Fragments, Conclusion: The Complete Picture

Posted on Wed Aug 27th, 2025 @ 9:34pm by Captain T’Kal & Akum, Son of Bra'Khis & Shey'va, Daughter of Vatev & Lieutenant Commander David Erickson & Lieutenant Commander Valerie Novis & Lieutenant Megosho Gehente & Lieutenant JG Renata Novotná
Edited on on Thu Oct 9th, 2025 @ 7:53pm

1,740 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: ARYL 1X03: The Listening Post
Location: Various
Timeline: After “Fragments: Data”, “Fragments: Interference”, and “Fragments: Subterfuge”

["Site wej" Klingon Space]

"Commander, we are honoured by your presence." The senior commander of the Klingon Science Station codenamed 'Site wej' bowed low before Akum, Son of Bra'khis, the forces commander for the sector. "We did not anticipate your presence for the viewing. Perhaps I can offer you some hospitality--"

"Spare me your hospitality, Captain," Akum said brusquely as he pushed past the station chief. "I was there for the lab-grade test at Site wa'. I was there for the full-scale test at Site cha'. What fool assumes I would miss this one?" He spotted the Chief Scientist for the project and lifted his arms beatifically towards her. "Doctor Shey'va! Architect of Project Ty'Gokor!"

A woman in a dark gray lab coat overseeing a crew working on a console which dominated one wall of the viewing gallery looked to Akum and gave him a polite bow of her head. "Commander. The device is in place. The test is set to begin shortly. Sensor buoys are in position at one-hundred kellicam intervals."

"And the barge?" Akum asked.

"Not easy to spare," the scientist Shey'va admitted. "I had to convert a decommissioned old monitor ship. But I can report that there are twenty prisoners on what is functionally a life support barge replete with internal sensors and the best transmitter available is sitting at the fifty-thousand kellicam mark. I request greater logistical support ahead of any future tests to avoid any procurement challenges."

Akum glared at the station chief, the only one who could have fought Shey'va's request. "Rest assured, Doctor, that after this test we will set up a unit devoted solely to ensuring you get exactly what you need."

A junior officer handed tinted safety goggles to all who were present in the gallery. As Doctor Shey'va returned her attention to the console, Akum and many of the other gathered officials stood facing the large transparent aluminum viewport, waiting for what was to come as a mechanical voice counted Soch...jav...vagh...loS...wej...cha'...wa'...

[Station Delta IV]

Captain’s log, Supplemental. It has been four hours since we arrived at Station Delta IV, and in that time we have learned much about the blip which we were sent to investigate. XO Novis’s shuttle team has successfully removed the device which was impeding antenna function; Chief Engineer Inda is presently dissecting the device to learn more. Its removal has meant that the station’s listening apparatus is now operating at one hundred percent effectiveness. The station’s patients are aboard the Ark Royal; CMO Johnson has them stabilized. Chief of Security McEntyre and Counselor Johnson are soon beginning their interrogation of station engineer Simmons, arrested on suspicion of poisoning her crewmates. End log.

In the station’s meeting room, T’Kal continued to sit with Lieutenants Gehente and Novotná and Ensign Elkovais as they studied the sensor blip. Every minute, more information was being gleamed from the raw data of that original scan. The Captain was not surprised; the only expertise aboard the station had involved detection, and Starfleet Intelligence had prioritized getting the report out based on only the station’s initial findings. Add experts on subspace from two Starfleet departments and suddenly a lot more information becomes available.

At this rate, the Captain thought, it might be useful to copy over large portions of the station’s storage drive to analyze even further along their journey.

Suddenly, a voice came across the station’s internal comm system. “Ops to Captain T’Kal. Contact, repeat, contact, happening live! Feeding imagery in now!”

Looking up sharply from her console, Meg craned her neck to look at their unflappable Captain, then to the screen that had winked to life in front of them. She sucked in a breath, letting out a low, 'woah!' as she watched the telemetry come in. Catching herself, she moved to record what was coming in, and feed it through the matrix she had helped Novotna develop to record all aspects of the phenomena.

Renata was eager to finally take a look at the phenonema they put so much effort in tracking down in the past few days. When she looked at the telemetry, she was more than overwhelmed. It was much more serious than anything she would've imagined. If the Klingons were really tearing subspace apart, then Starfleet is in big trouble.

"Fuck... They've detonated an isolytic burst." she said jaw-dropped. "Errr.... I'm sorry... Sorry for the language... But this is..." she shook her head. "They're tearing apart subspace. This is some serious shit."

T’Kal opened her communicator. “T’Kal to Ark Royal. Novis, are you seeing this?”

