Chapter 1: Klingy Frenzy
New
Kvng_Astra
Getting some practice in, huh?
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2024
- Messages
- 8
- Likes received
- 21
Chapter 1: Klingy Frenzy
The atmosphere on the bridge of the Cerritos was serious.
Everyone was busy at their stations: Ensigns Casey and Barnes manned the Helm, while T'Lyn, Tendi, Rutherford, and Shaxs attended to their respective duties.
Following the reassignment of Captain Carol Freeman to Starbase 80, the Cerritos was sent to investigate a talking goo on Snickmik 5.
This meant long hours at warp, and Captain Ransom was not prepared to spend all those hours in the captain's chair, not when he already had a new High-Intensity Interval Training sequence to try out.
He had already flexed his lower limb muscles in preparation to get up when one of his provisional first officers called him.
"Uh... uh... Captain..."
"What's the problem, Mariner?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You haven't given us an inaugural speech yet, you know, one of those cool Pike-style speeches that inspire the crew to kick ass and all."
"That's not necessary," he responded.
"But it'll help the crew, you know, engage their cores while performing their duties," Boimler added, trying to convince him.
He had spent the last few minutes arguing with his provisional First Officers over his "Go-to-Warp Phrase" and was not about to engage in another debate, especially since they were right.
"Hmm, alright then, here we go."
"Barnes, open a communication channel, shipwide."
"Aye, Captain," replied Barnes.
Ransom clears throat
"Following the reassignment of our dear Captain Carol Freeman to Starbase 80, Starfleet thought me worthy of bearing the heavy weights she left behind, hence I now assume the role of captain. This ship has been my home, and you, the crew, have been my family.
"Over the years, I've had the privilege of serving alongside every one of you, watching us grow, learn, and flex our muscles on problems together.
"Now I have an even greater privilege. My promotion hasn't just made me your leader; it has also made me your servant, and I cannot serve you without your help and cooperation.
"Heck, even the toughest guys know to keep their spotters and racks around before their spines start to creak.
"On this note, I ask that as we embark on this new chapter together, you continue to bring your expertise, your passion, and your dedication to our shared mission.
"As your captain, I promise to uphold the values that have made this ship stand out, not just among the Cali-class but the entire fleet.
"Together we sweat, together we succeed.
"Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
"Captain out."
"That was pretty inspiring, Captain," Boimler commented, looking impressed as Casey closed the communication channel.
"More like gym-spiring," Mariner said, rolling her eyes.
Having given his speech, Ransom got up and left for the holodeck, leaving Mariner and Boimler in charge, much to Mariner's displeasure.
"So, now who sits on the Captain's chair?" Boimler asked Mariner.
"I don't know; you sit on it if you want," she replied coldly.
"Alright then," Boimler said as he moved gleefully to the Captain's chair.
"Is it the Captain's chair, or do I just feel like engaging in a glorious battle right now?" he asked himself after a few minutes.
Suddenly, Ensign Casey jostled him from his thoughts.
"Captain, I am detecting a warp signature; it's a Klingon Bird of Prey. They appear to be headed for the Sartorian Nebula."
"Isn't that Relga's ship?" Boimler asked Mariner, who had begun to feel the same way as him.
"It is indeed, a vessel as dishonorable as her commander." Mariner responded.
Lieutenant T'Lyn, confused, tried to correct them. "I do not agree, Captains. Relga and her crew were destroyed at the Schrödinger possibility field when we took out their shields. This cannot be Relga's ship. This is another Klingon Bird of Prey going on a mission of their own."
"How dare you question my judgment, you abominable source of dishonor? If you make one more statement, by Qo'noS, I shall have your head sliced off with my bat'leth!" Boimler responded fiercely.
"Go after those honorless fools immediately; they must pay for their treachery!" Boimler ordered, dismissing T'Lyn's response.
"Yes, Captain," Barnes responded.
"Finally, a battle!" Lieutenant Shaxs screamed.
"This is indeed fascinating; why do the last three conversations sound Klingon?" T'Lyn thought aloud, half-asking her science bestie.
"You sound like a petaQ drunk on bloodwine," she responded coldly.
T'Lyn raised a brow at her friend, wondering what had gone wrong.
