here. 'Bout a hundred mikes in diametre. Looks like energy weapons fire."

An amber light in each room begins flashing. An emergency signal begins playing through the comms systems in the away team's suits and through the hailing frequencies on the Thames. "Warning! Warning! Hull breach! Station I'itstre'efufi reporting hull breach. Losing atmosphere. All ships in range assist. Warning! Warning!" repeats over and over in the away team's helmets.

Patton orders, "All away team personnel, switch to tactical net. Thames, we're going to isolated communications on channel RRT Alpha. Comms check, everyone!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:30, Tue 05 Sept 2017.

Aboard the Thames, Talja takes over the cocoon and its stasis container. "Lt. Sloane, permission to lower the stasis field so I can study the larvae? I will, of course, take all precautions," the exobiologist requests.

Meanwhile, Jon Claire replies to Patton, "Roger, PO. Carry on." He turns to Zed. "The away team has gone to their tactical net so they can concentrate on their mission."

Argent guides the microprobe down into the photosphere of the Dyson star to reveal a closeup scan of the stellar object's exterior.


It is a triradially symmetrical spindle station similar in configuration to Federation designs. Three clusters of multiphasic shield generators and gravitic drives project from the sides, braced by massive support girders. The stellar station has a large hatch in the upper surface of the top-most frustrum, apparently a shuttlebay entrance.There are no other visible doors or windows. a number of tanks surround its waist, and a long probe projects down into the stellar mass. The main spindle is 30 metres in diametre including the tanks and 82 metres high, with a total diametre across the drive clusters of 70.25 metres.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:59, Sun 01 Oct 2017.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 39):

"Permission granted.  Be sure to always have someone with you in case they need to deal with whatever is inside the cocoon. " Sloane replies.

OOC: just got out of the habit off looking here, back in routine again.

Dahlakino volunteers, "I'll go keep an eye on her, Lieutenant. My Force sensitivity should warn me if there's a threat, and I'll keep a phaser on tight beam disintegration focused on the cocoon." She sketches a salute and goes to the lower level access ladder. Moments later Talja's voice comes over the intercom, "Okay, sir, Dahlakino's here. Proceeding to open the stasis box."

Talja continues, "Sir, the interior fluid seems not to be the molecular acid that Mommy Bug secretes. There are thirteen live larvae within the sac. They're all moving freely and appear healthy. I'm taking a high-detail full-spectrum scan and a whisker-beam transporter sample of the fliud." There is a brief transporter whine against a background of sensor systems sounds. "Got it! Scans completed, re-engaging the stasis field"

Dahlakino adds, "The larvae seem not to be intelligent according to my Force impressions, but they may just be too undeveloped to give any indications. Sorry."

Meanwhile on the station, the away team has got its bearings in the restored gravity. The harsh blue-white lighting is a little too bright for comfort, so most of them have dimmed their suit faceplates, but Marissa seems not to be bothered by its intensity. "Check the door to the right," orders Patton, and the room thus revealed is another bunk room with eight bunks and lockers.

The away team begins to do a final sweep of the station. As soon as the power had been restored, All the doors closed and most of the station began to pressurise. Thew away team soon confirmed that there were no more chamax, either adult or larvaal, on the station They were able to assign basic functions to all the rooms on the station and identify all four hull breaches. All appear to have been caused by disruptor fire similar in signature (but not identcal) to Klingon, Romulan or Breen weaponry, and one seems to be a simple damaged viewport. A check of the Freeman's Island database confirms they are the same as the Kapecki/Finori weapons previously encountered. Within a half hour, the station is pressurised at .95 Earth atmospheres with a standard oxygen/nitrogen mix. Experimentation reveals that the doors are opened by the same access dimples as in the Gamma stations. In  the apparent command area, The shutoff for the alarm and strobes is found. A count of bunks correlates to the number of chairs in the dining hall and indicates that the station had a relatively large crew of 40 persons. Clothing and personal effects are in the lockers and a rack of hand weapons is located.



