90403.23
Concurrent with Full Swing
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"He travels the fastest who travels alone."
~Rudyard Kipling
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-=Office of the Director, The Alchemy Project, Starfleet Command=-
Another late night last night had turned into another early morning and long afternoon for Gem Lassiter.
She was used to working long hours and always had done so without complaint. After all, her work was for Starfleet and Starfleet was her life. At this point in her career, however, it was getting old. But then, she mused regretfully, so was she.
At least she was finally getting caught up on her paperwork.
She had just finished the very last of the requisition requests that Keiran O'Sullivan had dared to submit to her before he'd left for his honeymoon- a honeymoon which he did not even deign to interrupt so that he could attend the biggest event in Starfleet history in the past twenty-five years.
The launch of the new Sovereign Class flagship, the USS Zenith.
She could, based on all they'd been through together over the years, forgive Keiran nearly anything. But this time, she was not so certain she could forget.
He was going to be married to Zanh Liis for the rest of his life. He couldn't have spared her a single evening of his time?
She'd been in a foul mood ever since the Zenith had left on its shakedown voyage. Since it was a matter of the ship still working the bugs out as it were, it was decided that families and civilian crew would not be joining those assigned by Starfleet to the ship, and so some eight hundred people left aboard the Zenith and headed off to points unknown. And so the Zenith had departed, taking off for points unknown.
Unknown to most that was, but known to Gemini Lassiter.
There was not much at Starfleet that escaped her talent for discovery; much to the discomfort of her superiors- and her children.
After a two week survey mission they would head home, and the rest of those meant to live aboard the ship could take their place there.
She hadn't checked her new messages all day- in fact, it may actually have been the day before that she'd actually taken the time to look at those waiting to be downloaded in the 'incoming' queue. She'd had so many to send outgoing, that she had just never gotten around to it. Now that her strength was gone and her mind fit for no more productive work tonight, she scanned the names on the messages, found the one she had hoped for, and quickly disregarded all others.
"Computer, play message from Commander Nicholas Lassiter, of the USS Zenith." She spoke the name and title proudly, as if trying to impress the computer with its meaning, though of course the computer didn't care if the message was coming from the Federation President or a simple Terran farmer, it sorted them all the same way: by time stamp.
The computer beeped, and she heard Nick's mischievous, familiar tone.
[Admiral Lassiter, this is your son, Commander Lassiter of the USS Zenith." He lingered over the words, knowing how proud she was of each and every syllable. "Gemini, darling, we have encountered some severe spacial distortions. All is well on the ship for now. We will follow...]
Gem couldn't help but smile at the sound of her son calling her by her first name- something he had taken to doing as a child when he heard her husband call her by it and it was something he had refused, ever to stop doing. She pretended to scold him for it, but never could quite make him believe that she didn't enjoy it just as much as he did.
She frowned when she realized the computer had stopped playback. "Computer, continue message."
^Message playback is complete.^
"No it's not. Play it again from the beginning."
The computer complied, and again, the message ended in exactly the same spot. Gem moved to the computer panel and brought up the message index. She saw how long it was, she searched the files forward and backward for additional messages from him but there were none to be found.
She listened to the transmission three times more, analyzing it word by word, taking in sound by sound around him and every background noise, isolating them in her mind and looking for any indication why he would have interrupted the transmission and sent it unfinished. There was no good explanation.
"He probably saw a pretty girl walk by and leaned on the wrong button." Gem said softly to reassure herself.
Just for the sake of any chance of sleeping she might have tonight, however, she decided to do some checking.
One check led to another and as she accessed database after database of classified information on the Zenith's first mission, they all pointed to one disturbing fact.
All communications from the ship of any sort, and all sensor readings indicating the ship's location, had all gone dark just after Nick's message had been sent by the Zenith's computer.
She had no choice.
She had to consult the director of Starfleet Security, and she had to tell him that she was afraid that the brightest jewel in the crown of the Federation, their new flagship, had gone missing... and its crew along with it.
//// Admiral Gemini Lassiter
Director of The Alchemy Project
Starfleet Command