Picking up her tricorder, she scanned Tendi and observed changes in her brainwave patterns. She covertly scanned the other bridge crew and observed the same thing.
Reaching for her comm badge, she decided to report to Captain Ransom.
"Captain..."
"Which insolent creature dares interrupt my private moment?" Ransom bellowed in a guttural tone, prompting T'Lyn to disconnect.
T'Lyn decided to check other sections of the ship for the same problem.
Away from the bridge, the crew appeared to be going berserk; in a split second, they all rushed toward the ship's replicators, fiercely demanding bloodwine, including the Captain, who was on his way to Holodeck 5.
In their drunkenness, they began to curse, fight, and smash things around the ship, from the corridors to sickbay.
As she was going from section to section, she stumbled upon a perplexed-looking Lieutenant Kayshon, who had just walked into the bar and stared at her suspiciously. She quickly scanned him and noticed he did not have the same neural changes as the others.
Relieved to finally find someone who was still sane, he said, "There is a beast at Tenagra. Everyone on the ship is drunk on bloodwine."
"I have been checking all the other sections to see if it's a shipwide problem," he continued. "It's only the bridge and lower decks that are left."
"I just came from the bridge, and it's the same thing. Let us check the lower decks; perhaps they might be unaffected," T'Lyn suggested.
"That's right, Mirab with sails unfurled," he responded as they left for the lower decks.
As they got to the lower decks, they were greeted by the noise of intoxicated junior officers fighting and cursing each other.
To confirm her suspicions, T'Lyn covertly scanned some of the officers and got the same readings she had gotten from previous scans.
Walking along the hallway, T'Lyn and Kayshon scanning with their eyes, they observed an ensign who had just woken up to the noise in the room and looked rather confused.
The ensign was a female human officer who appeared to have an obsession with Tamarian culture. There were Tamarian metaphorical quotes and posters of Darmok and Jalad by her bedside. She also had a betoken of Uzani on her.
T'Lyn quickly scanned her brain and noticed that she had not been affected.
"It appears the whole ship has been infected by some Klingon virus," the ensign spoke up after observing that the two officers who approached her were still normal.
"Indeed, it appears so, Ensign, but my scans do not read any viruses or brain parasites as I earlier suspected," T'Lyn replied.
"I also do not read any strange energy or signals either," she continued.
Lt. T'Lyn, who was beginning to mentally theorize that both Vulcan and Tamarian DNA were resistant to the Hypnotic phenomenon, turned to Ensign Sophia. "Curious Ensign, your fascination with Tamarian culture is quite unusual. Would you mind sharing the origin of your connection?"
Sophia's expression softened. "My father was rescued by a community of Tamarian merchants after a Gorn attack that tragically killed his entire family. He was the sole survivor, found adrift on a life raft. The Tamarians became his surrogate family."
Lieutenant Kayshon raised an eyebrow. "If your father was raised among Tamarians, he would know that the Betoken of Uzani is traditionally presented only to males. Why would he entrust it to you?"
"I'm an only child," Sophia explained. "My father told me I was worth a thousand sons. He also believed the betoken had protective properties that would benefit me regardless of my gender."
"Fascinating," T'Lyn responded, her scientific curiosity piqued. "The artifact appears to offer unique protective capabilities, especially in the hands of a skilled martial artist."
Sophia nodded. "There's more to that. My father once recounted how it saved him from Ferengi merchants who attempted to manipulate him using a hypnotic device during a trade negotiation."
"How can we be sure that this assertion is correct?" T'Lyn asked skeptically.
"We can carry out a little experiment. I'll take off the betoken while you observe my behavior. If my behavior changes, it will mean that my assertion is correct. If not, well, we'd have to figure something out," Sophia responded.
"Your logic appears sound to me," T'Lyn responded.
Ensign Sophia then took off the betoken and handed it to T'Lyn, who began to scan it to find out its components, while a curious Kayshon stood beside her observing as well.
After a brief moment filled with scanning sounds and curiosity, Lt. T'Lyn spoke up.
"According to my scans, the betoken consists of an unknown metallic substance which appears to spontaneously emit electromagnetic waves that mimic brainwave patterns. These patterns, however, are not an exact match to any known brainwave patterns."
