A Blast from the Past

Posted on Wed 5th Mar, 2014 @ 1:51pm by Colonel Marcus DeSalle & Lieutenant Colonel Tallus Karikkar & Lieutenant Adam Keller & Major Landon Mabrade & Lieutenant Zhara Rynn & Lieutenant Samantha O'Dell & Commander Mikaela Locke & Lieutenant JG Lys Greystone & Commander Jasmine Collins-Keller

2,623 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: http://sb109.sim-station.net/index.php/sim/missions/id/6
Location: Various
Timeline: after personal interviews

ON

He was so alone. He had been for so long. He no longer felt. The universe was empty. Even the others had left it. He wanted something, but he didn't know what. He lashed out in rage and terror, then the stars appeared. He remembered those. He remembered flying through them. He remembered the thrill of how quickly his body responded to commands. He remembered the voice in his head, telling him what to do and where to go. Then, silence and sensory deprivation. He had silently roared out his frustrations before, but this was the first time they had gotten him anywhere. It was so long since he'd seen the stars. Now he'd forgotten how to talk to them. Something in the distance hummed. He could hear it. He moved towards the sound.

***

"Ready Flight launch." Mabrade ordered calmly as the sensors detected the new object that caused an alert. "Falcon Flight five converge on target and get some scans, ROE (Rules of Engagement) level two, only return fire if fired upon." Mabrade reminded the pilots. "You will be first eyes to confirm sensory reports. Visual confirmation of the object."

The alert status had not caught him off-guard, he was working with a fine crew but not one that had worked with him very long. The CAP (Continuous Air Patrol) of six pair; one pair in each of the axis, sent two ships to intercept the Bogie. Mabrade almost wished he had drawn ramp duty but he had control tower rotation, he would be in the third wave of ships should the need arise.

He monitored the approach of the fighters as the object had a constant course in the most direct path for the station, he set the Fighter Bay to Yellow Alert as there are many variables that could provoke a response and just as many that could cause an over reaction. It is Mabrade's job to keep the pilots levelheaded by issuing the proper commands as required. Two small ships were a type of 'probe' and would stay a safe distance and just get close enough for visual confirmation but stay out of weapon range.

***

The notification came over the console that Tallus was working at that there was an unidentified object coming towards the starbase. Tallus had the responsibilities of both the Marine's and the Executive Officer. It was not necessarily an easy combo to mix with. His Marine training told him to immediately go to red alert and power up weapons, while the XO side of him demanded a cooler head.

Looking at the sensors Tallus read the readouts that were coming in. They were rather interesting to say the least.

"Colonel DeSalle to OPS please. I believe you may be interested in this." Tallus said over the COMM to get the Colonel to OPS. Tallus shut down his console in the Barracks and headed there himself.

***

The '5th' patrol wing of the formation was coming up on the object rapidly, Trent Ebbs had the lead in the formation with his trusted pal Dorthy Booths in tight. The two seemed to move as one; voer two years as wing-men had taught them that much; they also had among the longest standing partnership on the base. 'The Old married couple' is what they were know among the pilots.

"We can split it and get a good view of it." Booths suggested.

"Negative, I want us to be able to watch our backs on this, just make a wide sweep and then see what it does." Ebbs commanded as he kept the lead. "Neat and tight while we pass, stay well out of what should be weapons range and if it flinches we peel and run." He was seeing the size of this ship and he did not want to tangle with it outside a full squadron.

"Roger that." Booths agreed as she noticed the size. "She is pretty big."

The two fighters were at closer sensor range.

=^= Talon Flight to Protector=^= Ebbs transmit. =^= It is a federation , old school all the way and were it not moving I would call her a museum piece.=^=

***
"Lieutenant Greystone the long range sensors are showing that there is an object moving rapidly towards the base." Petty Officer Si said from the science lab's doorway.
Lys looked up from the microscope that she peered through to see the results that she and anther science officer worked on. "Right, be there momentarily." Lys said as she bent back down. "I think we should try to adjust the Oxygen level, drop it by 20 percent and raise the Nitrates by seven percent and add a stabilizing agent... of um, Carbon-Potassium mixture of thirty-five ppm's." Lys pulled off her gloves and tossed them in the trash and headed out the door.

"Show me" Greystone said as she walked up and placed her hand on the back of Si's chair and looked over the woman's shoulder. She reached out and touched the screen. "Your right it appears to be headed this way. But it of course can change course at any time. Any life signs?" Lys asked

"Its hard to tell right now, we will let you know as it moves closer." Si said.