An hour after the power is restored, Patton reports to Marissa and Nivran, "All clear, Lieutenants. Should be simple for the Yard Rats to seal the breaches and make her serviceable."
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:25, Thu 21 Sept 2017.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 44):

"Excellent work Petty Officer. You and your team are a well trained group of legit ass-kickers and it was a pleasure to see you and your squad in action."


She switched her suit comm frequency and contacted Sloane on a private channel


"Lt Swann to Lt Sloane. Coast is clear over here Zed. The team did a bang up job, and found no further Chamax.

The Engineers will have some work with about 4 hull breaches, but we've got the lights on, and atmosphere restored in all sealed areas.

Room for about 40 people over here. I'm ready to beam back; what would you like me to pass on to the Squad?"

Cdr. Samson has been monitoring the mission and breaks in on the frequency, "Very good, Lieutenant Swann. My compliments to your away team. Beam back to the Thames. Lieutenant Sloane, you are authorised to take a quick look at the solar station. If, and only if, you can safely beam over, you may beam over and conduct a basic overview. As always, use caution and discretion. Please reply, Over."

In reply to Cdr Delilah Samson (msg # 46):

"Solar station? I guess I have missed something have I?

"Yep—we discovered another station deep inside the photosphere of the Dyson Star. It's got 'multiphasic' shielding keeping it from burning up. Zed says the Thames does, too, so were going to check it out. We're gonna be busy for the next few hours, so I replicated a Vulcan dish called Plomeek soup and some Bajoran Hasperat. I ordered the Hasperat extra spicy. I also ordered Enolian spice wine to wash 'em down. Hope you don't mind." gushes Dahlakino. Her lekku (head tentacles) fairly twitch with excitement.

Patton whispers, "Plomeek soup is pretty bland—maybe it'll put out the fire from extra spicy Hasperat, ma'am. Good think you're part Klingon, elltee, if the Hasperat is as hot as I suspect. Normal Hasperat has a Scoville rating of 150,000 after all."

The Thames begins to descend toward the star's surface, passing through the corona and chromosphere and into the photosphere. The forward viewports polarise to complete opacity and a holographic heads-up display appears.

At the science station, Argent notes the external temperature passing 4250°C and climbing. Nivran reports from Engineering, "Multiphasic shields holding. We should be safe for 20 hours before shield degradation becomes noticeable. Hull temperature holding at 1000°C, hull integrity nominal." Talja notes, "Life support stable. Internal temperature steady at 21.3°C, pressure 101.3kPa, radiation levels nominal."

Argent continues calling out figures. "Solar density 2×10−4kg/m³ temperature 4500°C and climbing, altitude approaching 700,000km. Temperature now 5,7304500°C."

At the conn, Zed and Marissa note that the distance to the solar station is now approximately 4000km and closing. Jon Clare announces that he's still in contact with the probe and has successfully penetrated the station's multiphasic shield bubble. "Zed, it looks like the shield bubble's radius is a couple hundred metres, so we can tuck ourselves in close to the station and be protected by its shields." Nivran reports, "Hull temperature now 1500°C, hull integrity still nominal, shields still holding."

The Thames's shield bubble touches that of the station and merges without a flicker on Nivran's boards. "Shields holding, solar radiation now... negligible. Estimated shield duration—Sir, this is incredible! There's no drain on our shields at all!" Jon pipes up, "Zed, we're not getting any solar interference on sensors now! I'm reading one life form on deck one of the station—it reads as a Human male! Could it be a Kapecki? Argent's tricorder scans of Olivaw read Human, too..." Nivran adds, "Transporter lock positive. We can beam him over or beam over ourselves."

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 49):

" Whoa, lets slow this down. If that is a Kapecki, he could be one of the corrupted ones.

Lt Sloane, while I understand the need to check out the station and the life sign; we need to carry sufficient firepower should he prove hostile.

These guys are fast strong and immune to stun settings. I recommend caution."

Dahlakino says, "I'm not so sure. When meeting Commander Olivaw, I got no feeling that he was at all Force sensitive—whoever this is is very strong with the Force, much stronger than anyone I've ever met or even heard of from Master Orlock's archives. I can barely comphrehend the power lele he manifests."