"Perhaps it has been used to bore into the brains of many dishonorable petaQs!" Sophia responded, immediately followed by a loud throaty guffaw.
On hearing this, T'Lyn's brows raised almost instinctively as she quickly scanned Sophia to check for neural changes. Sure enough, they were there, just like in the rest of the crew.
"It appears Ensign Sophia's assertion is correct," she said, promptly placing the betoken back in Sophia's sheath.
"Jinza when the truth was uncovered," Lt. Kayshon exclaimed.
"Do you have any idea what the metal component of the betoken might be called?" Lt. T'Lyn asked Lt. Kayshon.
"Yes, T'Lyn, it is called krynium, and it's mined from a special cave back on Tama."
T'Lyn had hardly finished speaking when she began to hear a mixture of loud sounds and crunching noises accompanied by violent shaking of the ship.
The shaking was so strong that it took the three officers off guard, throwing them to the floor.
"Now what is going on?" asked Sophia, who was still smarting from the pain in her buttocks.
"It appears the ship is warping through the Kraelion belt at high impulse," T'Lyn explained to the ensign.
"Is there an asteroid belt en route to Snickmik 5?" Sophia asked.
"Negative, Ensign. When the hypnotic phenomenon began to exert its effect on the crew, Lieutenant Boimler, who was acting captain at the time, ordered the pilot to go after a Klingon Bird of Prey headed for the Sartorian Nebula."
"What? And where is the Captain?" Sophia quizzed.
"I do not know."
"Computer, locate Captain Ransom," Kayshon requested.
"Captain Ransom is on Holodeck 5," boomed the computer's voice amidst the red alert klaxon that had begun to sound.
Meanwhile on the bridge, Boimler had grown impatient as the Klingons seemed too far from reach and ordered Barnes to raise shields and increase their impulse power to warp factor five, hence the shaking of the ship and bumping into asteroids.
"How can we remedy the situation based on our discovery before things get any worse?" Ensign Sophia asked, in a shaky voice that conveyed her fear as the ship continued to shake violently amidst the sounds of asteroids bombarding the ship's hull.
"Will it be possible to replicate enough betokens for the entire crew?" she asked suggestively.
"That will take too much time, besides we do not yet have accurate data on its atomic structure to replicate it," T'Lyn replied.
"I suggest we amplify the electromagnetic field of one betoken. Tendi and I have been working on a device that can do that. I think this is a perfect opportunity to put it to test," she continued.
"Where is the device then?" Sophia asked.
"The device is in my quarters," she responded.
With that, the trio went over to T'Lyn's quarters to get the device.
T'Lyn produced the rough-looking device from the cupboard it was in; a few screws still needed to be put in place.
T'Lyn put in the remaining screws, collected the dagger from Ensign Sophia, and put it in the device's source bath. After a brief contemplative pause, she turned it on.
To be sure of its efficacy, she had Lt. Kayshon take off his dagger as well while she observed them.
Ten minutes passed, and there were no changes in their behavior. She decided to map out the electromagnetic field emitted by the amplifier and observed that it only covered part of the ship while the rest was projected away from the ship.
"I need to take the device to a more central location so the electromagnetic field can completely envelop the ship," she explained to Sophia, who appeared to need an explanation for the thoughtful look on her face.
"Central location? How about we try the secondary hull?" Sophia suggested, her eyes brightening up a bit.
She proceeded to take the device to the secondary hull in order to completely envelop the ship in the amplified electromagnetic field created by the device.
"That solves one problem; what do we do about the intoxication of the crew?" Sophia asked.
"Clotrazonin wears away the effects of intoxication very quickly, easily replicated. I'll distribute it to all the crew through the ship's ventilators," Kayshon responded.
"Great, we'll head over to the bridge then," Sophia said, signaling T'Lyn with her eyes.
A few minutes later, Ransom got out of the Holodeck, wondering when he had started the bat'leth training he found himself in.
He rushed to the bridge, still bare-chested and in martial arts pants, confused by the sounds he was hearing.
"Uhhh... when did we get here? Mission briefing didn't state that there was an asteroid belt en route to Snickmik 5."
