tbd Jor Junix

Posted on Sun Jul 24th, 2022 @ 2:02am by Ensign Jor Jaxur

872 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Into The Void
Location: USS Lionheart

As he stood outside the shuttle bay doors, Jor was not sure if it was important; he was an ensign and there were so many things above his pay grade. And maybe his love of mystery novels was influencing his judgement. Well, the worst that could happen was...

He could make an enemy of both the Captain and Executive Officer.

He grimaced and began to walk away...

"Ensign," Junix called, "hold up." The executive officer had, indeed, noticed him standing near the door, and noticed his attempted retreat. She quickly signed off on the orders the bay crew presented her then hurried to catch up to Jaxur before he could try to slink away again.

In her pocket, she carried a white noise suppressor that she activated on her approach. There might not be any listening devices tucked into the corridors of the ship, or maybe everything was being recorded, she wasn't sure. Though, her level of trust in the crew of the Lionheart was being chipped away at steadily. "Let's talk," she prompted. "You have something you need to get off your chest?"

Jor hesitated, then he gave a nod.

"It...might be nothing," he confessed, "I was on the bridge when the call-the first call-from Gabriel Station was established. Captain Hadenbeer, her mind...she has music running through it all the time. I don't actively read minds: it's unethical. But Captain Hadenbeer's thoughts...it's like maybe she does it deliberately? I do know it's a technique people can practice to avoid telepathic eavesdropping."

He took a breath, "So I am at Ops, Captain Hadenbeer is composing music in her head, and suddenly the word 'fake!' bursts into her head. Like an echo. Like someone told her it was fake, but no one else on the bridge said a word to her."

He sighed, "And then later while you were on the runabout, the counselor called Gabriel Station and sure enough, the second transmission was being faked."

Junix quietly processed the information, then asked, "You're a Betazoid?" She had a plethora of questions forming.

Jor nodded, "Yes, Commander, I am."

"Were you able to determine where the warning came from?" she asked.

Jor shook his head, "No, sir. All I can say is that it was not a telepathic warning, and no one said so on the bridge. I mean, Doctor Klarth was there talking her ear off about his theories regarding the probe and the void, but from what I saw and heard from him he was completely and totally focused on those subjects. Commander Arkin signed off, and then Captain Hadenbeer stood, walked over to ensign Toelau and whispered something in her ear. Next thing I know we are at maximum warp under yellow alert and the captain is talking about 'exercises' and breaking warp speed records."

Junix rubbed her brow, trying to put all the information together. Her meeting with Admiral Janeway had not fully prepared her for the convoluted situation she was looking at right now. "How long have you been serving on the Lionheart?" She needed a base read on the Captain.

"I came on board at Earth, a few days ago," Jor replied, "Same time I think you did," he hesitated, then added, "I...was curious and checked. Doctor Klarth and lieutenants Mell'a and S'lace all served here before. Outside of that, every officer is new," he scratched his left ear lobe nervously, "Is...that normal? I mean, this is my first assignment so I don't have any frame of reference, sir."

"It really depends on how long the ship sits for a refit," Junix answered. "It's good to keep a crew together long-term. The crew gets into a flow and knows how each person fits into the team. But, it's not always possible." Distracted for a moment, she remembered she was trying to figure out what was happening on the bridge. "Did you notice anything else that seemed out of the ordinary, either on the bridge or with the captain?"

Jor thought of that a moment, then replied, "Well, during the aborted fight the captain seemed to lose faith in ensign Jun; she was about to have the computer activate an emergency program of some sort but he came around so she stopped. I honestly don't try to read thoughts but I got the impression the captain was a little ashamed she had written Jun off so quickly."

Junix sighed, "Well, I have a difficult time believing that there's a ghost aboard the ship, but disembodied voices that only one person can hear is rather unsettling. Keep me informed if you see anything else out of place, Ensign. By no means should you feel that you've overstepped your position in talking with me."

"I appreciate that, sir. I'm...sure there's some sort of reasonable explanation, sir. I mean, the captain was right about the transmission being fake; the captain had Gabriel Station called again and the counselor spoke to the same person, and tripped them up. So apparently the first transmission was false."

He shrugged, "Well anyway, if you don't need anything else from me, sir, I have a few duties I need to attend to...?"

"Of course. Carry on, Ensign." Junix answered.

 

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