Act 1 – The storm beyond the window

We find our team approaching the danger zone, at the edge of the system, entering the orbit of the tiny dwarf planet Carina X. Several hundred meters away from the bow of the Waverider they witness what until now has only been an abstract, the chroniton storm;  a whirling field of yellows and greens that rolls and crashes against itself in the void of space. Within its ever-swirling form, the team can see 4 distinct confluxes of energy, two seemingly absent any source, one focused on the prow of a small Klingon Bird of Prey and a fourth, deep in the centre of the storm. Within this dark green mass, the familiar silver hull of a ship reaches out for aid, large black letters wresting against the tides of time, SS Pioneer.

As Orlan deftly guides the Waverider to the edge of the storm, Shaw and Katsu take the opportunity to undertake deeper scans whilst Kaz assesses their exposure and risks. Their various surveys focus mainly on the Klingon vessel, where they discover the large conflux of energy appears to have caused severe damage to its integrity, the crew managed to launch its few escape pods but they aren’t registering on sensors. Kaz confirms they aren’t in any imminent danger from the radiation and after some further investigation establishes that the radiation has a deleterious effect on non-organic matter, noting the extensive damage to the Bird of Prey and the wreck of Pioneer. Katsu manages to connect with the Starfleet ship’s failing computer core and after some security trickery manages to retrieve a Captain’s log. The broken image of a human captain appears on the screens as a voice from the past begins to confess.

“Captains Log, supplemental. The update from command confirms the Romulan war continues to go badly, our forces are outmatched and outgunned. Even with the capabilities of our new refitted fleet, it seems hopeless against this faceless menace. It has only hardened my resolve in this mission to test the experimental chroniton warheads, every day hundreds of my fellow officers are lost on the front lines. What if those attackers never existed? Of course, I have moral and ethical questions but the Romulans would eradicate us. We have no choice. My morals will have to remain on the shelf.”

In the stunned silence of the Waverider cockpit, Katsu agrees, she too has moral and ethical questions.

Act 2 – Is that an order sir?

Despite their differing opinions about the possible weapon, all agree that it must be destroyed before the storm threatens the system or the galaxy beyond. Kaz enquiries about whether they can simply blow it up, Waverider is fitted with micro-photon torpedoes that could do the job. However, Katsu states that whilst she cannot confirm the exact consequences, given the volatility of the storm an explosion could easily make matters worse. Orlan offers up the suggestion that they could modify the shuttle’s deflector to emit a tachyon pulse in an attempt to neutralise the chroniton effect and reduce the storm’s size. The team decide to make a test run on the smaller conflux affecting the Klingon Bird of Prey and a few moments later they engage the deflector.

A purple beam leaps from the Waveriders small deflector array towards the restless green orb, causing it to shrink momentarily. Unfortunately, the conflux suddenly begins to swell, drawing in the energy of the beam and engulfing the ship. The team manage to disengage the deflector before a feedback pulse occurs but the mottled form of the Bird of Prey begins to collapse on itself as the newly energetic chroniton storm breaks down the ship at a molecular level, reducing it to dust.

Realising they must board the remnants of Pioneer the crew discuss their boarding options; Katsu confirms that there is significant interference to transporters but Orlan worries that flying into the storm will wreck them before they arrive. As the team reach a stalemate, Kaz feels forced to make a decision as the senior officer and instructs Mr. D to prepare to transport aboard.

The young ensign is hesitant at first and asks if Kaz is ordering him in. Noticing his fear, Orlan informs the team he will go too but Kaz refuses to risk two officers and after citing the possibly terrible consequences of not acting, orders the security ensign to prepare for transport.

Orlan makes his best effort to direct the transporter beam towards the bridge, away from the vicious-looking conflux of green energy.

As the familiar blue fireflies begin to surround Mr. D he offers a momentary smile before he disappears.

The team wait. And wait. And wait. Mr. D never rematerialises.

Fearful that there are no good options, Shaw suggests they should just wait for their version of Pioneer to arrive, “All options are bad, this is the least bad.” He is however refused by Orlan who has taken on the mission lead as Kaz is immobilised with regrets. As the team sits in silence, the El-Aurian pilot guides the shuttle toward the wreck.

Act 3 – Aggressive negotiations

Our team boards the wreck via the port airlock, finding the area has been turned into a staging ground for transporting goods off the ship. Stacks of crates fill the gangways, whilst two Klingon officers work quietly to catalogue the materials. Katsu attempts to scan further into the ship, looking for additional life signs but due to the radiation, receives limited information, most immediately there is a third familiar non-Klingon life sign nearby. Deciding themselves to be tactically outmatched Shaw decides to attempt some intimidation.