"We were going after a Klingon Bird of Prey headed for the Sartorian Nebula," replied T'Lyn, who had just walked in.
"Wait, what?... On whose command?"
"Actually, the ship was and is still under attack by a hypnotic phenomenon of unknown origin. This phenomenon made everyone lose their minds a bit. Thankfully, Lieutenant Kayshon, Ensign Sophia, and I were able to come up with a temporary solution with which we neutralized the hypnotic effect; however, we still haven't been able to locate the source of this phenomenon."
"Oops, that explains why I found myself doing bat'leth training instead of the High-Intensity Interval Training I had in mind," Ransom thought aloud.
"Barnes, gently guide us out of this rocky mess and set a course once more for Snickmik 5," he ordered.
He then went on to address the crew: "Attention all decks, for the last few moments, the ship has been under attack by some hypnotic phenomenon. As a result, we effectively went from Starfleet to drunk fleet. Right now, we are back to being Starfleet. All crew are hereby ordered to clean up whatever mess has been made."
"Now, how do we locate the origin of the hypnotic phenomenon?" Ransom asked, turning to his Science Officers.
He had hardly finished speaking when a bewildered Rutherford spoke up. "Captain, scans just detected an anomaly on the ship's hull. Something keeps popping out and disappearing from the ship's hull."
"Alright then, Mr. Boimler, you and Rutherford kit up and go have a look as soon as we're out of the asteroid belt," Ransom ordered.
"Yes, Captain!"
"Okey-dokey!"
They responded in unison as they left the bridge to put on their spacesuits.
On getting to the ship's hull, Boimler and Rutherford spacewalked toward the point where Rutherford had spotted the anomaly but found nothing.
"Looks like we're being tricked ag—" Boimler said in disbelief before being interrupted by a cracking sound under his feet.
He and Rutherford exchanged a disbelieving glance before checking to see what Boimler had stepped on.
Almost like magic, a large plate-like object with an antenna-like projection at the middle, having many indentations caused by bumping into asteroids, appeared before them. After picking it up and feeling around for fragments, they were beamed back to the ship.
The object was handed over to T'Lyn and Tendi to disable it and conduct preliminary investigations before turning it over to command for further investigation.
The atmosphere on the bridge of the Cerritos was serious.
Everyone was busy at their stations: Ensigns Casey and Barnes manned the Helm, while T'Lyn, Tendi, Rutherford, and Shaxs attended to their respective duties.
Following the reassignment of Captain Carol Freeman to Starbase 80, the Cerritos was sent to investigate a talking goo on Snickmik 5.
This meant long hours at warp, and Captain Ransom was not prepared to spend all those hours in the captain's chair, not when he already had a new High-Intensity Interval Training sequence to try out.
He had already flexed his lower limb muscles in preparation to get up when one of his provisional first officers called him.
"Uh... uh... Captain..."
"What's the problem, Mariner?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You haven't given us an inaugural speech yet, you know, one of those cool Pike-style speeches that inspire the crew to kick ass and all."
"That's not necessary," he responded.
"But it'll help the crew, you know, engage their cores while performing their duties," Boimler added, trying to convince him.
He had spent the last few minutes arguing with his provisional First Officers over his "Go-to-Warp Phrase" and was not about to engage in another debate, especially since they were right.
"Hmm, alright then, here we go."
"Barnes, open a communication channel, shipwide."
"Aye, Captain," replied Barnes.
Ransom clears throat
"Following the reassignment of our dear Captain Carol Freeman to Starbase 80, Starfleet thought me worthy of bearing the heavy weights she left behind, hence I now assume the role of captain. This ship has been my home, and you, the crew, have been my family.
"Over the years, I've had the privilege of serving alongside every one of you, watching us grow, learn, and flex our muscles on problems together.
"Now I have an even greater privilege. My promotion hasn't just made me your leader; it has also made me your servant, and I cannot serve you without your help and cooperation.
"Heck, even the toughest guys know to keep their spotters and racks around before their spines start to creak.
"On this note, I ask that as we embark on this new chapter together, you continue to bring your expertise, your passion, and your dedication to our shared mission.
"As your captain, I promise to uphold the values that have made this ship stand out, not just among the Cali-class but the entire fleet.
