"Transmission Signal: Complications"

Posted on 10 Jun 2026 @ 11:45pm by Lieutenant Commander Steven Remington & Commander Suzanna Batenburg & Lieutenant Ryan Collingway

1,646 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Time After Time
Location: USS Arawyn :: Ready Room

///Ready Room////

Ryan stood outside the ready room, a bit nervously. He knew that the Captain and Commander were watching both of the temporary officers to make sure they didn't mess up in their new roles. Now they were both about to deliver the bad-but-definitely-neccessary information that 8472 might be involved in this. He wondered how they would take the news.

The doors opened, permitting them both entry. Midway, they had received word that the Captain was tied up with something on the bridge, but Commander Batenburg was available. Ryan wasted no time. "Commander. We have been able to decipher the signal from the anomaly after factoring in temporal variance. It suggests an involvement from species 8472, also known as the Undine."

Suzanna raised an eyebrow, silently repeating the designation to herself. Species 8472. If that assessment proved correct, the implications would be deeply concerning. “Please, take a seat,” she said, gesturing toward the sitting area. She moved to one of the chairs and settled into it with composed deliberation before turning her attention back to the Lieutenant. “Let us hear the signal.” Her tone remained calm and professional, though her interest had clearly intensified.

Remington keyed the loop on the holographic model that hung over the central situation table, and the computer modulated voice began: “Approaching vessels … beware of dangerous temporal rifts. We are … attack by torrential force ... 84 blevins 2. They … stroyed half …. Approaching vessels … beware of dangerous temporal rifts. We are … attack by torrential force … 84 blevins 2. They … stroyed half … Approaching vessels.” Steve cut the broadcast. We have confirmed that 'blevins' is a misunderstanding on the part of the deciphering program of the number 'seven'," he explained. "We are speculating that this is not Earth of our timeline or dimension. There is no historical record anywhere in Federation history that refers to the presence of the Undine as attacking Earth. We need some organic material from that fragment of the planet in order to verify it is from another timeline, but that's really not possible, at this point. So we are continuing to search for other signals. We don't think this signal is from Earth, but from some more advanced source. It's very complex, and I don't think the people of Earth were capable of this sophisticated a communication signal in the 1980s era."

Suzanna considered the report for a moment before responding. "The absence of supporting historical records certainly argues against this being our timeline. If Earth had suffered an incursion by Species Eight-Four-Seven-Two significant enough to generate a warning beacon, there would be evidence somewhere in Federation archives, like you said, Lieutenant."

She glanced toward the holographic display. "That said, I am reluctant to conclude that we are dealing with an alternate reality based on a single fragmented transmission. We have one verified data point and several assumptions built around it." She paused to consider the options. "At present, we know there is a displaced region that appears consistent with Earth in 1984. We know there is a transmission warning of temporal rifts and referencing Species Eight-Four-Seven-Two. We do not yet know whether those two facts are connected."

She studied the display more, "If the signal originated from outside the displaced region, we may be observing multiple objects, timelines, or quantum realities intersecting within the same distortion envelope. That would explain the apparent contradiction without requiring us to discard our current observations."

A slight raise of her eyebrow accompanied her next statement. "From a command perspective, I recommend we continue treating all major explanations as viable. Alternate timeline, alternate quantum reality, temporal displacement, or a combination thereof. The phenomenon has already demonstrated behaviour that does not conform to conventional physics. Premature certainty would be the greater risk."

She looked back to Remington. "Can your team determine whether the transmission originated from the same spatial coordinates as the Earth fragment, or merely from somewhere within the distortion envelope? Establishing that relationship may be more valuable than further attempts to reconstruct the message itself."

“Yes Ma’am,” replied Remington. He focused on the holo-display and cued the computer. The results appeared on the display immediately and the computer read them in its calm, female voice.

Calculations assume planet Earth was fragmented as a result of catastrophic attack.
STATUS: Mass fragment stabilizing in localized gravity pocket
IDENTIFIED GEOGRAPHY: North American Tectonic Plate // California Region
VISIBLE LANDMARKS: San Andreas Fault Line severed
CARTESIAN COORDINATES: X: 0.003 // Y: -0.001 // Z: 0.0004
NAVIGATIONAL VECTOR: Heading 014, Mark 2
FRAGMENT MASS: 2.14 x 10^21 kg
DEBRIS EXPANSION RATE from epicenter of primary event: 12,400 km/s
RADIOLOGICAL READING: Heavy tetryon radiation signature on the unpopulated surfaces of the fragment.