[Bridge, USS Ark Royal]

Valerie's head jerked up from the screen she was sharing with Erickson as the voice sounded over the comms, "Yes, Captain, we are..." She looked down over the Navigator's shoulder, "Where is it?"

"Emissions coming from inside Klingon space," David said, looking at his board. "Near the Kraz system....sensor stations report a large structure...looks to be a research outpost." David shook his head. "It's not on any of my charts."

"Captain, inside Klingon space, the Kraz system, call it a half dozen light years." Valerie went to one knee next to the David, "That's a large structure all right... Why didn't we see it? The sensors on this beast should have seen it with ease."

David paled. "That sensor blind we removed. It was positioned to keep them in its shadow, I'll bet."

"Has to be." Valerie patted him on the shoulder as she considered past experiences and chewed over what this could be, "Captain, This looks like a high-energy event, are the station's sensors giving you more details than we're getting here?"

[Station Delta IV]

"Affirmative," T'Kal replied. "Station sensors plus Ms. Novotná's own refinements are giving us a clear picture." She looked at her team on the station with her. "Watch it closely. When it's over, send the recording back to the Ark Royal. We will do a full analysis from there."

'Aye Captain,' Meg replied as she inserted a blank data tape to start the process of backing up the data they had recorded. A hard copy would be useful in case the transmission failed for whatever reason. 'Won't be the work of a Rigellian minute.'

"Yes, sir." Renata nodded, still struck by witnessing this extraordinary and quite worrying event. "I get the science department to work on it immediately."

Back into her communicator, the Captain continued. "Ark Royal, go to yellow alert. Send to Starfleet Command priority one, encrypted, that an event has been observed outside the Kraz System, and to expect a full report in the next few hours. We'll be returning to the ship after this event has passed."

"Yellow Alert!" Valerie called to the Operations officer at the station and yellow lights began to flash rhythmically throughout the ship, but no alarms sounded. It would only be an increase in alert level, "Shields on standby, I want them ready to go up on no notice." She looked over to David, "Get the message out to Command and be ready to get the ship moving, move first if we see a threat incoming, but we'll need to cover the station."

"On it," David said, his eyes flying over his boards while his hands encrypted a message. He sent it out as fast as subspace would allow and then began charting a course, watching the sensors carefully, ready to throw them into reverse on a moment's notice.

Closing her communicator, T’Kal looked meaningfully to her teammates on the station.

This was the start of something entirely new. Something important.

T’Kal had a vague idea of what might come next…and none of the scenarios she imagined were good.


[“Site wej”, near the Kraz System, Klingon space]



“It’s beautiful,” Akum observed as he watched the plume of subspace energy expand from the test site. The blue-black tear in the fabric of space-time expanded much further than the previous test’s had. Good. It showed the yield of the weapon could be scaled. “How fared the prisoners?”

Doctor Shey’va looked up from her console at her commander. “Hyperphasic radiation at high enough levels to cause severe illness and death, presuming they could have gotten away.” She directed Akum to look at her screen, which depicted the explosive plume. “This was unexpected. The Matter/Antimatter reactor on the prisoner observation barge pulled at the edge of the explosion like a magnet. It opened the tear much more widely than anticipated, engulfing the barge completely.” She looked back to Akum. “It means two things. First, as a safety precaution, all M/AM reactors should be shut down within one light-year of any subsequent test. Second—“

“Second,” Akum interrupted, “is that this device is significantly more destructive in the presence of starships.” His sharp teeth were bared in a grin. “High Command will be very pleased indeed. Why, I do believe there shall be promotions for—“

This time it was his turn to be interrupted, this time by an underling who urgently shoved a secure PADD into his hands. He unlocked it and read the message.

Sabotage detected and cleared
Very likely Starfleet detected test
Further information forthcoming

“Is anything wrong, sir?” the sniveling site commander asked, noticing Akum’s sudden silence.

Akum buried his rage and turned back toward the group, laughing heartily. “The only thing wrong is that no one has brought Shey’va any blood wine!” He typed a quick message into the PADD and gave it back to the underling.

They cannot know yet
Do what you must to prevent them learning more

“Send this off, and then unload the good vintage from my ship!”


END


Captain T’Kal
Commanding Officer, USS Ark Royal

Lieutenant Commander Valerie Novis
Executive Officer and Chief Tactical Officer, USS Ark Royal

David Erickson
Chief Navigator, USS Ark Royal

Lieutenant Megosho Gehente
Chief Communications Officer, USS Ark Royal

Lieutenant jg Renata Novotná
Chief Science Officer, USS Ark Royal

Akum, Son of Bra’khis
Sector Forces Commander, Klingon Empire

Shey'va, Daughter of Vatev
Scientist, Klingon Empire

 

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