"Together we sweat, together we succeed.
"Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
"Captain out."
"That was pretty inspiring, Captain," Boimler commented, looking impressed as Casey closed the communication channel.
"More like gym-spiring," Mariner said, rolling her eyes.
Having given his speech, Ransom got up and left for the holodeck, leaving Mariner and Boimler in charge, much to Mariner's displeasure.
"So, now who sits on the Captain's chair?" Boimler asked Mariner.
"I don't know; you sit on it if you want," she replied coldly.
"Alright then," Boimler said as he moved gleefully to the Captain's chair.
"Is it the Captain's chair, or do I just feel like engaging in a glorious battle right now?" he asked himself after a few minutes.
Suddenly, Ensign Casey jostled him from his thoughts.
"Captain, I am detecting a warp signature; it's a Klingon Bird of Prey. They appear to be headed for the Sartorian Nebula."
"Isn't that Relga's ship?" Boimler asked Mariner, who had begun to feel the same way as him.
"It is indeed, a vessel as dishonorable as her commander." Mariner responded.
Lieutenant T'Lyn, confused, tried to correct them. "I do not agree, Captains. Relga and her crew were destroyed at the Schrödinger possibility field when we took out their shields. This cannot be Relga's ship. This is another Klingon Bird of Prey going on a mission of their own."
"How dare you question my judgment, you abominable source of dishonor? If you make one more statement, by Qo'noS, I shall have your head sliced off with my bat'leth!" Boimler responded fiercely.
"Go after those honorless fools immediately; they must pay for their treachery!" Boimler ordered, dismissing T'Lyn's response.
"Yes, Captain," Barnes responded.
"Finally, a battle!" Lieutenant Shaxs screamed.
"This is indeed fascinating; why do the last three conversations sound Klingon?" T'Lyn thought aloud, half-asking her science bestie.
"You sound like a petaQ drunk on bloodwine," she responded coldly.
T'Lyn raised a brow at her friend, wondering what had gone wrong.
Picking up her tricorder, she scanned Tendi and observed changes in her brainwave patterns. She covertly scanned the other bridge crew and observed the same thing.
Reaching for her comm badge, she decided to report to Captain Ransom.
"Captain..."
"Which insolent creature dares interrupt my private moment?" Ransom bellowed in a guttural tone, prompting T'Lyn to disconnect.
T'Lyn decided to check other sections of the ship for the same problem.
Away from the bridge, the crew appeared to be going berserk; in a split second, they all rushed toward the ship's replicators, fiercely demanding bloodwine, including the Captain, who was on his way to Holodeck 5.
In their drunkenness, they began to curse, fight, and smash things around the ship, from the corridors to sickbay.
As she was going from section to section, she stumbled upon a perplexed-looking Lieutenant Kayshon, who had just walked into the bar and stared at her suspiciously. She quickly scanned him and noticed he did not have the same neural changes as the others.
Relieved to finally find someone who was still sane, he said, "There is a beast at Tenagra. Everyone on the ship is drunk on bloodwine."
"I have been checking all the other sections to see if it's a shipwide problem," he continued. "It's only the bridge and lower decks that are left."
"I just came from the bridge, and it's the same thing. Let us check the lower decks; perhaps they might be unaffected," T'Lyn suggested.
"That's right, Mirab with sails unfurled," he responded as they left for the lower decks.
As they got to the lower decks, they were greeted by the noise of intoxicated junior officers fighting and cursing each other.
To confirm her suspicions, T'Lyn covertly scanned some of the officers and got the same readings she had gotten from previous scans.
Walking along the hallway, T'Lyn and Kayshon scanning with their eyes, they observed an ensign who had just woken up to the noise in the room and looked rather confused.
The ensign was a female human officer who appeared to have an obsession with Tamarian culture. There were Tamarian metaphorical quotes and posters of Darmok and Jalad by her bedside. She also had a betoken of Uzani on her.
T'Lyn quickly scanned her brain and noticed that she had not been affected.
"It appears the whole ship has been infected by some Klingon virus," the ensign spoke up after observing that the two officers who approached her were still normal.