Nivran rumbles, "Since we're within their shield bubble and free of solar interference, we should be able hail the station and contact this person—whoever they are."

In reply to Dahlakino (msg # 51):

Dahlakino says, "I'm not so sure. When meeting Commander Olivaw, I got no feeling that he was at all Force sensitive—whoever this is is very strong with the Force, much stronger than anyone I've ever met or even heard of from Master Orlock's archives. I can barely comphrehend the power he manifests."

She nodded to Dahlakino and thought about the Finori briefing."I have a strange idea; what if this is their 'Grandfather'?

What sort of Power does this 'Force' provide?"

Talja interjects, "From what we know, the Grandfather is a Finori. These readings are Human," She looks down at her PADD... "Human male, approximately 1.9 metres tall. Seems to be in perfect health."

Dahlakino adds, "And aware of us. I just sensed an interest from him. He's curious, but not alarmed and I sense no hostility. Seems to me there's no downside to making contact."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:15, Sun 01 Oct 2017.

Clare reports that he has a sensor scan of the upper structure. He calls up two images on his screen. "This first image..." he says, "...is a section through the five top decks plus what appears to be a vehicle airlock and equipment space above the top deck. The decks have an standard oxy/nitrogen atmospheric mix at one atmosphere. I've omitted the interior details for clarity. In the second image we have the layout of deck one. The central open well appears to be a hangar bay and the two shafts are most likely are lifts. You can clearly see the location of our unknown entity in the upper left of the image. You can also make out equipment spaces and consoles on deck one."

He rotates his chair to face the rest of the crew. "Scans are perfectly clear, so Mr. Nivran can get a good transporter lock for beaming him here or going over. As shi indicated, comms are clear, so if we want to be polite we can call first. Mum told me to always be on my best manners, don'cha know," he concludes with a grin.




This message was last edited by the GM at 23:07, Sun 01 Oct 2017.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 54):

"Open a hailing channel."  "USS Thames to unidentified solar station. Please respond." Zed says.

Closing comms he turns and says "Monitor the station and make sure they are not arming any weapons. Once we confirm their intent we can move within their protective shield. "

OOC: Sorry crazy busy at work and commuting 1-1/2 hr each way to one of our other locations just taking all my time.  Will be back to normal next week.

Jon runs a quick scan and replies that the station appears unarmed. Then he says, "Incoming hail."


"Hello Thames," replies a baritone voice in North American accented English. "Lieutenant M'Rel, is that you? I thought the Thames had been destroyed." An image appears on the screen of a mature Human male with dark hair greying at the temples and a goatee. He continues, "Möbius here. You can beam on over—as you no doubt have ascertained, the life support systems are very close to Earth-normal, so you won't need any protective garments."
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:42, Tue 03 Oct 2017.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 56):<b>"Lt. Sloane here,  Lt. M'Rel is assigned to a different ship and is my direct superior.  I have been give a quick briefing only about you Möbius.   I will arrange an away team and beam right over. " "Who is with me" he adds

In reply to Lt Zedrick Sloane (msg # 57):

Marissa snorted As if he would be going without her?

"I will of course and I think Dahlakino should as her abilities could prove useful.

And perhaps Nivran as well."

The Runabout dissolves in a wash of transporter sparkles and is replaced by the station interior. It is the by-now-familiar architecture of the Grandfather's facilities, cool blue-grey ceramic walls and ceiling and grey carpet underfoot. The light coming from the concealed fixtures is, however softer, more like sunlight. A male Human in his mid-50's is sitting in a command chair with his fingers steepled beneath his chin. Nivran automatically scans the room visually—the away team is at the crook of an "L"-shaped room with several consoles and viewscreens. Dahlakino regards Möbius coolly, sizing him up.



Möbius stands and spreads his hands in welcome, intoning in a rich baritone, "I've adjusted the lighting to be more comfortable. The Finori prefer the harsher spectrum and the Kapecki adjust automatically, but I prefer the light of Sol—it's what I grew up with after all. I bid you welcome. So, Lt. M'Rel is your superior, eh? That's interesting, but I see from your insignia that you're of equal rank."

