And We Only Began to Become Acquainted

Posted on Sun Oct 21st, 2018 @ 12:25am by Captain Cynthia Jackson & Lieutenant Commander Charlotte Hudson & Lieutenant Benjamin Chiles & Lieutenant Grayson Hawk & Lieutenant JG Alastair Hallewell II & Ensign Nadia Jiaying & Lieutenant JG Neza Glenn & Lieutenant JG Ayden Kennett

1,841 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Mission 1 - Klingons on Starboard Bow
Location: Legacy - K-6
Timeline: 2261.189 2100

Sensors from the Legacy and K-6 were not showing any signs of a ship. Despite repairs continuing at K-6, McDonald seemed nervous and kept checking the viewscreen behind him. However, behind him, there was a disturbance, as if the stars were bending in space themselves. They moved as if some force were causing the distant stars to spread and distort. McDonald screamed, "It's back! We're dead!"

Cindy called out, "Can anyone get me readings on this?"

Neza had been watching the sensors, occasionally braving looking at the screen. When the disturbance of the stars started, her eyes went wide as she went to check on the sensors. "Checking," she called out, trying to make sense of what they were seeing.

As Neza checked her sensors, a small ship, mostly saucer in shape with a couple of what appeared to be warp nacelles on the side appeared. A ball of energy shot forth from it. As it exited the ship, the ship disappeared again, in a blur of stars. Next to instantly, the communications from K-6 disappeared and the view screen went to the stars that were in Legacy's area.

"Nadia," Cindy called out. "Can you get anything from K-6?"

Grayson watched from the Tactical station; there was no danger to the ship from this distance though he began studying the sensor readings.

"No. Nothing." The young communications officer said realizing there was no communications. "Th there is nothing."

Cindy frowned. She had hoped that there was a mere malfunction in the sensors but it was a far fetched hope.

"Science, do you have any readings? What could you make of that?" Cindy inquired.

Alastair's hands and eyes moved across his sensors with haste, watching data scroll in front of his eyes as he did so. He leaned to the side and observed the data his fellow scientist had discovered before his arrival.

"It's a plasmatic energy discharge."

He leaned back and tapped his foot against the floor.

"Such energy has been documented to have associations with subspace phenomena. It may explain the local disturbance we have witnessed."

"That looked artificial, not natural, however," Cindy told Alistair. "How did whoever create that energy and just how powerful is it? What can it be used for besides, what is apparently destruction?"

The science chief turned back to his instruments.

"Until I get a chance to analyze it thoroughly, I'm afraid destruction is the only answer I can give you. Whomever made it and why is beyond me until I can get a fuller picture of the events."

"Bec, do you have any theories? Anyone?"

"That is unlike anything I've ever seen," Bec said aloud, wondering what kind of ship that was, who it belonged to, and how they were able to create such a devastating weapon. 'This isn't good. This is so very not good,' she though, eyes still glued to the screen. "That didn't look like a Klingon vessel to me, and the energy pulse, I've never heard of anything so powerful. We are looking at a very dangerous ship that has the ability to hide itself. I, for one, do not want to tango with it."

"We may have to," Cindy mused. "It would be a huge advantage to have technology like that. But whose is it?" She thought for a moment or two. "I think we need to learn what that weapon does before we do anything. Stay on course to K-6, Ben."

"Keeping to current course, speed." Ben reported while the USS Legacy continued towards K-6, the cruiser not far away anymore, and his lips pressed thin while he held onto his breath and the more imaginative ideas of what might be awaiting them.

"How long now, Ben?"

"Ten minutes. Might be able to push down to five if I rattle the drive a bit?" The engineers might not like what'd do on their monitors- but it'd pick up the slack and give the decks a nice hum 'til they dropped out at their destination- so he offered.

"Good job. Just make sure you don't fly us into that ship. Get the shields up. They likely know we're on our way."

"Shields up," Grayson responded.

"Science, I need you to theorize on how to find that ship that disappeared. I also want any theories on its operation. Give me any possible weaknesses. When we get to K-6, or what remains of it, I am going to need you to determine what can stand up to that weapon and the effects it has to form a defense."

"Understood, ma'am," Neza stated without actually looking over. She was too into trying to figure out what was going on to turn around and look at anything else.

Cindy then turned to Bec and Grayson. "I need you both and Azelya to come up with a way to figure out how that ship operates and figure out tactics on how to find it, disable it and bring it in. I also need a way to track it. Get me some theories, and fast."

