By Commander Salvek
80212.22
After the events of Disappeared
--=Bridge USS Serendipity=--
80212.22
After the events of Disappeared
--=Bridge USS Serendipity=--
"The question now," Zanh looked at each man in turn. "Is exactly whose failed experiment are we dealing with here?"
Salvek considered her words a moment, but realized they just did not have enough evidence at the moment to point the finger at anyone. They were dealing with organizations that worked deep in the shadows and under the safe protective cloak of bureaucracy. Exposing any treachery would take more than hunches, more than facts and more than proof. And even that was sometimes not enough.
He looked at the viewscreen, taking in the deadly star in their path. He sensed something was terribly wrong aboard the Alchemy, and that they needed to begin searching for them immediately. It wasn't just a logical conclusion he made given the present situation, but rather a signal from his katra that he needed to act.
"Captain, if we are going to decipher this mystery we must first recover the information aboard the Alchemy. Request permission to being a search."
"I agree Captain." Reece chimed in.
"I know you do Reece. Permission granted. But where would we even start?"
Salvek walked to the engineering station. He began looking for any signs of a transwarp jump, but could not find any.
"Captain, if I were Lair Kellyn and needed to escape from the star, I would use the trans-warp drive. I'm not detecting any signs of a jump, but since trans-warp conduits exist outside normal space, it is conceivable that they actually passed through the star to the other side. I suggest we begin a search around the star's equator."
Liis turned back to the helm. "Laying in a search course at the equator, full impulse. Even at full impulse it’s going to take..." Liis paused as she calculated the time to orbit the massive star. She let out a sigh before repeating the results. "26 hours to complete a full orbit."
Zanh Liis felt her chest fall upon delivering the bad news. Jariel Camen was safely tucked away on the decks below helping the medical staff hand out doses of medication to treat radiation exposure, but many on the ship had people they cared deeply about over on the Alchemy, and she knew it was going to be a long day waiting, wondering, and hoping their sister ship had somehow escaped Beta-626's clutches.
Salvek returned to the Command chair. He felt the need to meditate on this matter, and considered asking the Captain for permission to leave the bridge. Zanh Liis would likely allow him to leave, but he knew he had to remain on the bridge as long as the Alchemy was missing. It was a matter of principle for the sake of the crew that he and the Captain stay here while their crew mates were in peril.
Still, his anxiousness regarding the situation threatened his passive facade. He reminded himself that his wife had proven herself resourceful beyond anyone's expectations on many occasions. Indeed she had survived situations much more dangerous than this. An hour passed in relative silence.
An alarm began to beep on Blakeslee's display. He cleared it and checked to see what the sensors had brought to his attention.
"I've got something out there Captain. Materials consistent with Federation construction."
"On screen. Plotting an intercept course."
The screen flickered to a large chunk of twisted metal, floating through space.
"Deuranium construction. It is debris, Captain." Blakeslee said.
"Tractor beam. Bring it into the main cargo bay." Zanh Liis had to ask the question she did not want the answer to. "Is it from the Alchemy?"
Salvek felt his hand tighten around the armrest as he waited for Blakeslee to answer. He released his grip and steadied himself, steepling his fingers.
"Concentration of materials is not consistent with that of the Alchemy. This looks more like something that came from a space station of some sort."
"Station? Out here? There are no star bases out here. Unless the Federation has a new policy of building stations around boring, nondescript stars in the middle of bleeping nowhere." Dabin interjected.
"No star bases that are on the map, Reece." Zanh said, as she stood up from the helm. "Report to the cargo bay, gentlemen. Dissect that wreckage. I want a report in half an hour. I'll hold down things here."
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012