[Nightfall Phase 2]: Treknobabble Prompt

Description

An underspace aperture has been detected as opening just off the starboard bow of your starship. Alarms are blaring and lights are flashing. There’s something emerging from Underspace at alarming speed, headed directly for your ship. Escape is not an option, as your propulsion systems are non-operational. Sensors tell you the object is dense in nature with no communication or energy emanating from it.

What do you do?

Criteria

  • Write creatively, in character, about how your officer or crew would deal with the situation using as much "treknobabble" as possible.
  • Submissions should be no longer than 500 words, use the treknobabble to your advantage to make it short.
  • Placement will be based on the amount of treknobabble used while still making for a compelling piece of writing, purely in the eye of the competition organizer. The more treknobabble, the better.

Winners

Submissions

User Content Date Entry
Aelin Maori (#2980)

"Tell me what that is, T'Penne!" Harper yelled desperately seeking a quick answer.

“There's a series of nanowave pulse signatures registering, Captain.” T'Penne responded. "Signatures suggest an underspace aperture!"

"We need to hurry and get that thing closed before someone or something comes through!" Harper ordered.

“I believe we can force the aperture to close with a burst of a nanowave frequency. If we cause a shift in the closest antigravity cannon, it could work. We will need to re-route power through the neogenic drive shaft.”

"Do it, now!" Harper commanded.

2025-05-04 23:37:50
Thov th'Zeles (#1644)

Klaxon alarms howled like scarlet banshees as the bridge was bathed in pulsating crimson light. Captain Raku stood before the viewscreen. “Report!”

T'Naagi’s copper hair caught the emergency strobes as she rose from the science station. “An Underspace aperture has manifested along the starboard lateral vector. Coordinates mark it at six million kilometers and closing. Aperture instability is increasing at a rate of 14.3 microns per nanosecond.”

“Object emerging,” said Smythe sharply. “It is... massive.”

T'Naagi narrowed her almond eyes. “Sir! It’s a hyperdense quasi-crystalline asteroid. Origins unknown. Composition includes trinaric silicate interwoven with a subatomic matrix of collapsed baryon threads. It's surrounded by a residual torsion wake indicative of underspace transit. No emissions or signals detected. It’s tumbling at 0.82c impulse speed. Impact in 67 seconds.”

Captain Raku slammed a fist against the armrest. “We can’t move. Options?”

Lt. Sar raised a precise brow. “Initiating graviton polarity inverter. Suggest vectoring the main deflector to emit a phase-conjugated tachyon burst. Modulate the amplitude at 387.2 terahertz.”

“Wouldn’t that just destabilize it further?” Smythe asked anxiously.

T'Naagi responded quickly. “Maybe not if we induce a localized inversion into its subspace harmonic sub-structure. A coordinated neutrino beam tuned to 1.6 millicochranes might fracture the baryonic crust. If we then reinforce that fracture with an anti-tachyon sheath, the object may deflect via its own gravitational lensing.”

The Vulcan’s hands danced across his console. “Diverting EPS conduits 4 through 7 to the main deflector. Rerouting deuterium plasma flow through secondary ODN relays. Nullifying SIF buffers to allow for harmonic bleed.”

Raku turned. “Can the dish handle that?”

“Only if I recalibrate the verteron alignment coils manually,” the Vulcan replied calmly. “Suggest deploying maintenance drone Beta-7.”

“Do it.”

“Charging deflector. Neutrino pulse at 63%. Targeting the asteroid's baryonic fault line.” Sar tapped away.

“Ready phase-conjugated burst on my mark,” Captain Raku Mobra ordered.

The asteroid loomed like some malicious, jagged monument. Space shimmered around the distortion created by its gravitational mass.

“Now!” The Bajoran Captain bellowed.

The deflector dish surged with azure fire. A focused beam of particle energy shot from the deflector dish through subspace. It struck the asteroid with no instant result.

A suddenly violent jolt of gravitational recoil yanked the asteroid away. Its own gravitational forces had been adjusted by the fracture created by the beam. The bridge crew gasped as the rock skimmed the hull with meters to spare. It rapidly vanished into the darkness behind them.

“Impact averted,” T'Naagi confirmed as she swept back her hair. “Asteroid deflected via induced subspace lensing.”

Smythe exhaled. “Remind me to thank the deflector dish.”

Captain Raku nodded. “And to the crew as well, XO. Nicely done! Mr. Sar... Madam T'Naagi."

 2025-05-04 19:46:00
Trevenan Williams (#1295)

Utter 'Twaddle" - great fun !

2025-05-04 11:06:52
Kirok Skyrunner (#2986)
Private Submission
 2025-05-04 01:04:57
Cressida Brennan (#2765)
Private Submission
 2025-05-03 13:03:35
Zarroc Thakrass (#2652)

I included a .pdf, I hope that is permissible as I wasn't so sure this text box would display it well and I didn't want to post it to my command, as I don't really have a relevant way to incorporate it with all I've already done.

