Draw the Line - MD3 Now Open

Posted on Fri Apr 25th, 2025 @ 1:15pm by Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson

Mission: Season 6: Echoes of the Zynari
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: MD3 – 0900 Hours
450 words - 0.9 OF Standard Post Measure

The stars outside the Ready Room viewport had always been a comfort.

Today, they offered none.

Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson stood with her arms folded, her posture as still and composed as the silence that had settled over her office. But her eyes, sharp and restless, flicked between reports scrolling across her PADD. Twelve new incidents overnight. Another four flagged as potentially dangerous. And every single department had logged something—an unexplained system anomaly, an environmental quirk, a piece of equipment behaving just a little too whimsically.

What had started as harmless Zynari mischief had shifted.

No injuries yet. But too many almosts.

She tapped her combadge. “Bridge, open a ship-wide channel.”

The comm chirped. A breath.

Then her voice, calm and clear, carried across the decks of the Elysium.

“This is Commodore Lalor-Richardson. Attention all hands.”

“Over the past several days, our ship has experienced a series of unexplained phenomena. Many of these incidents align with what we understand of the Zynari—an extradimensional species that appears to be interacting with our systems, and in some cases, with our crew directly. Their actions have, until recently, been benign and curious.”

“However, as of today we have recorded a sharp escalation in both the frequency and complexity of these events. Some have resulted in minor injuries or disruptions to ship systems. Others—while not immediately dangerous—have interfered with ship operations in ways that could become dangerous.”

“This is no longer a matter for humor or novelty. Effective immediately, I am calling for increased vigilance across all departments. That includes standard duty protocols, restricted access to critical systems, and daily anomaly sweeps at shift change.”

“More importantly: I am ordering cross-departmental collaboration. This is not the time for isolation. We cannot afford silos of knowledge. Intelligence, Engineering, Science, Operations, Medical, and Command—all departments are to report relevant data through shared channels. A clear picture must be formed.”

“Until we are certain that every anomaly is of Zynari origin—and nothing else—we treat all incidents as potentially foreign interference.”

“If these pranks are escalating beyond their control, or if a second actor is using the chaos to cover their own intrusion, we must know. Now.”

“There will be a senior staff meeting at tomorrow (MD4)1100 hours. Department heads should arrive prepared to present findings, unusual patterns, and personnel logs of any incidents not yet reported. If you believe something small was 'too strange to mention,' mention it.”

“That is all. Lalor-Richardson out.”

The channel closed with a soft chirp. Phoenix exhaled slowly and looked out at the stars again.

Still beautiful. Still distant.

But now, more than ever, she didn’t trust what might be lurking between them.

OFF