Sari’ka Thalen

Log Entry 3162.10.29 Situation Summary: Lieutenant Sari’ka Thalen — Tactical Operations Liaison, Deck 1, Command Room. Status: Acting under Vice Captain Aria Venn’s orders; coordinating emergency security and engineering personnel. Anomalies: Security Chief Kalen Dorr showing uncharacteristic behavior. Possible Hive influence. Objective: Maintain ship integrity and crew safety while following command directives. --- Chapter XX — Lieutenant Sari’ka Thalen The command room hummed with the muted chatter of comms operators and the low thrum of the auxiliary power grid. Sari’ka Thalen’s blue-tinged skin seemed to shimmer under the dim console lights, reflecting her focus as her fingers danced over the tactical interface. Though her psionic abilities allowed her to sense subtle fluctuations in energy and emotion, she could not read the humans as clearly as she could other species—and certainly not the Vice Captain. Aria Venn’s voice cut through the room, calm but firm. “Reroute power to Deck Five’s auxiliary relays. Keep the hull sensors online. And monitor the security teams.” “Yes, Vice Captain,” Sari’ka responded, committing each directive to memory. Her eyes flicked to the security feed. That’s when she noticed something strange: Kalen Dorr’s team moving in patterns that made no sense. Doors opening and closing in a sequence that shouldn’t be necessary, patrols doubling back on empty corridors. Sari’ka tilted her head, attempting to reconcile this with what Aria had ordered. The Vice Captain’s expression gave nothing away, her posture perfectly controlled. Sari’ka’s psionic sense detected subtle tension in Kalen—an undercurrent of anticipation, almost like a predator moving behind a prey unaware of danger. Her stomach tightened. “Chief Dorr’s… adjusting routines on his own,” she muttered under her breath, her voice just above the hum of the systems.