The ship was hidden from scan and from visual observation, something he both appreciated (if it were theirs) and disliked (as an enemy) in equal measures. Sensor sweeps would not be able to find the outline of this vessel, cloaked as it was, so instead, Hawk began to look for the edge of the whatever it was that was hiding the ship. Changes in energy patterns, unusual readings, mass that didn't make sense. "Reading a concentration of tetryon particles at the point where the ship decloaked," he said, his head bent over the display; he frowned as he concentrated.

"Decloaked?" Cindy mused. "That's as good of a word for what has happened here than anything." Cindy liked the term so much that she repeated it. "Cloaked. Decloaked. Wonderful terms." She came back to the moment and said, "Do the tetryon particles have a path? Is it a clue to where that ship is going?"

Bec had nodded when she and Hawk were told to work together with Korr to figure out the ship. She moved over to Hawk's side and looked at his console over his shoulder. "That is interesting," she said aloud at the concentration of tetryon particles. "Can you isolate those particles? Look for a pattern? The man from K6 had said they'd been attacked before..."

Neza glanced over, hearing the terms. "That is a very good choice of words. Might explain a few things. Not..that I'm exactly sure what those things would be." She bit her lip, listening to the others. "Perhaps they use the tetryon particles for whatever they do to make themselves vanish. And then...they can't fire while they are 'cloaked'?"

"An interesting theory," Cindy mused. "We should be in range now. Beam up some of whatever is left from the station."

"Hmm?" Neza was caught up in her thoughts until she realized what was said. "Oh! Yes, ma'am." She sent a message down to the transporter room to gather some of the materials and beam them to the lab. She then looked over at her science counterpart. "Lieutenant? I think we have some studying to do."

Upon hearing the news, Alistair bolted out of the seat as if it had threatened to end him. His curiosity had been seriously aroused by the recent events and he was eager to get his hands on it. In his career he hadn't found much of anything that he couldn't explain away with a casual glance and a irritated eye roll while others scurried about trying to solve it.

This was different. The lab staff was soon to find that, once he set his mind to a task, it was difficult to pry him away from it. He was fairly certain that he would be chastised for his work hours he was about to put in.

"Let's get going then."

"Neza, I want you, Hawk, and Bec to find that ship. Don't let them know we're searching, if possible. It would be best to keep them ignorant of our knowledge. Nadia, see if you can intercept any communications incoming or outgoing from that ship. Listen carefully. Bec, have I missed anything tactically?"

Getting ready to go with Alastair, Neza stopped when she heard her name. "Yes, ma'am. I'll see if I can find a way to run some scans that can't be detected."

Still standing beside Hawk, Bec narrowed her eyes slightly as she though. "Well, these don't seem to be the boarding type, so I don't believe we'd have to get security personnel ready for that but they should still be on standby," she thought aloud, chewing her lip. "We should ready torpedos, get ready to fight back if we get the chance."

Hawk prepped the torpedoes then returned his attention to the tetryon particles. "What I'm seeing are bursts of tetryon particles that trail off as the ship moves ... but not constant." He pointed to the instances on the screen. "As though something happens that causes the burst and then the ship moves off. I think we could use that to determine their direction just after each burst."

Neza listened from the science to what Hawk and Bec were talking about. "Sounds like something we can do if we can get the sensors setup just right. Problem is, it might take a few times to get it just right. I'm not a fan of that one."

Bec looked at what Hawk was pointing out and smiled. "Good eye, Lieutenant." She looked at the information on the screen. "Can we tell which burst happened first?" She looked over to Neza with a raised eyebrow.

Neza looked back over her shoulder listening to Bec. "I can try to back track through the sensors and see if we can. We might be able to."

"The rate of decay should help a bit," Grayson mused. "We can read the particle density; more dense, more recent."

"Completely agree, Lieutenant. Working on that now." Neza's fingers moved fast across her controls, doing just that.

"Keep up the work. I'm going to want all the Chiefs and Grayson in the meeting room in five minutes to discuss their findings. That means in 5 minutes, Lieutenant Kennett, you will have the bridge. Contact us at the first sign of trouble. For the next five minutes, though, Bec, you have the bridge." Without waiting for an acknowledgment, Cindy took several long strides and stepped off the bridge.

Neza nodded to Cindy as she left the bridge, but didn't speak up, getting back to work.

"Aye Cindy," Bec called over her shoulder, still standing by Hawk. "I have the bridge, Kennett will have the bridge in five." She smiled over to Kennett before turning her attention back to Hawk's screen and watching him and Neza work in tandem to isolate the particles.

Kennett raised an eyebrow from his spot on the bridge, not quite sure why he was being left in charge. "Yes, ma'am," he stated before returning the smile to Bec.

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