 2025-05-03 00:34:36
Anna Caldwell (#1638)

The shrill chirp of the alarm coming from the science console interrupted the relative calm of the bridge.

"I've got something off the starboard bow."

Aakon placed over at the science officer. "I think I need a little more detail than that, Maria."

"I am detecting a class 11 subspace disturbance off the starboard bow. Tachyon instabilities and subspace sheer is rated class 3 with the underlaying harmonics registering disturbances in the 223 hertz range with an excess of Boson particles. An object of unknown origin registering a mass of 3.1 million metric tons is exiting. It is comprised of durtiamum alloy, no emissions are registering, no matter/antimatter system. There are traces of vertiron and neutrino particles on the hull." Maria turned to face Aakon, smiling. "I've got a few other big works up my sleeve if you need them."

The helmsmen interrupted. "The object of unknown origin is accelerating; current at .44 cochrane. It is on a collision vector with the upper starboard saucer; t-minus 93.6 seconds. The primary impulse fusion reactors are still offline from the level two plasma flush; emergency impulse is offline as well due to the mishap in the secondary vasilconstrictor during the flush"

K'Vevka spun around in her chair. "I would recommend we use the deflector to emit a isolythic gravimetric pulse. The secondary defector must to tuned to the subspace harmonic of both the aperture and the field around the object. This will create a gravimetric resonance in that will enclose the subspace field and halt the object's acceleration."

"14.2 THz." Offered Maria. "Set the pulse to that and it'll work perfectly. The gravimetric resonance will trigger a Vestman's cascade and both halt the object and cause the aperture to destabilize."

Izzy learned over. "Is that enough detail?"

Aakon sighed, tugging at this uniform. "Remind me to explain to all of you the difference between more information and an Academy lecture on subspace. Set the defector up and trigger the pulse before whatever that leaves a dent."

 2025-05-02 19:12:51
Callen Varro (#2063)

“Captain! A type-seven underspace aperture is destabilizing our quantum coherence field off starboard!” Lieutenant Taylor reported, his fingers flying over the console.

“Compensate with graviton counter-pulses! Dump tachyon overflow into the inertial dampeners!” Captain Jinaril Miller barked, eyes fixed on the viewscreen.

“Negative! The EPS grid’s entangled with the subspace filament! The warp core is oscillating in harmonic dissonance!” Taylor shot back, sweating.

An object shot out—hyperdense, non-emissive, and clearly ignoring every law of physics in existence.

“Object inbound! Shields are offline—deflector harmonics are caught in a recursive phase inversion!” Ay’dar called from Tactical, his voice tight.

Impact. Lights flicker. The Medea lurches violently.

The text “Navigate me to your leader, puny warp monkeys.” flashed across the main viewer.

Miller sighed deeply. “Fantastic. We’ve been hijacked.. by a sarcastic space flubber.”

 2025-05-01 11:02:32
Varen Wyll (#2419)

“Have you tried refocusing the composite electromagnetic optical array for exotic energy eruptions in the high band frequency ranges?”
“Do I look like a first-year cadet?”
“And it’s still a mystery?”
“Yes, the unknown, indecipherable object that gives off no identifiable high-spectrum radiation, reflects all attempts from our extensive suite of multi-spectral analytical tools and continues to emerge from an acute spatial fissure that accesses a discrete subspace underlayer without atomic distortion from the quantum tunnelling effect is still a mystery.”
“Well, I’m detecting a tone.”
“What about dispatching a type XII probe on a parabolic arc around the object so we can relay sensor data from behind the EM shadow? Perhaps there is some sort of wide-spectrum baffle at play?
“You think it’s like a sensor cloak?”
“Or some sort of mass energetic electronic countermeasure. Look, you can see some sort of energetic corona that gets mitigated by a specific anti-memetic frequency.”
“Do you think the quantum visibility effect would be ignored from the back? Or are we just going get some sort of zero-point mirroring?”
“It’s worth a try, right now it’s a schrodinger ship, I can look out the window and see it but sensors are just seeing a big empty quantum level shadow.”
“Type XII probe away, luckily we have some with those experimental proton tunneling, quark observation modules left over from Alpha Tingle V.”
“Uplink is coming in, the probe is passing the apex of the quantum cloaking effect, it’s in parhelion and is swinging behind the object.”
“There’s some sort of high-density metallic alloy construction in the centre of the object. I’m also detecting rogue neutrino flares spilling out from the rupture as it passes through, the decay is minimal.”
“Warp drive?”
“Or possibly something that can fold subspace sufficiently to approximate an Einstein-Rosen bridge.”
“Wormholes?”
“That’s essentially what an underspace aperture is no?”
“It’s completed its transit from the quantum fissure. The event horizon is collapsing.”
“Naturally?”
“No, an increase in neutrino emissions seems to be having some sort of destabilising effect on the Himmelberg Frequency. The sinusoidal waveform is collapsing into a zero-point instance.”
“I’m seeing a rise in polaron emissions in the aft aspect of the target. I’ve just lost signal to the probe.”
“Polaron signature is rising in the forward aspect. I’m detecting massive subspace torsion at the extremities of the target.”
“Weapons.”
“Almost definitely.”
“Red Alert!”