Calculations for subspace transmission confirm an origin source other than planet Earth.
STATUS: Source was outside instantaneous gravitational collapse zone
POSITIONING: Sol System Lagrange Point 5 (Trailing Earth Orbit)
DISTANCE FROM CORE: 150,000,000 kilometers (1.0 Astronomical Unit)
CARTESIAN COORDINATES: X: 0.866 // Y: -0.500 // Z: 0.00
NAVIGATIONAL VECTOR: Heading 060, Mark 0 (Relative to Sol Center)
SENSOR NOTE: Vessel utilized gravitational shadow of Earth's orbital plane to evade detection
FLIGHT BEHAVIOR: Micro-warp wake detected

Evaluation regarding the intent, origin, and design of the high-bandwidth 12-terabit burst transmitted by an observer vessel: Automated Distress Call
FREQUENCY: The primary carrier wave mirrors a standard Starfleet automated Emergency Beacon Type 4.
DATA CONENTt: Data packets contain heavily compressed biometric telemetry streams.
CONTEXTUAL EVIDENCE: The transmission timestamp correlates perfectly with the fracturing of the North American plate. This indicates an emergency broadcast initiated automatically during terminal planetary failure.

Suzanna listened to the computer's report in silence. As the final line faded from the air, she remained thoughtful for several seconds before speaking. "Interesting." She rose from her chair and moved toward the holographic display.
"The transmission origin is the detail that concerns me most. Not because it confirms a theory, but because it undermines several of them." Her gaze moved between the projected Earth fragment and the coordinates associated with the distress signal. "If these calculations are accurate, then the warning beacon did not originate from the California fragment. It originated approximately one astronomical unit away, from an entirely different location within the Sol system."

She folded her hands behind her back. "We have been operating under the assumption that the anomaly contains a single displaced object. The evidence no longer supports that conclusion." Her finger traced several highlighted sensor contacts on the display. "What if we are not observing one event leaking through the distortion envelope? What if we are observing many?" She turned toward the two officers.

"Imagine a damaged viewscreen displaying fragments from multiple channels simultaneously. One image may show California in nineteen eighty-four. Another may show a vessel fleeing an Undine attack. A third may originate from an entirely different timeline or quantum reality. To an observer outside the phenomenon, they would appear connected despite having no relationship to one another." A slight furrow appeared between her brows.

"The transmission timestamp correlates with the destruction of a planet. Yet, the source vessel was not located near the fragment we are observing. That suggests the anomaly may not be pulling a single object through spacetime. It may be exposing multiple slices of space and time at once." She looked back toward the display. "A section of Earth. A distress beacon. Potentially an observer vessel. Those may be components of the same event. They may also be unrelated fragments that have become juxtaposed inside the distortion envelope."

Her eyes settled on Remington. "Lieutenant, I would like Science to stop treating the California fragment as the centre of the phenomenon. Instead, map every detectable object, signal source, energy concentration, and gravitational discontinuity within the envelope. If this is a mosaic rather than a single displacement event, there may be additional fragments we have not yet identified."

Suzanna raised an eyebrow. "And if we find enough pieces, we may finally determine whether we are looking at one shattered reality or several overlapping ones."

"Yes, Ma'am. We'll check that out immediately," replied Remington and typed in a silent note to his assistant in Science on the keyboard as the discussion continued.

Ryan listened to what she said carefully, but he was still worried. "There aren't many weapons that can damage an 8472 ship. Should we prepare them, just in case? I know you said it could just be a broadcast from one of infinite timelines, but there is nothing that rules out that 8472 ships can also use the portal as well."

"Lieutenant Collingway, your concerns are understandable," Suzanna replied calmly. "However, the available evidence remains insufficient to support any definitive conclusion. At present, we have a fragmented transmission, several competing hypotheses, and many unanswered questions."

Suzanna folded her hands behind her back. "Commander McKinney is preparing contingencies for a range of scenarios. That is prudent. It does not follow that we should assume any particular scenario is more likely than the others." Her gaze briefly shifted to the display before returning to the lieutenant.

"The Undine would represent a significant threat if they are involved. At this time, we have no evidence confirming their presence. We have evidence only that a transmission references Species Eight-Four-Seven-Two." A slight raise of her eyebrow accompanied the observation. "Those are not equivalent conclusions."

She inclined her head slightly. "We have several probes in orbit around the fragment and additional sensor assets collecting data throughout the distortion envelope. Until those results are analyzed, logic dictates that we continue gathering information rather than allowing speculation to guide our decisions."

Ryan nodded. If what the Commander said was correct, this whole thing just became a lot messier, it would seem. "Yes ma'am," he said, and glanced at Remington. "Engineering will assist however we can."

"I've got them working on it, too. If there's so much as an ounce of anything else in the range of that envelope, we'll find it, Commander," Remington assured his superior.

~~~
Cmdr Suzanna Batenburg
Executive Officer

LT Ryan Collingway
Acting Chief Engineer

LT Steve Remington
Acting Chief Science Officer

 

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