Nivran interjects with a rumble, "Lieutenant Commander M'Rel is the Commander, Flight Group of the Dyson Exploratory Mission."

"Excuse me, LCdr. M'Rel... obviously he's been promoted since we met. Good for him." Möbius extends a hand toward Zed. "Dr. Edward Morbius, most recent known by the sobriquet Möbius, at your service, Lt. Sloane. And who might be your companions?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:47, Fri 06 Oct 2017.

In reply to Mobius (msg # 59):

"Möbius it is great to meet you." As Zed accepts his hand in a friendly hand shake

"These are Lt. Swann, Lt. Nivran and Dahlakmo all assigned along with me to the USS Thames" Pausing as he names each of them.

"And yes the lights are fine. Thanks for adjusting them." 

"Pleased to meet you, too, Lieutenant." says Möbius. "Well, I'm aware that your Federation considers it a great mystery as to why the Dyson star in its occasional fits and starts does not sterilise the interior of the Sphere. This station..." he waves to indicate the surroundings, "...and nineteen others equally spaced throughout the photosphere of the star are why. It's modified Ormston class Sky-Rig solar syphon from the Third Vilani Imperium in the universe from which the Grandfather originates."



He beckons for the away team to follow him, "Please, the control room is not the most hospitable of spaces on the station. There's an office on this level which is more comfortable." He leads the away team out a door and down the corridor to the right and through a pair of iris-type doors to another room. In this room is a desk and a pair of armchairs as well as a table with four chairs. Möbius gestures to the chairs and pulls one of the armchairs arounf to face them. "Computer, a pitcher of ice water and five glasses." A panel in the wall opens revealing the requested pitcher and glasses. Small globes of ice float in the water.

Dahlakino pours water for all and runs her tricorder over them. "Pure H₂O, 4° Celsius," she declares.

"So, Ms. Dahlakino, I'm not familiar with your insignia, but I do recognise that your species is not native to this universe. Quite interesting."

Nivran stares at hir glass suspiciously. Shi rumbles, "Lt. Dahlakino is a refugee from the a Galactic Empire in, as you correctly deduce, another reality. She's been accorded the provisional Starfleet rank of Lieutenant, junior grade. The lozenge indicates a provisional rank." Shi sips the water carefully.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:52, Sun 15 Oct 2017.

In reply to Mobius (msg # 61):

"It is interesting we have not picked this one or the other nineteen before, and even more interesting to find you on the one we were able to detect.  Is this one malfunctioning, or we suppose to find it when we did." Sloane asks/states his belief.

Möbius smiles and sips his water. "Well," he replies, "when you removed the monitoring station from where it had descended following the renegade Finori attack, this station alerted me that your Federation had done so." He places the glass on the side table by his chair. "I arrived here and was observing your progress when your Lt. Dahlakino noticed the solar stabiliser, possibly as a subliminal side effect of what she calls the Force. She 'had a hunch' to train your ship's sensors in this direction and noticed the shield bubble. The rest followed naturally."

He stands and places a hand on Dahlakino's shoulder. "You have a remarkable gift, young lady." Turning back to Zed and Marissa, he continues, "I foresee great things ahead you—all of your personnel here in the Sphere. Your time on this megastructure has just begun yet you have already made great strides. M'Rel, Seth and Tal have travelled beyond your reality. Your companions have contacted the Kapecki, the renegade Finori who call themselves the Sons of the Grandfather and now one of the loyalists; and have gained a measure of access to the Sphere's systems. There are many wonders in the Sphere and many dangers. Shall we join your crew mates on your ship?"

In reply to Mobius (msg # 63):

"Yes lets beam back to our ship.  I will fell more comfortable, further away from the Dyson star." Zed replies.

Tapping his comm badge he says "Prepare to beam 5 over, the away team and Möbius." Zed gut told him they wouldn't be beaming back but wanted the ship prepared for Möbius.

The four away team members materialise in the Thames. Zed and Marissa step off the pad in the command deck only to see Möbius appear in a flash of light.