He steps forward into the room and in perfect Klingon demands to know who the Klingons are and what they are doing. Despite their initial confusion, the Klingon officers dismiss the young Lieutenant who decides instead to employ aggressive negotiations and opens fire on the two, attempting to stun them. As his phaser fires, the energy beam swells and distorts, growing in power as it leaps across the small room. It strikes the first Klingon squarely in the chest and he begins to vaporise, the strange orange energy reducing his body to nothingness. The second Klingon returned fire but misses as Shaw takes cover. Then the third life sign stepped into view, the towering form of a Gorn warrior.

The team trade several shots back and forth and they move into the room, taking advantage of their speed against the lumbering Gorn who struggles in the tight confines of the small ship. Finally, Shaw disarms the second Klingon and takes his disruptor before levelling it at the Gorn. As he fires, the green pulse of energy swells into a nova and strikes the giant officer in the back, sending him crashing to the floor as he too is vaporised. Filled with fear, the terrified Klingon crewman surrenders and submits to interrogation.

Shaw and Orlan employ a good cop/bad cop tactic and manage to draw more information from the young man whilst Katsu and Kaz go to investigate the crates. The terrified prisoner confesses they were plundering the ship and whilst he doesn’t know what his leader, Captain O’Geng, plans he believes it is related to the torpedoes they found in a lab (several of which are stacked nearby). Shaw begins to tread dangerously close to the line as he interrogates the Klingon, to the visible discomfort of the others but he reigns himself in when it becomes apparent the crewman is simply a kid undertaking his orders. The prisoner confirms the lab is nearby, attached to engineering and that is likely where his compatriots are. Shaw and Orlan decide to take him with them, knowing his own ship has been destroyed.

After some investigation, Kaz and Katsu confirm the nearby torpedoes are indeed designed to carry a chroniton warhead (weapons that would be outlawed even in the 22nd century) but none here are weaponised, missing the fissile material that would cause a detonation. The team depart towards the lab, taking the young Klingon with them. Allowing the dark guilt within him to bubble up momentarily, Kaz leaves him with a parting instruction, “Be helpful, or I let Shaw shoot you.”

Act 4 – Progress in reverse

As the team move through the empty ship, the cold grey of the halls filled with shadows and half-heard dangers, Orlan pulls Shaw to one side.

“Ask questions first.” He reminds the young officer.

“I did. Then I shot,” Shaw retorts. “That’s how you deal with Klingons.”

The team quickly finds the engineering bay of the small ship and Kaz takes the lead into the lab, onto the elevated walkway. Finding it unoccupied, he begins to examine the nearby screens which confirm this is the lab they are looking for, oddly several sensor scans appear to be paused mid-process. Beneath them on the lower level a glowing green ball of energy hovers above the central console, its surface undulating in the ominous silence. Shaw takes the opportunity to undertake some detailed scans and the energy signature is similar to the larger anomalies they witnessed in the storm outside the ship, he notes that the waveform looks like a sine wave, moving back and forth with equal amplitudes. After a quick recon of the room, it appears empty and the team rendezvous back on the upper level to examine the paused scanning protocols.

Katsu and Orlan attempt to retrieve historical data from the scans, charting their progress as the computer collated the data. Strangely the scan results appear to get more through as the percentage of the scan decreases, with the computer recording less data as the scan progresses. Katsu noted that the central core may be affected by the temporal interference and after some discussion the team decided to resume the scans, hoping that on completion they may answer some of their questions. As they allow the scans to resume the previously stable orb of energy begins to fluctuate, quickly swelling and growing in size, initially encompassing the console, then the furniture around it and then the deck beneath it. Now several meters across, the team are forced to retreat back out of the lab whilst considering their options. Kaz suggests inducing a warp core implosion, hoping the energy might counteract the anomaly. Unfortunately, this can now only be done from the bridge as engineering is inaccessible. Katsu once again points out that an energy explosion might only fuel the anomaly, they simply do not have enough information.

Kaz once again feels the weight of his rank and decides it is their only course of action, time, however, is very much against them. He and Shaw will return to the Waverider and prepare for emergency departure whilst Orlan and Katsu head to the bridge to start the core implosion.

As the team go their separate ways, each feels a shudder down their back.

Is it nerves or the anomaly?

Either way, something is at their heels.