'Absence From Those We Love...' - Part II

Posted on Thu 16th Aug, 2012 @ 11:29am by Colonel Horatio Drake & Commander Paul Graves PsyD

814 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: http://sb109.sim-station.net/index.php/sim/missions/id/2
Location: Main Ops
Timeline: Day 1: 1015 Hours

OOC: Guys, I thought this was already posted so I went ahead with our posts of leaving Protector! I suppose they didn't make much sense without this post! Sorry! Heh!

ON:

The two officers had taken the relatively long journey to Ops in complete silence... neither wanting to hear what the other had to say. Both passionate about their sides of the argument, no doubt.

Presently, they emerged from the aft turbolift. The immediate and most noticeable thing was the viewscreen... almost devoid of all the darkness of space and, instead, full of a bright orange light. Clearly a magnified view of the nearby expanse.

Drake immediately saw Winchester standing to the right of the command centre... standing there as if he had been serving on the same base for the last decade.

"You're not going to believe this, Ashton" Winchester motioned towards the screen. "It looks like there's some sort of... ship... emerging from the expanse?". He posed the end of his statement as a partial question.

"What?!" Drake exclaimed.

Protector was situated in Asuran space. When the species applied for admission into the Federation, it was on the promise that a permanent Starfleet presence would remain in the area. The construction of Protector was actually a blessing for Starfleet as it allowed them to keep very close tabs on the Romulans.

The only cause for concern was the nearby Typhon Expanse... a peculiar nebula that very little was known about. Over the past fifty years, three scientific vessels had been tasked with mapping and analysing the nebula... however none of the ships ever made it, due to technical problems to redeployment elsewhere. The nebula was low priority, and it was presumed that with the construction of SB Protector, it would be mapped in due course. It never had been.

Scans only showed that it was a high-density mass with elements in it that would slowly corrode the hull of any ship, given time.

"Have we monitored any ships entering the expanse?" Drake asked the open question, knowing that Winchester would be the first to respond.

"No ship has entered the Typhon Expanse since the construction of Protector, Ashton."

Silently, Paul eyed the large splotch of orange on the screen and the indistinct outline of a ship in the midst of it. Something about it felt...odd in a way he couldn't define. He continued watching the screen and half-listening to what Drake and the Ops officer were saying.

"What do our scans say?" Drake noticed Winchester leaning over a tactical console and spoke in his direction.

"It's hard to say... the hull is heavily corroded... it must be something to do with the composition of the expanse." He paused for a moment, clearly having difficulty analysing what the sensors were telling him. "Our scans can't seem to penetrate the hull due to some sort of polymer that's attached itself to most of the primary and secondary hull... however we are picking up weak power signatures..."

Nothing really affected Winchester these days... his weathered face was a testament to the amount that he had seen in his life. But his expression, as he looked up at Ashton, was clear and defined. If there were power sources, then there could also be survivors.

"Graham, contact Doctor Nyx. Have her send a medic to meet me in Shuttlebay 21." Despite training to be a Marine in the Academy, there was one subject that was a lifelong passion with Ashton... that of the history of starship construction. He was always fascinated by how the design of ships had changed over the years... sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.

The development of this ship emerging from the Typhon was a double-edged sword... firstly it meant that he could satisfy his immense curiosity as to what happened to this old Excelsior class starship. Secondly it meant that he wouldn't have to show his face at the diplomatic event... something he had never been too keen on.

He could see in Winchester's face that for a split second, he was about to argue with him... but he knew there was no point... he also realised that there was almost next to no danger attached to this particular mission.

Survivors? Paul mulled over that idea and let his senses flow toward the deteriorating ship. He still could sense nothing definite. Either the polymer was interfering, or he simply wasn't strong enough.

"I can't tell with certainty if there are survivors aboard that ship or not," he said aloud. "But if there are, they're likely to need counseling as well as medical help."

As reluctant as he was to admit it... Ashton had to agree with the Chief Counsellor. Of course, he could have requested somebody else to join him on the mission. But if there were survivors on this damned ship... then they would need the best.

OFF:

 

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