Jon whirls to face him. "My God," he exclaims. Argent flips open his tricorder and begins scanning...

"No," Möbius chuckles, "...But I can see how you could make the mistake."

Talja calls up from the lower transporter unit, "Nivran and Dahlakino are aboard."

Dahlakino adds, "I just felt a—ripple—in the Force up there. Has something happened?"

In reply to Lt Zedrick Sloane (msg # 64):

OOC: Not sure how the Thames is configured, it has been a while since I was own this class. So not sure if we have a ready room or other module to meet in.

Zed replies "No Dahlakino, Möbius just appeared in the transporter room.  Meet us in the ready room."

[OOC: Not so much a ready room as such, but there's a command lounge between the cockpit and engineering.]



When the away team and Möbius arrive on the Thames, PO Patton and the Betazoid crewman Tova are in the cockpit with Jonathan Clare and Argent. They unobtrusively take seats so that they look like part of the crew, while Jon takes the flight control position and Argent joins Zed, Marissa and Möbius in the command lounge. Dahlkino, Talja and Nivran emerge from the lower module and Nivran takes up hir position at the Tactical station.

Möbius takes a seat in the command lounge. He leans back and steeples his fingers under his chin. "Yaskoydray the Grandfather and I are ascended beings who belong to a class of god-like beings called, variously; Markovians, Ordiv, the Q and Great Old Ones. They are heirs to the powers of beings who survived from previous multiverses, before the current Big Bang/Big Crunch cycle. Yaskoydray was born a mutated Droyne from the parallel universe which houses the Third Vilani Imperium, while I myself was born Edward Robert Morbius in Lincoln, Ontario, Canada on September 23, 2126. In 2164, having gained a PhD. in philology, I departed on the starship Bellerphon for Altair IV, where I discovered the ruins left behind by an ascended race known as the Krell. In 2185, my daughter Alta and I were contacted by Commander Adams, captain of the cruiser USS Excalibur, NCC-57. This is what I told him—'In times long past, the planet Altair IV was the home of a mighty and noble race of beings which called themselves the Krell. Ethically, as well as technologically, they were a million years ahead of humankind. For in unlocking the mysteries of nature, they had conquered even their baser selves. And when in the course of eons they had abolished sickness, and insanity, and crime, and all injustice they turned, still with high benevolence, outward toward space. Long before the dawn of man's history, they had walked our Earth, and brought back many biological specimens. The heights they had reached... But then, seemingly on the threshold of some supreme accomplishment which was to have crowned their entire history, this all-but-Divine race perished in a single night. In the two thousand centuries since that unexplained catastrophe, even their cloud-piercing towers of glass, and porcelain, and adamantine steel have crumbled back into the soil of Altair IV, and nothing, absolutely nothing remains above ground.' The next day I fell under the influence of the Krell instrumentality and unwittingly created a creature born of my own subconscious—my Id—which attempted to destroy the Excalibur. In the ensuing conflict, the Krell instrumentality overloaded and exploded, nearly destroying the planet, but the Excalibur narrowly escaped with my daughter Alta and my robot "Robby" aboard. At the moment of overload, I achieved ascendance and slipped into nonspace, where I was discovered by Yaskoydray and trained in my new powers."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:03, Fri 13 Oct 2017.

[OOC: For reference purposes, here are the deck plans and sections of the Atlantic class Runabout.]

Marissa was anxious, something that she rarely felt, and with effort she subsumed her nerves as the enigmatic Mobius appeared under his own power aboard their ship.

She placed herself near Lt Sloane prepared to defend him as a First Officer should, with the realization that the being before them had the power of the 'Q', so any resistance would be futile.

"Forgive me for being skeptical; not of your abilities, but of your motivations as they pertain to us and the Federation; but we have a saying that Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Yet you profess and seem for all accounts to be a benevolent person; helpful and prepared to assist us.

Starfleet has experiences both good and bad with the Q, but given Cdr M'Rels report on your encounters with them, we should obviously look upon you as a friend.

Can you describe for us what your intentions are going forward as it relates to your relationship with us and with the Starfleet mission here?