 2025-04-30 19:14:44
Olivia Carrillo (#2199)

Captain Paul Aike got back to his feet and yelled at his conn officer, "Full speed port."

Lieutenant Thomas Winfield looked down and inputted the commands a first and then a second time. Nothing happened. He glanced at the screen showing the looming ship approaching, "Navigation is offline sir."

Aike swore and spoke to the computer, "Engineering why can't we move."

His Chief Engineer Murph's voice came through the comm system, "Jefferies Tubes are flooded with hydrospanic fluid, and we're cycling the tricolbalt pulse meters at the moment sir."

"I need to move now," Aike said, as the Excelsior-II class ship the USS Falcon sat there in the path of the ship coming through the Underspace Gateway that had opened in front of them. A collision would mean the end of the venerable ship.

"I'll bring the triciclon function online," Murf said over the comms, "That should allow you to vent plasma from the deflector grid and move the ship, the inertia would be enough to buy you some breathing room."

"No more talking just move this *&$@ ship," Aike said.

"Ventilating hobnabs and clicking on the Dyson spheres," Murf said, words that the captain was pretty sure she was just making up. Regardless of what kind of nonsense the engineer was talking, there was a decompression of the lateral Digimon and suddenly the deflector shield of the Falcon emitted a tachyon pulse that pushed them backwards. Slowly the inertia was enough to barely allow the other ship to scrape by, and not destroy the Falcon.

"We survived," Winfield said sounding surprised.

"Barely," Aike said, "Someone catch all the escaped Pokemon and we'll meet in the conference room in an hour."

 2025-04-28 20:49:10
Sazra Kobahl (#2545)
Private Submission
 2025-04-25 21:25:32
Rynar Jast (#2796)

https://bravofleet.com/story/152617/

 2025-04-25 14:01:09
Jaya Thorne (#2970)

“Captain, we’ve got an unidentified object on an intercept vector off the starboard bow! Long-range sensors show extreme density, but it has no detectable power signature, and I’m not picking up any emissions on the EM spectrum!” called Tom from the navigation console.

Scott sat up in his chair. “Shield up, Red Alert!” The bridge was bathed in crimson light, and the klaxon began to sound. “Ensign Tanner, run a full spectral analysis and boost the sensor resolution. I need to know what it is.”

Ensign Tanner’s hands flew across the console. After a moment, he swiveled his chair around to face the captain. “Sir, preliminary scans indicate its exterior is composed of a non-baryonic composite material. We are detecting gravimetric fluctuations that coincide with a micro-singularity, but it shows no corresponding Hawking radiation, or relativistic time dilation.” The ensign tapped the console some more. “Captain, it’s completely inert. No subspace or tachyon emissions. It’s like it’s absorbing everything around it - including background radiation.”

Tom spun his chair around again. “Captain, I recommend polarizing the lateral sensor array.”

“Agreed” said Scott, “Initiate a tetryon sweep. If it’s cloaking its inertial dampening, we may catch a phase variance in the subspace manifold.”

“Captain,” said Vail from behind him, standing at the tactical station, “I’m bringing the deflector grid online. Initiating a level three quantum resonance pulse.”

“Excellent work, Commander. Rotate shield harmonics as well, I want to be prepared for anything.”

The ship gave a lurch. “Captain, the anomaly has not shifted course. If we don’t move soon, it will impact us.” Ezra stated from the helm.

“Adjust course, Lieutenant.” Scott replied.

“Sir, the ship won’t move!” Ezra replied.

“Garion, what the hell is going on down there?” Scott demanded into his comm badge.

"Sir, we’ve got a cascade failure in the plasma distribution nodes! The anti-matter flow regulators are locked in fail safe, we are dead in the water!" Garion replied.

“I need suggestions.” Scott called to the bridge.

“We can initialize a localized gravimetric shear from the secondary deflector. If we can emit a polarized verteron pulse synchronized with the entity’s trajectory, we might be able to create a subspace eddy, and push us out of the way.” Ensign Tanner suggested.

“A verteron pulse might destabilize our inertial dampeners.” Vail interjected.

“Yes, but only if we exceed 4.7 terajoules. I can modulate the pulse through the primary deflector emitters. That should buffer the feedback through the structural integrity field.” responded Tanner.

“Do it.” Scott commanded. “Helm, reinitialize navigational control manually. Angle us off the approach vector by thirty degrees.”

“Aye, Captain.” Ezra said.

"I’m rerouting power from life support. We’ll only get one shot." Garion said over the comm.

“Verteron pulse ready, Captain.” said Tanner

“Fire!” shouted Scott. The ship pitched violently for a moment, then became still.

“It worked, Captain,” Tanner said. “The object’s trajectory has shifted. Minimal interference to hull integrity.”

“Good work.” Scott said. “What the hell was that?”

2025-04-24 15:20:58
James MacLeod (#653)
Private Submission
 2025-04-21 19:30:50

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