"Indeed, it appears so, Ensign, but my scans do not read any viruses or brain parasites as I earlier suspected," T'Lyn replied.
"I also do not read any strange energy or signals either," she continued.
Lt. T'Lyn, who was beginning to mentally theorize that both Vulcan and Tamarian DNA were resistant to the Hypnotic phenomenon, turned to Ensign Sophia. "Curious Ensign, your fascination with Tamarian culture is quite unusual. Would you mind sharing the origin of your connection?"
Sophia's expression softened. "My father was rescued by a community of Tamarian merchants after a Gorn attack that tragically killed his entire family. He was the sole survivor, found adrift on a life raft. The Tamarians became his surrogate family."
Lieutenant Kayshon raised an eyebrow. "If your father was raised among Tamarians, he would know that the Betoken of Uzani is traditionally presented only to males. Why would he entrust it to you?"
"I'm an only child," Sophia explained. "My father told me I was worth a thousand sons. He also believed the betoken had protective properties that would benefit me regardless of my gender."
"Fascinating," T'Lyn responded, her scientific curiosity piqued. "The artifact appears to offer unique protective capabilities, especially in the hands of a skilled martial artist."
Sophia nodded. "There's more to that. My father once recounted how it saved him from Ferengi merchants who attempted to manipulate him using a hypnotic device during a trade negotiation."
"How can we be sure that this assertion is correct?" T'Lyn asked skeptically.
"We can carry out a little experiment. I'll take off the betoken while you observe my behavior. If my behavior changes, it will mean that my assertion is correct. If not, well, we'd have to figure something out," Sophia responded.
"Your logic appears sound to me," T'Lyn responded.
Ensign Sophia then took off the betoken and handed it to T'Lyn, who began to scan it to find out its components, while a curious Kayshon stood beside her observing as well.
After a brief moment filled with scanning sounds and curiosity, Lt. T'Lyn spoke up.
"According to my scans, the betoken consists of an unknown metallic substance which appears to spontaneously emit electromagnetic waves that mimic brainwave patterns. These patterns, however, are not an exact match to any known brainwave patterns."
"Perhaps it has been used to bore into the brains of many dishonorable petaQs!" Sophia responded, immediately followed by a loud throaty guffaw.
On hearing this, T'Lyn's brows raised almost instinctively as she quickly scanned Sophia to check for neural changes. Sure enough, they were there, just like in the rest of the crew.
"It appears Ensign Sophia's assertion is correct," she said, promptly placing the betoken back in Sophia's sheath.
"Jinza when the truth was uncovered," Lt. Kayshon exclaimed.
"Do you have any idea what the metal component of the betoken might be called?" Lt. T'Lyn asked Lt. Kayshon.
"Yes, T'Lyn, it is called krynium, and it's mined from a special cave back on Tama."
T'Lyn had hardly finished speaking when she began to hear a mixture of loud sounds and crunching noises accompanied by violent shaking of the ship.
The shaking was so strong that it took the three officers off guard, throwing them to the floor.
"Now what is going on?" asked Sophia, who was still smarting from the pain in her buttocks.
"It appears the ship is warping through the Kraelion belt at high impulse," T'Lyn explained to the ensign.
"Is there an asteroid belt en route to Snickmik 5?" Sophia asked.
"Negative, Ensign. When the hypnotic phenomenon began to exert its effect on the crew, Lieutenant Boimler, who was acting captain at the time, ordered the pilot to go after a Klingon Bird of Prey headed for the Sartorian Nebula."
"What? And where is the Captain?" Sophia quizzed.
"I do not know."
"Computer, locate Captain Ransom," Kayshon requested.
"Captain Ransom is on Holodeck 5," boomed the computer's voice amidst the red alert klaxon that had begun to sound.
Meanwhile on the bridge, Boimler had grown impatient as the Klingons seemed too far from reach and ordered Barnes to raise shields and increase their impulse power to warp factor five, hence the shaking of the ship and bumping into asteroids.
"How can we remedy the situation based on our discovery before things get any worse?" Ensign Sophia asked, in a shaky voice that conveyed her fear as the ship continued to shake violently amidst the sounds of asteroids bombarding the ship's hull.
"Will it be possible to replicate enough betokens for the entire crew?" she asked suggestively.