I ask this with respect and gratitude for your actions to date."

Möbius smiles grimly, "Lord Acton, from a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, 1887—'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.'—Very astute, my dear. Your caution is admirable. Of course I could assure you that my intentions are entirely benign, but you'd only have my word for it. Therefore, I won't insult your intelligence, Ms. Swann. I have attempted to interact fairly with M'Rel and will continue to do so with you and all the Federation personnel. After all, I am at heart an Earthman. I was 35 at the time and voted for Earth's participation in the incipient United Federation of Planets. I consider that by and large the Federation has delivered on its promises. No, it's not perfect, but then what is?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:20, Mon 16 Oct 2017.

In reply to Mobius (msg # 70):

She nods " I can respect that, and for the record I believe you to be sincere. However some of the Sons of the Grandfather remain active in and around the sphere.

So for the record are you willing and able to assist us in tracking them down and preventing further loss of life from their schemes?

You know our law; we will not be hunting to kill them, merely bring them to some form of justice.

And if not what help, if any are you willing to offer us?"

"I'm afraid events are such that I cannot be here most of the time. When I get information on their plans and movements, I will channel it to you through the replicants Commander Olivaw, Chief Researcher Daneel or Security Chief Thera. They will be in frequent contact with Commander Samson. Some of the Draysaskin, or Sons of the Grandfather are indeed still operating on the Sphere, but their numbers are minimal. There are also some of the loyal Finorii, the Yaskoydrin or Firstborn are also active, including Subaltern Krrsh, who you rescued from the crippled orbital monitoring station I'itstre'efufi," replies Möbius spreading his upturned palms in a "wish I could do more" gesture. "Unfortunately, in the absence of Yaskoydray, I'm busy as a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest."

In reply to Mobius (msg # 72):

Sloane tries to control a smile at Möbius comment.

"I'm sure the Commander Samson will assign us to help where we can." He adds.

"But may I be so bold as to ask why you have contacted us today.  I am sure it wasn't just to say hello, you sound extremely busy." Sloane says with a slight nod.

Möbius grimaces, "As I indicated, when you reactivated the monitoring station's systems, the Sky-Rig notified me. Part of what is taking up my time is the rebellion of the Sons of the Grandfather. I thought we had crushed the active operations of them when we freed the Kapecki from their influence last year, so when the station reactivated I was concerned that the Sons of the Grandfather were involved. Arriving here, I scanned the records from the station, including the burst transmission updating the Sky-Rig's computer. I decided to bring you up to date on the situation, and since the increased activity in the area around the station made the probability of your discovering the constellation of Sky-Rig solar stations approach unity, I wanted to stress to you the importance of not disturbing the functions of the Sky-Rigs. You may, of course inspect the Sky-Rigs, scan and monitor them, but they are critical in maintaining the stability of the central star. So long as their operations remain intact, it is a normal Glass G variable star. If they're disrupted, it will become unstable and possibly go nova."

He stands and stretches. "You may, of course, refurbish and use the monitoring station which, I understand, you have dubbed Station Alpha. The computer Avatar will assist you in doing so and will continuing monitoring the Sky-Rigs." He looks toward the ceiling and says in a commanding tone, "Computer!"

A voice speaks from the ship's communications system, "Yes Möbius?" Argent and Fast Tony down in the lower deck recognise it as the Avatar from the Gamma Station. "What can I do for you?"

Möbius instructs the computer to maintain monitoring activities and to extend Command and Security access to the orbital monitoring station I'itstre'efufi. The Avatar's voice replies, "I understand, Möbius. I will comply."

Möbius sits down and says to the Thames's crew, "With the limited Command access you already have to the Sphere computer, that should about do it. Are you now returning to Freeman's Island? I should like to consult with your Commander Samson and speak with Krrsh."

In reply to Mobius (msg # 74):

"Checking out Station Alpha was only the first item we had been ordered to do. I am sure we could drop you off before continuing on our mission." Sloane replies.

"Being relatively new here I have no good well developed to ignore my mission.  But I am sure the couple hours will not be an issue.  Plus detecting the station you were on was a bonus." He adds.

