by Dabin Reece and -=/\=- Zanh Liis O’Sullivan
Stardate 101205.19
Two Weeks After The Rise and Fall of Silence
-=USS Serendipity=-
Stardate 101205.19
Two Weeks After The Rise and Fall of Silence
-=USS Serendipity=-
Captain’s log, supplemental.
No rest for the weary.
After repairs and a considerable journey, what has so far been something of a pleasure cruise ends and the real work begins.
We have arrived at an area of space the big wigs at Starfleet have given the dubious nickname "The Quicksand Expanse". A garbled distress signal was recently received in the vicinity, and the USS Kaku informed Command that they were responding.
The ship and its crew have not been heard from since.
Starfleet is hoping the Gateway sensor system shared between the Sera and Alchemy can shed some light on this long mysterious region and the disappearance of the Kaku, only the latest in a series of ships that have vanished in this sector over the last fifty years without a trace.
They want answers as soon as possible, so we've dispatched the Alchemy to immediately begin taking readings and mapping the area.
I have a very bad feeling about this.
-=Bridge=-
Dabin Reece tilted his head to the left as he analyzed the sensor readings coming in through the Gateway. Then he tilted it to the right, hoping they would make more sense when viewed from that angle. They had positioned themselves several million kilometers from what was believed to be the perimeter of this phenomenon, an area mapped out by previous explorations of the region. The Alchemy was off the port bow and moving away steadily, sharing sensor readings as Reece looked for any sort of gap in the information that may indicate a pocket of space where their sensors could not penetrate.
Next to him, Sue Tenney was listening for any repeat of the distress call Starfleet received weeks ago, while Dane Cristiane was doing the same on the Alchemy.
“Anything, Reece?” Zanh asked, as she stared at the small blip on the viewscreen that was the Alchemy.
Dabin had now turned his head completely upside down and had his eyes crossed as he read the sensor data. “No nothing! This is like looking for a needle in a haystack except the haystack is invisible and the needle is made out of hay. All I see is perfectly normal space.”
“Keep listening." Zanh kept her eyes locked on the tiny spec that was the Alchemy, like a parent who had just let their child pedal away on their tricycle towards the end of the street alone for the first time.
"I'm listening, I'm listening. Remember, my baby-mommy is out there, I'm not gonna let anything get past me."
"I needed her at the helm of the Alchemy, Reece. You know for all its tech it's a little ship, and it needs her right now. She's doing the equivalent of driving on winter roads here. One small slip..."
"Don't remind me." Reece went back to his sensors a moment, and Zanh rotated away in her chair, trying to stifle a yawn and conceal it.
"Another late night, Captain?" TC asked as he emerged from the turbolift and took the seat beside her.
Zanh shrugged.
TC leaned nearer, lowering his voice. "You haven't slept well in weeks, Captain,"
"It's a phase." Zanh waved his concern away and turned back toward the viewscreen. "I'm sure in another forty years, it'll be entirely over with."
"Yeah, well it's no wonder you can't sleep. After what happened to you guys while I was on Earth suckin' down Slurpees, I'd have bad dreams too." Reece commented. "The next time I hear that Captain Lindsay is in town, it better be to announce that he and the singing O'Sullivan brothers are starting up the thirty-fifth revival touring company of Celtic Thunder."
"From y'er lips to God's ears, Mister Reece." Keiran O'Sullivan replied, as he exited from the turbolift. He nodded to Zander at the Tactical station, and Zander nodded back, quickly returning his focus to his work. "A word with ya, Captain?"
"Thomas, you have the bridge." Liis rose from her seat and Keiran waited for her to lead the way to her Ready Room before falling into step behind her.
“These readings are unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Gira Lassiter said nervously. “The helm’s responses are different. It’s like…”
“Like we’re not totally in control here.” Blane said, and with a sigh, he turned back to Reece. “Figure it out, Reece, as quickly as you can. We don’t want to be here a moment longer than we have to.”
-=Ready Room=-
Liis folded her arms and sighed the moment that the doors closed behind them. “What?”
“Whaddaya mean, ‘what’?” Keiran sighed. “Liis, I’ve waited weeks, and you still won’t tell me what’s really goin’ on in that head of yours. You’re not sleeping. You won’t eat. If you keep up like this…”
“I won’t.” She moved toward the replicator, avoiding his eyes. “Kona coffee, hot. Double cream.”
She sipped from the mug and then set it down before finally turning to face him. “I’m sorry. I know I haven’t been in the most talkative mood.”
