ALPHA ISLES — The crew of the USS Ronin races against time to stop the mastermind of a calculated revenge plot after an initial attempt to divert the Soliton Express ended in failure.
With just under sixty hours remaining before a Soliton wave is projected to strike Proxima Sigma, the Ronin crew has launched a three-pronged strategy to extract the Soliton Express from the wave’s path and disperse the energy safely before impact. The first attempt—resulting in a severely damaged Captain’s yacht and the near loss of two senior officers to open space—forced the team to regroup and revise their approach.
Led by Engineering Chief Marty Tucker, the team encountered a major setback when they uncovered the identity of the individual orchestrating the attack. A firefight ensued, resulting in one terrorist fatality, the capture of Security Officer Tzim-Shah, and the retreat of Tucker’s team further down the train.
The assailant was revealed to be former Administrator Emzai of Grus Beta III, whose mind had been manipulated and controlled by her now-deceased husband. Blaming the Ronin crew for both her husband’s death and the destruction of her world, Emzai has sought vengeance with lethal precision.
In a coordinated strike, a secondary explosive was used to destroy the station at Alpha Sigma, leaving both colonies without the means to dissipate the incoming wave. Reports also confirm that the train has been releasing containers of unknown material that appear to reflect the Soliton wave back toward its origin. If not stopped, both colonies now face total annihilation. The Ronin managed to recover one of the containers, hoping to uncover a method to neutralise the secondary wave.
After recalling the away team from Proxima Sigma, they rendezvoused with the ship’s First Officer and CAG for a second boarding of the train to support Tucker’s team. During this operation, Emzai released a deadly gas throughout the Express. Whether the act was in retaliation for the boarding, or provoked by a perceived slight from Capt. Karrod Niac, remains unclear. What is evident is that her mental state is unstable—and deteriorating quickly.
At last report, officers aboard the train were attempting to decouple occupied train cars and assist passengers, while Cmdr. Toryn Raga led a small security unit in a high-risk effort to rescue their captured crewmate and bring Emzai into custody.
With the countdown ticking and both colonies at risk, one thing is certain: time is not on their side.
Written by Toryn Raga