Lys nodded her head, "I'm headed to Ops, relay information there."

***
"Sir, you should be aware that a Federation ship is on a course to intersect with Protector." T'Sai informed Kell before he could sit at his desk.

"Okay, why is that any different from any other day?" Ships came and went from the star base daily. He took his seat and pulled up his monitor to check the reports from the night before.

T'sai raised an eyebrow and gave a typical Vulcan look of annoyance. "Yes but there are no life signs aboard this ship and it appears to be an older Star Fleet Star ship."

Kell sighed and stood from his desk. "I'll be in Ops."

"That would be the logical place to find information." She smirked.

"I saw that." Kell grinned. "Vulcans don't smirk...I knew you were too good to be true."

"I was being quite truthful sir. There is no logical reason for me to misinform you." She looked shocked and watched silently as Kell walked out. She was sure she could hear the man laughing.

***

Zhara was at her desk, familiarizing herself with the senior staff when she saw the message about a long-lost ship on long-range scanners. "A mystery!" she said, delighted, and quickly closed out her files.

Several minutes later she walked into the Command Center and took a seat at the back to watch what happened.

***

Marcus heard the summons to Ops concerning the new blip on the sensors, and arrived there shortly afterwards. "Status report," he ordered crisply.

"A Federation-class dreadnought has just appeared on long-range sensors," reported Mikaela Locke, as she rounded the outer rim of the operations room to meet the arriving colonel. One of the things that she enjoyed about serving in ops on the swing shift was that, although a number of the senior officers were around and about, most were in their offices and labs, meaning that ops was often left in her charge. It provided her with exactly the kind of opportunities that had prompted her transfer request in the first place. "So far it's not responding to hails…" She paused as she reached DeSalle. "It should also be noted," she began, her tone lower, "That it seems to be on a direct course for the station."

"I take it the MAG has already diverted the CAP to intercept and identify, Correct?" He asked, assuming the Marine Air Group would be on top of it.

"How about speed? ?Has it slowed down yet?" Marcus asked.

"No, sir," Mikaela responded. "It's holding speed."

Devyn walked into the Ops area and looked around. He listened to what was being said and asked. Turning to Marcus he nodded. "Sir request permission to but the base on Yellow alert until we know what's headed in."

Marcus nodded. "It seems like a wise precaution. But I want it clearly understood that I want NO hostile action taken unless that ship becomes a threat. Are we clear?"

"Aye sir. That will be the order. No aggressive action against the ship unless it becomes hostile." Devyn gave a nod.

Samantha was going over some paperwork in her office with the communications blimp of long range sensors picking up an federation class starship heading towards them. "A dreadnought?" She murmured to herself under her breath. What on Earth? Or what what in the Galaxy... Samantha pushed herself out of her seat and went to an archive computer that was off the ships grid, it allowed her to connect with starfleet intelligence without everyone in communications knowing she was talking to someone else. Samantha started to go through the ships lists of Dreadnoughts that had either been listed as KIA or MIA. It couldn't be a very long list.... could it?

Lys started her scan's to see if there was any life forms that were recognizable. She also started to do a separate scan to watch for unusual energy readings coming from it.

Tallus walked into OPS with a frown. "There is something suspicious about that ship sir. I don't like the fact that the scans aren't showing signs of life."

"It could be an automated system," Marcus mused. "Do we have ID on the Hull Registry Number yet? Contact the flight of fighters investigating. Also check the IFF coming from the ship, if it's still on."

Lieutenant Locke returned to her station as she began to liaise with the fighter control centre. Simultaneous reports to both aerospace command, as well as main ops, would be vital to the decision-making process in the next few minutes.

"They're saying the same as us," she reported a few moments later, "No response to hails, no life signs. At the moment the fighters are escorting the ship towards the station, but it's not showing any signs of changing course or slowing down."

"Cap is on alert, the ready fighters are in he air and I have the full squadrons on flight ready." Mabrade said calmly. "If it flinches we will be at the ready." He made eye contact with the Commanding Officer. "I will have the in flight fighters stay at a safe and non aggressive posture, they are well versed on ROE level two. No one fires until fired upon Sir."

"Thank you, Major," Marcus responded calmly. Looking over at tactical's board, he noticed a blip. "That looks like an old IFF signal," he said. "USS, erm, my memory for codes is rusty... Anubis? Is that the Anubis?"