He calls up and says "Set course for Freeman's Island and let them know we are on our way and why."

Talja points out, "Er, Lieutenant? Begging your pardon sir, but we do have to drop off Petty Officer Patton and his team anyway. And, if I'm not mistaken, our mission to the Vanara village is not scheduled until the morning, so dropping Herr Möbius should not be a problem. Indeed, it is well within mission parametres. The Commander did, after all order us to investigate this... "Sky-Rig"... and Herr Möbius is the result of that investigation." She blushes slightly.

Jon Clare ask, "Zed, I've got the course back to Freeman's Island plotted. Shall I exit the photosphere and proceed?"

Suddenly, the communication systems interrupts, "...ou read? This is Dyson Control calling USS Thames. Do you read?"

Jon looks startled and answers, "Dyson, Thames. We read you loud and clear. How is that possible? We're still deep inside the star's photosphere!"

Möbius interjects to Zed. "My doing, I'm afraid. The Sky-Rig is channelling the signal through to you." He stands and moves through the open archway into the cockpit past Nivran and says, "Commander Samson, this is Möbius aboard the Thames. Lts. Sloane and Swann were good enough to welcome me aboard. I was aboard a solar stabilisation station about which we are currently positioned and which is relaying your signal. I was just suggesting that the Thames return to base so I could brief you."

Samson replies, "Ah, Möbius. It's been a... while. Your departure was somewhat precipitous. Mr. M'Rel reported a fantastical story regarding a 'Wizard' named Bowen, a Buddhist monk named Gupta and a sort of cosmic library. I would very much like to discus these and other matters with you, please. Mr. Sloane—sitrep! How is the ship holding up with its multiphasic shields? I'll be expecting a full data dump on this Sky-Rig and Station Alpha as soon as you're out of the photosphere. As well, Dr. Arapet has arrived to accompany you to the Vanara village as part of your assessment team. He's a member of the Pan species, very similar to the Vanara. I'll see you soon."

The Thames leaves the Sky-Rig's shield bubble without incident.

Jon reports, "Metaphasic shields show nominal. Beginning transit to open space." Over the next few minutes the Thames rises steadily through the photosphere until it exits the star's corona and enters clear space. "Switching from metaphasic shields to navigational deflectors," he says.

Möbius returns to the command lounge."Fine ship you have here, Zed," he remarks. "A far cry from the Bellerophon or even the Excalibur."





The Thames glides through the space inside the Sphere and heads toward Freeman's Island,passing the USS Enterprise-E, which is still holding station over the island. Descending through the atmosphere, the Thames settles onto the landing pad and is lowered into the spacious hangar below ground. M'Rel and Thoma are waiting by the turbolift.

M'Rel steps forward to shake Möbius's hand. "It's great to see you again. Any luck in your search for the Grandfather?"

Möbius grimaces. "Yes and no. I've located him, but it appears he's trapped in a realm known as non-space. It's a realm where space and time merge—a place where anything is possible for one who has the strength of person to reshape the fundamental structure of reality—the nexus of all probability. I'm not yet ready to make the assay. I'm sure Yaskoydray is enmeshed it its snare."

M'Rel replies, "Ouch. I think you just bent my brain."

Thoma interrupts, "The Commander extends her regrets. She won't be long, but Capt. Picard has asked her to beam up for a briefing. Meanwhile, Doctor Morbius, I've been tasked with showing you to guest quarters. Lt. Sloane, Lt. Swann; your debriefing will be right after supper at 1930 hours. You'll also meet Dr. Arapet at that time."
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:36, Tue 07 Nov 2017.

In reply to Relic GM (msg # 79):

"Once we take time to shower how about I buy you supper and you can buy the drinks Zed?

It certainly wouldn't hurt if we got to know each other better.

With that Marissa dodged into her quarters, stripped down and stood for a while under a hot shower.

Afterwards she dressed again, wrote and sent off her reports and then laid down for a short nap before her dinner with Zed.

Tag Sloane

OOC: Assuming I can get a commitment to a post or two a week, we'll continue in the thread Ape City...