“No. But you’ve sure cried out enough in your sleep,” he moved closer, and reached out a hand to touch her face with the back of his hand. “Am worried, is all. Just want ya to remember that I’m ready to listen, to an’a’thin’ you have to say.”
Liis closed her eyes, allowing herself just an instant to take in the sensation of his touch. “Soon, I promise. I just…” her eyes rose to meet his now, and she shook her head. “I really don’t want to have to go back to the families of the people on the Kaku and tell them that they’re never coming home. It’s too much like…” her voice trailed off.
“Like what happened with the Zenith.”
She nodded.
“Aye, then we’d better go an’ find ‘em.”
Her eyes took on a grateful expression, and without another word she moved back through the door and climbed the stairs toward her chair.
Keiran picked up her half-empty cup from where she’d left it, and followed.
Blane quickly moved out of the command chair and Liis sat down, gesturing to Keiran that she didn’t want her cup when he tried to hand it to her. He rolled bright blue eyes up toward the ceiling, and then finished the contents himself, in one quick gulp.
“Sue, open a channel to Salvek.”
“Channel open, Captain.”
“Salvek, what’s your status?”
[Our status is the same as previously reported, Captain. We are scanning.]
“Nothing new to report? Not anything at all?”
[Mister Samson has indicated we are approaching an area with greatly increased tetryon readings, but we are having difficulty determining where the increase actually occurs.]
“Well, tell Grace to steer good and clear of…” Zanh began, only to have her words cut off by the sound of the channel closing. She spun toward Tenney. “What happened?”
“Trying to reestablish the channel, Captain…”
“Um, Captain…” Reece suddenly sounded sick to his stomach.
“What?”
“This is bad.”
-=USS Alchemy=-
“Captain Zanh will not appreciate us terminating the conversation, Ensign Steele. What happened?”
“I don’t know, Sir. Trying to reestablish communications with the Serendipity.”
“Micah,” February Grace’s voice rose anxiously as her hands began moving more quickly over the helm controls.
“Hold on, I’m …” Samson replied, as he too began working frantically to take in the sudden spike in data coming into his station.
“Micah, I need to know!” Grace shouted, an uncharacteristic action for her, but one totally justified by what happened next.
The ship lurched and heaved, and all those standing were knocked to the deck by the violence of the change in direction.
“Report!” Salvek demanded, attempting to get to his feet.
“Inertial dampeners are offline!” Dane hollered over the red alert klaxons.
“Helm is unresponsive!” Grace added, “We’re going down.”
“Down where?” Salvek called, trying his best to hold onto the command chair after battling his way back into it.
“That planet that just appeared from absolutely nowhere.” Micah yelled.
“Black ice…” February said, trying her best to wrestle back control of the ship, but it was no use. “Just like black ice back at home. The kind you can’t see on the road until it’s too…”
^Warning. Warp Drive is offline,^ the computer informed emotionlessly.
“How long?” Salvek shouted.
”Sixty seconds!” Samson answered.
February felt all emotion drain out of her as she imagined the possibility that she was about to leave Dabin, and Sophie to live a life without her…
“All hands, brace for impact!” Salvek called out over the ship-wide address system. “Brace! Brace! Brace!”
-=USS Serendipity=-
“What do you mean, you can’t find them?” Zanh Liis jumped out of her seat and rushed from Tactical to the Science station. Keiran stood just over her shoulder, taking in the readings as well.
“I…” Reece stammered. “I don’t know. They just disappeared!”
Zanh snapped her head around to look a Vol Tryst. The Counselor just shook his head slowly. “Sorry, Captain. I can’t sense anything around this ship. They were there, but like Reece said… they just vanished.”
“Like the Kaku…” Gira whispered, “Or the Zenith…”
Zanh Liis growled, audibly. “Oh no, Lassiter, NOT just like the Zenith, and NOT like the Kaku, either..” She spun on her heel and turned back toward Keiran, and Zander as she slapped her combadge. "Bridge to Dengar! Get up here! Bring Lair with you!"
[Acknowledged.]
Liis' eyes darted from person to person on the bridge. "There’s got to be a way we can reinforce the shields and go in after them.”
The command crew stared intensely at Zanh, disbelieving what she was saying.
“You heard me! We’re going in after them, unless you can find them and bring them back from here. So unless you want to try swimming in the quicksand, I’d suggest you all get back to work. Go!”
---
Commander Dabin Reece
Chief of Sciences
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
-=/\=-Zanh Liis O’Sullivan
Commanding Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
-=/\=-Zanh Liis O’Sullivan
Commanding Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012