"Double checking the records sir." Tallus said tapping at a console. "Confirmed. USS Anubis. Listed as destroyed."

"So what's a supposedly destroyed ship doing approaching our station, ignoring hails, with no crew, and in mint condition?" The colonel didn't like mysteries, and the mother of them all had just landed in his lap. He looked at the records Tallus had pulled up, muttering aloud as he read. "USS Anubis, commissioned 2213, lost on maiden voyage, assumed destroyed... Crew... Classified? Mission... Classified? last known position... Classified?" He turned to his staff. "Okay, people, I want unofficial records, rumors, legends, bedtime stories, and I want them ASAP!"

The sensors chose that time to alert personnel that the Anubis was slowing down.

"Colonel," Zhara said from the back. "I can help with the research, if you would like. Not the classified information, of course; but you did mention legends and rumors. As someone who is well-versed in history, I know a few places to look for such things."

"Do it," he said in response, "Mysteries give me a belly ache, and I got a doozie right now."

Zhara nodded. "I will begin at once. I would suggest you try a nice peppermint tea. It's good for bellyaches," she added with a grin.

Marcus spared her a smile. Humor tended to make tense situations a little less tense. Good call, Counselor, he thought to himself

He began firing orders like a coach calling plays to the field. "Intel, I want to see if there's any way to get past that classification somehow. Somebody in Star Fleet has the authority to let me see those classified mission reports and crew rosters. If you just happen to find out a few things while getting permission, I'm sure you will notify me." He nodded to Samantha. "See what you can dig up."

He turned to Lys. "Science, what kinds of phenomena could possibly account for an almost two hundred year old relic to vanish without a trace, not be seen or heard from for two centuries, and then suddenly appear on our doorstep. I want theories, whether proven by scientific methods or not. Why does she look like she hasn't aged a day? What possible scientific explanation could there be for the disappearance of her crew? I also want a team from your department ready to board the Anubis as soon as it is determined that it is safe to do so."

"Medical: Same question, but from the point of view of the Medical sciences. Any known disease, mass insanity, or other possible explanation for the disappearance of the crew, I want to know about it."

Marcus continued. "Security: I want a full risk and threat assessment. Will it be safe to send a boarding party over there to get more answers?"

"Mar-Det: I want a full detachment standing by if force becomes necessary, or if we encounter hostiles."

"Marine Air Group, I want a constant fighter escort around that ship. I don't want any other inbound ships to get to curious, or too close until our investigation is finished." He looked at Landon.

"Ops, I want an engineering team to go over the original plans for that dreadnought centimeter by centimeter, and then be ready to do the same on her hull If even so much as one stem-bolt has been replaced, I want to know about it. Look for stress microfractures, structural fatigue, anything that might give us a clue as to what's been happening to the Anubis since she vanished in 2213."

Marcus turned to Brian. "Mister Windsong, I want your department to open up communications on a diplomatic level with planetary governments between here and where the Anubis vanished. I want to know if we can get permission to visit them and look for answers if necessary. Also, coordinate with Counseling if they give you reason to believe their local legends might be tied in any way to our ghost ship."

He raised his voice to address all present. "Ladies and gentlemen, You have your marching orders. We will meet in the briefing room tomorrow at zero nine thirty hours, where you will all present me with your findings. Here is our first opportunity to show each other what we can do, and how we can solve a mystery. I will be in my ready room until seventeen thirty hours, and then in my quarters if anything should change." He turned on his heel, and headed for his ready room.

OFF

Colonel Marcus DeSalle
Commanding,
Star Base Protector

Lieutenant Colonel Tallus Karikkar
Acting XO,
Star Base Protector

Lieutenant jg Lys Greystone
CSciO,
Star Base Protector

Commander Brian Windsong
Acting 2nd Officer/CDO,
Star Base Protector

Lieutenant Commander Devyn Kell
CSO,
Star Base Protector

Major Landon Mabrade
CAG,
Star Base Protector

Lieutenant Zhara Rynn
Chief Counselor,
Star Base Protector

Lieutenant Samantha O'Dell
Chief Intel Officer,
Star Base Protector

Lieutenant JG Xavier Lee
Chief Ops Officer,
Star Base Protector

Lieutenant Nyx
CMO,
Star Base Protector

Lieutenant JG Mikaela Locke
Chief Comms Officer,
Star Base Protector

 

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