Contacting Starfleet Command

Posted on 07 Feb 2024 @ 9:03pm by Captain Bane Plase
Edited on on 07 Feb 2024 @ 9:29pm

Mission: Enigma Variations
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: After "Bridge Banter"

ON

Bane circled around his desk and sat down, simultaneously opening up his computer terminal. Or, more accurately, calling up the interactive holographic display panel. Long gone were the days of a physical laptop computer sitting on the desk. All's well, Bane thought. Any time the ship jolted, he was picking it up off the deck, no matter what ship he was on.

Typing a few commands in, the display changed from the Starfleet Delta to the face of an Admiral he hadn't seen in quite some time. "Ah, Admiral Nacheyev, it has been a long time," he said to her. The lines in her face were deeper than the last time he saw her, and her blonde hair was going white.

"It has been a long time, Captain. Good to see some of the Old Guard still out there. Most were smart enough to get out of the service, others yet were dumb enough to get promoted. Like me," she said in her Russian accent, a mischievous smiled briefly appearing on her face. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Bane smiled at the quip she had made at herself, but was pleased that she got down to business. Glossing over the pleasantries, he reported. "You are aware of the mission of the Cygnus, to map and catalogue Sector 7447. While out here, we picked up a distress message from an independent freighter. We are responding to the freighter now. At maximum warp, it will take us just under an hour to arrive. We are too far out to know how many people are aboard, or what their reason is for the distress call."

The Admiral nodded. "Good work intercepting the distress call and making your way there to render aid. Do we know anything about the freighter?"

"Not just yet, Admi..." a ping on his terminal alerted him to a new message file. It was from Commander Stovek on the Bridge. "Ah, I just got some." He pulled it up. "It is the freighter Bixilfiz, registered out of Coriana. According to our records, the last two ports of call were..." he trailed off to look at the names, "Xanis II and Tiris V. My Operations Officer indicates the most likely next port will be in Son'a controlled space." His heart dropped. Last time Starfleet had any dealings with the Son'a, they were aiding the Dominion, and the U.S.S. Enterprise-E had been attacked and heavily damaged. The Enterprise had been a Sovereign-class starship, and was much more advanced than the Nebula-class U.S.S. Cygnus.

"Oh," said Admiral Nachayev, her eyebrows raising. "Well, that is something. I don't have to tell you to be careful, Captain Bane, but do be careful. You never know what the Son'a are up to, nor if that independent freighter has friends on the way. Please keep us appraised of your situation," she stated.

"Will do, Admiral." With that, the screen went blank, then back to the Starfleet Delta. He turned his computer off, then turned to the window and looked out to the stars streaking by. He wished he could will the ship to go faster, just by looking at those streaking stars.


OFF


Bane Plase, Captain
USS Cygnus, Commanding