A mystery (Mission plot log!)

Posted on 15 Feb 2023 @ 4:24pm by Commander Kristiana Petrova

468 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Deus ex Machina
Location: Bridge
Timeline: Middle of the night

Bridge duty was always so boring, Kris thought. Just babysitting the ship during the late hours, making sure everything was running smoothly for when alpha shift went on duty. But then, she had volunteered for it, to get some center seat hours in and to get some time to read. The ship wasn't due to arrive at its destination for some time yet, and that suited her fine. Boring was not always a bad thi -

"Commander, we're getting a distress signal. Vague, but unmistakable."

Petrova sat forward on the chair, furrowing her brows. "Let's here it," she called, voice calm.

"-nar station Alpharion to any sh- -at can hear u- -need immediate assista- -periment gone wro- -ase help. I repeat, lunar station Alphar-"

"How far is that station?" Kris asked.

"Three hours at warp 6, ma'am," came the response.

"Alright, set a course. Contact the fleet, the Dresden has the lead. Then get us to station Alpharius," Kris offered.

"Should we warn the Captain, Commander?" asked tactical.

"Not yet. Let's get there first and see what kind of aid they require," Petrova replied, sitting back in the chair again, though her brows remained furrowed.

-----

Just under three hours later helm called. "Approaching the source of the distress signal, Ma'am."

"Good. Drop us out of warp, bring us into a geostationary orbit above the station. I want a full scan, let's see what's happening down there," Kris stood up from her chair and stepped closer towards the main viewer. It showed a fuzzy, static-y image of a pockmarked moon, with a station on its surface, protected by the tall edges of a crater.

"Sensors - having trouble reading the station, Ma'am," Tactical replied. "Adjusting, trying to compensate. Some sort of - interference, can't quite -"

"Open a channel," Kris ignored the gut feeling she had. This didn't feel right.

"Channel open, Ma'am."

"Lunar station Alpharius, this is the Federation Starship USS Odin. We have received your distress call. State the nature of your emergency, we are prepared to render aid," Kris spoke. She didn't know what people lived down there, but the universal translator had managed to read their distress signal so she figured it would be able to translate her hail as well.

"... No answer, commander."

"Keep repeating my message," Kris spoke, folding her arms over each other. Maybe her gut feeling had been right. "Any luck on sensors?"

"No Ma'am. Getting interference. Unable to scan for lifesigns, unable to scan for - well, anything really. This visual is the best I can give you."

The static-y, fuzzy visual, way beneath sensor resolution.

"Call a department head meeting," Kris replied after a moment's silence. "Keep sending the hail. Keep trying sensors. We need to know what we're up against. Any information you can get us."

 

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