"That will take too much time, besides we do not yet have accurate data on its atomic structure to replicate it," T'Lyn replied.
"I suggest we amplify the electromagnetic field of one betoken. Tendi and I have been working on a device that can do that. I think this is a perfect opportunity to put it to test," she continued.
"Where is the device then?" Sophia asked.
"The device is in my quarters," she responded.
With that, the trio went over to T'Lyn's quarters to get the device.
T'Lyn produced the rough-looking device from the cupboard it was in; a few screws still needed to be put in place.
T'Lyn put in the remaining screws, collected the dagger from Ensign Sophia, and put it in the device's source bath. After a brief contemplative pause, she turned it on.
To be sure of its efficacy, she had Lt. Kayshon take off his dagger as well while she observed them.
Ten minutes passed, and there were no changes in their behavior. She decided to map out the electromagnetic field emitted by the amplifier and observed that it only covered part of the ship while the rest was projected away from the ship.
"I need to take the device to a more central location so the electromagnetic field can completely envelop the ship," she explained to Sophia, who appeared to need an explanation for the thoughtful look on her face.
"Central location? How about we try the secondary hull?" Sophia suggested, her eyes brightening up a bit.
She proceeded to take the device to the secondary hull in order to completely envelop the ship in the amplified electromagnetic field created by the device.
"That solves one problem; what do we do about the intoxication of the crew?" Sophia asked.
"Clotrazonin wears away the effects of intoxication very quickly, easily replicated. I'll distribute it to all the crew through the ship's ventilators," Kayshon responded.
"Great, we'll head over to the bridge then," Sophia said, signaling T'Lyn with her eyes.
A few minutes later, Ransom got out of the Holodeck, wondering when he had started the bat'leth training he found himself in.
He rushed to the bridge, still bare-chested and in martial arts pants, confused by the sounds he was hearing.
"Uhhh... when did we get here? Mission briefing didn't state that there was an asteroid belt en route to Snickmik 5."
"We were going after a Klingon Bird of Prey headed for the Sartorian Nebula," replied T'Lyn, who had just walked in.
"Wait, what?... On whose command?"
"Actually, the ship was and is still under attack by a hypnotic phenomenon of unknown origin. This phenomenon made everyone lose their minds a bit. Thankfully, Lieutenant Kayshon, Ensign Sophia, and I were able to come up with a temporary solution with which we neutralized the hypnotic effect; however, we still haven't been able to locate the source of this phenomenon."
"Oops, that explains why I found myself doing bat'leth training instead of the High-Intensity Interval Training I had in mind," Ransom thought aloud.
"Barnes, gently guide us out of this rocky mess and set a course once more for Snickmik 5," he ordered.
He then went on to address the crew: "Attention all decks, for the last few moments, the ship has been under attack by some hypnotic phenomenon. As a result, we effectively went from Starfleet to drunk fleet. Right now, we are back to being Starfleet. All crew are hereby ordered to clean up whatever mess has been made."
"Now, how do we locate the origin of the hypnotic phenomenon?" Ransom asked, turning to his Science Officers.
He had hardly finished speaking when a bewildered Rutherford spoke up. "Captain, scans just detected an anomaly on the ship's hull. Something keeps popping out and disappearing from the ship's hull."
"Alright then, Mr. Boimler, you and Rutherford kit up and go have a look as soon as we're out of the asteroid belt," Ransom ordered.
"Yes, Captain!"
"Okey-dokey!"
They responded in unison as they left the bridge to put on their spacesuits.
On getting to the ship's hull, Boimler and Rutherford spacewalked toward the point where Rutherford had spotted the anomaly but found nothing.
"Looks like we're being tricked ag—" Boimler said in disbelief before being interrupted by a cracking sound under his feet.
He and Rutherford exchanged a disbelieving glance before checking to see what Boimler had stepped on.
Almost like magic, a large plate-like object with an antenna-like projection at the middle, having many indentations caused by bumping into asteroids, appeared before them. After picking it up and feeling around for fragments, they were beamed back to the ship.
The object was handed over to T'Lyn and Tendi to disable it and conduct preliminary investigations before turning it over to command for further investigation.
Last edited: