“So we barely survived the encounter at the Ciatar Nebula, yet managed to hold our ground at Farpoint. I think we can call that achievement by itself” Drata smirked, pointing out the proud moment that they managed to survive hell and come back to tell the tale about it. “Though I do have to say, Blood Dilithium was a whole different level for some reason” 

The bridge was quiet when Drata bragged about it, but K’Nala looked over her shoulder. “You can’t comparrre those two events side by side. BDO was a natural cause of danger that we faced something that we shouldn’t have survived” She looked back at the console in front of her. “While the Dominion was a matterrr of weight. You saw you it yourself, even if we brought the representatives to them. The number of ships that werrre at Farpoint was unreal” 

Glaring up from her PADD “A fair point of observation, Lieutenant. But do keep in mind that our mission did affect the outcome. The Dominion Fleet was not at full strength, and they thought they could outweigh us with what they had. However, a grand plan was at play, and Admiral Beckett was cunning to make more than one failsafe to assure our success” T’path might show her cards as it was favorable for the Mariner crew of what they did. But the previous mission was highly troubling, they were a sacrifice for the greater good, if they had failed someone else would have finished their work.

“That sounds very…logical Lieutenant” Drata pointed out with a shrug trying to decipher her point. “So what matters is that we survived and we are barely holding us together again” Drata shrugged looking at the reports. “Does Captain Kobahl make a habit of breaking her ships?” 

Looking over her shoulder at Drata “For my own safety Lieutenant, no comment” T’path looked back at her PADD knowing well enough what the answer would be. She knew Sazra long enough that a ship is just a material item to a means-end, a tool. 

“We arrre approaching Avalon Fleet Yards soon Lieutenant. Should we alerrrt the Captain and Commanderrr Ruslanovna?” K’Nala saw the course on her screen that the ETA was soon to five minutes mark.

Shaking her head “They said that they will be here in time, but if not proceed with docking at the nearest available docking area” T’path spoke looking back at her own PADD. “So keep yourself focused on your duties Lieutenant, and we shall await traffic control response. 

“What is actually so great about Avalon Fleet Yards?” Asipa looked into the bridge a bit confused.

Seeing a stern look from T’path “Why did you had to ask that Ensign…” Rubbing her hand at her template awaiting of what was coming. 

“Well let me explain to you Ensign Asipa” Drata said with a smirk. “Avalon Fleet yards is one of the many incredible fleet yards in service of Starfleet. It is the main area for resupply, repair, and construction of Starfleet ships. It is also the testing grounds for developing new ships to come. While we might have impressive starbases out there, Avalon is tasked with the time-consuming and most difficult refits out there” Drata points up a finger with pride sharing his knowledge. “This place is no joke….it has its own deuterium refineries, research stations, shipyards, and even ocean dry docks near Sato City at Avalon II. Aside from that, it got Brahms Station, three Presidium-class facilities, one Jupiter-class facility, and the Anchorage-class for history value I guess” 

Asipa blinked her eyes at him “Right…I just asked what is so great about it….” Looking back at her console “Now I somehow regret it…” she muttered to herself. 

“I can also tell you the fine ships that are in service of Avalon Fleet Yard….” Drata wanted to continue his fanboying phase as he gets interrupted. 

“No thank you Lieutenant” A voice came from him behind as Sazra walked into the bridge giving a nod to T’path that stood up from the command seat to take back her station. “We have heard that to many times…who asked him about AFY?” Sazra sat down in her chair.

“That would be me…” Asipa shrugged.

“ Tsk tsk tsk” Silina shook her head looking at Asipa. “Hope you learned from that mistake” She grinned a bit as she walked to her chair next to Sazra and sat down. 

“Aye sir….” Asipa grabbed the comm at her ear. “We have an incoming transmission from TCC AYF requesting to report to docking yard 7 at Brahms Station” She quickly forwards the information to K’Nala. “They are welcoming us to Avalon Fleet Yards and wish us the best for a job well done at Deneb. We deserve the rest after tiring travel” 

Sazra leans back in her chair. “Tell them we are glad to be home. K’Nala make a course to follow TCC AYF’s direction and dock us with Brahms Station. Commander Ruslanovna sent a general alert to the crew that we are about to arrive at Avalon Fleet Yards, and they are allowed some time off from the Mariner while the SCE takes the lead in repairs.” Sazra narrows her eyes and had a grin on her face “Asipa” 

She looked up from her console. “Yes, Captain?”

“Enjoy the view, welcome to Avalon Fleet Yards” Sazra said as the Mariner jumped out of warp into the operational area of Avalon Fleet Yards. The stunning view of all ships of the Fourth Fleet traveling around to get their repairs or resupply in order. The USS Kennedy, a Norway-Class was in docks to their right.  The USS Seoul, a New Orleans-class, was being pulled into another dock. 

“Wow…” Asipa was looking at the view. It was truly a sight to behold. As her eyes looked at the Luna-Class, USS Himalia passed by. 

The door opened as Silina looked around in the Captain's room as her eyes stopped at the window. There Sazra was sitting in a comfy chair with a cup in her hands, looking outside her window to the stars. Silina slowly smiled and walked into the room to stop close at the window. “Anything exciting to see out there?” She was wondering. No, she was concerned about Sazra with the recent events.

She took a sip of her drink and briefly enjoyed the aroma as she looked at Silina, “Nothing so far. I did see some ships warping away on their newest assignments. Starbase 86 has been a critical point of repairs for those with light damage” Taking a deep breath as she looked back outside. “But I can appreciate the sight it is showing” 

“A lot has happened in recent months,” Silina broke the ice of what was already thin, to begin with “The Lost Fleet, the changelings in our ranks, and the Borg” Crossing her arms over each other. “So, I am worried about your health Sazra. It is not every day we lose a dear friend, and it has taken a toll on you” She turned to Sazra and narrowed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she went to her knees and placed a hand on Sazra's knee. “You know I am here for you. Everyone is” 

Feeling a tear roll down her cheek “T'Path was …Had not a change against them. Borg's commands are absolute.” She remembered Frontier Day as if it had happened yesterday. A day that was going to be celebrated became everyone's nightmare. T'Path was among the people that had died on that fateful day. “She didn't see it coming” She saw the phaser shot that hit T'Path as she dropped to the floor and Sazra looked in horror at her friend's lifeless body lying in sickbay.

Silina placed her head against Sazra's shoulder. “I know, I was there” She felt the same pain that Sazra felt. “We were not given a break…so many people died to the perfectionist idealism of the Borg. A Queen that didn't accept the fate of her people and placed her wraith on us” Silina felt the warmth of Sazra's shoulder as she looked up at her teary eyes and placed her hand on her cheek. 

Slowly Sazra felt her head turning with the guidance of Silina's hand to look directly into her eyes. It felt like time was standing still, a moment that felt calm, at peace and her surrounding slowly fading away. “Silina….” She muttered, but before she could continue Silina kissed her. The warm, soft, and yet wet lips of Silina felt comfortable. The concerns, the problems, and her pain felt like they were melting away. Sazra slowly closed her eyes and accepted her kiss.

Getting slowly on her feet, Silina guides Sazra with her hands to the bedroom. She was not going to let this magical moment be ruined. She had desired it ever since she kissed Sazra in the Romulan prisons. Walking slowly backwards into the bed, she stopped at the bed looking at Sazra, and kissed her, letting herself drop onto the bed and let lust take over for the moment. 

A few hours later…

Letting her head fall onto the pillow, Silina was breathing heavily holding her head on her forehead. “And here I thought I would report something about Mariner” Looking at her side to Sazra who was hiding under the blankets and blushing. “But when I saw you in that chair broken and in despair I felt I needed to do something….sure…this was not the right thing to do in the given moment but…” Silina felt her cheeks burning and looked away “…it felt right” 

“I….” Sazra felt it was difficult for her to express her emotions right now. What happened? How did it happen? Was there, not a path they had to follow? “I…didn't dislike it….” She rolled her eyes at the stupid answer she gave about what had occurred between them.

Staring at the ceiling, Silina felt her blush not going away and knew what to do. “Hmm…I guess I took charge of this so that I will take responsibility for it” She looked at Sazra seeing her look back at her with questionable eyes. “Well you know….how does one ask someone to date you or be my …girlfriend”

Gasping at what she was hearing, Sazra looked with big eyes at Silina and felt her blush burning on her cheeks. She slaps and pushes Silina's shoulder. “THERE IS LIKE A CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER TO THIS SIL!” Feeling embarrassed about what Silina just asked “You know…you date someone first before sleeping with them?!” Rolling to the other side facing her back to Silina “Plus take responsibility for what? I am not pregnant…” Sazra exhaled feeling like she could die from embarrassment. 

“Well…I guess there is that” Silina smirked a bit looking at Sazra's naked back and placing her hand on her back. Silina smiled seeing that Sazra didn't reject her hand. “But it doesn't answer my question, Captain” gave her that tease as she turned around and placed her naked body against Sazra's back and her hands over her belly. 

Feeling the warmth of Silina, Sazra looked shyly at her and surrendered kissing her on her cheek and then her lips. She pulls back looking at her. “I guess I have no choice….I accept but let's stay professional in our work. I know a certain counselor who would shew me out if he knew about this” Remembering she had a few more sessions with him. 

Looking a bit surprised that Sazra had accepted her request, she felt a wave of shyness come over her as she nodded to her request. Silina took a deep breath looking at the fish in the large tank. “Well, Mariner is ready for launch. Even though the changelings in Starfleet Command have been discovered and arrested. Our orders to go to Delta Quadrant still stand” 

“That is correct. I redacted my request to refuse the duty. I have to face my fears at least once, and I can't stick in Alpha or Beta Quadrants. If there is a vast unknown out there that any scientists would dream of” She reminded herself of T'Path and felt slightly sad again. “She would have loved it” 

Hearing the reference, Silina knew who Sazra meant and placed her head on Sazra's shoulder. “I know she would, but she also would like you to continue. It is a brave step to face your fear, but you won't do it alone” Looking at the time and then back at Sazra “Want to do another round? We still got time?” Silina felt like a tease and grin at Sazra who didn't resist her as she pulled the blanket over them. 

The Mariner had departed from the devastated Avalon Fleet Yards. It had already a lot of work to recover the fourth fleet from their encounter against the Lost Fleet. But the interaction with the Changelings and the Borg didn't make the case any lighter. The ships with minimal repairs and low requirements were put first on the line to make room for other ships that needed longer work. Mariner was one of these ships, its mission was not changed, and they were still going to do a deep-exploration mission in the Delta Quadrant. The ship flew to warp, embarking on their next adventure, but the friction and scars of the last few months remained on the ship.

The crew was going through the hallways to their duty shifts, the relaxing time, or even getting something to eat. But some officers did turn around to look over their shoulders to see Keeyiro walk through the hallway. She had a shift done with Operations and was obligated to read the field engineering guide. But she could feel the eyes burning into her. She also knew why they did so. It made her wonder how L'iera was handling this kind of pressure, though from what she heard, she didn't get out of sickbay ever since they returned from the Lost Fleet mission. 

Taking a deep breath as she entered the mess hall, she grabbed her food from the replicator and moved to an empty table with a window view. Taking a deep breath, she had her fork in her hand, but her mind drifted away while staring at the stars passing by. Only a few months ago, she was sitting here with her friends, talking about disgusting food, having fun, and talking about rumors. But that all changed after she participated in that certain event. Now her future was uncertain. One bad move and she is out of Starfleet. Maybe that is a good thing. Perhaps she was not meant for space life. Maybe Eos Station was not as bad as it sounded right now.

“You Red Flag, get somewhere else a seat” 

A voice came from Keeyiro's side. Her head turned toward seeing some young officers and enlisted standing there with nasty looks on their faces. Keeyiro sighed as she thought, ‘Here we go again’ 

“Tsk” a woman let a sound loose. “Maybe we should look for a different table. She might infect us with her traitor germs” 

She could respond to it. Keeyiro was right to let her fury be unleashed on these people. These people were supposed to act like her colleagues and back each other up. But they lower themselves to pity behavior, find a black sheep, and keep bullying it until it leaves. Keeyiro looked around the mess hall and saw no one reacting or looking away. Of course, she had no backup from this injustice behavior. 

An officer laughs a bit. “And miss out on some good view because of this woman? No way…. clean your seat Red Flag and move along to the dark corner you came from.” He points behind him where there is a darker corner with some supply boxes. 

Looking in the direction the young officer was referring to, Keeyiro smirked. ‘Are they expecting me to sit on some supply boxes for my dinner’ Looking back at her plate, as her emotions were boiling in her, she stood up and lifted her plate, ready to leave. She looked at the group with a true poker face and wanted to say something as her mouth slightly opened. Only to close very quickly, deciding it was not worth it. Walking away from the table.

“Hey Red Flag….”

She stopped as Keeyiro looked back at them as one of them pointed at the seat.

“Wipe those germs off that seat. We don't want to get sick” 

Was this going to be the life that she had to endure, the punishment that Ruslanovna had carved out for her? She was better off throwing in the towel and departing to the next starbase if it was. But that would prove to these bloodsuckers that she was not worth the uniform. Grinding her teeth briefly as she looked away, trying to calm down. She walked calmly back to the table and wiped the chair off as the group laughed.

“Look at her. The girl can listen to commands. Maybe salvation was within her reach after all. But she won't make it for a month here. You belong with the rest of those traitors” A few stated against her.

Wanting to burst into frustration against them, yelling against them, hitting their face at how she was being treated. Keeyiro just wanted to return to her room and escape her problems. This was going to be hell for her. They will never treat her with the respect she wanted to deserve. 

“Enough” a calm voice came letting the group look confused at each other and then to the voice. 

Suto stepped from behind them to the side and looked at Keeyiro with some sadness in her eyes and then back at the group. “What are you doing?” 

The group felt suddenly uncomfortable, seeing they were not in the presence of a senior staff member. “We are educating this woman back on the path of Starfleet. She has done serious damage to this ship and its crew.” One explained as another followed “She is lucky that Commander Ruslanovna gave her that grace of a second chance. The Captain would have put her in the airlock for what she had done….ma'am"

“The Starfleet way…” Suto muttered and eyed Keeyiro, who looked away. “So your way is to treat her as trash is in your eyes, the vision of what Starfleet tries to spread?” Suto looked back at them, seeing some shock “I have read the reports on this mutiny you are talking about, I was not present at it, but I did read the fine details of it” 

One of them stepped up. “With all respect, ma'am, you were not there. You are just new to our ship. You know …” 

“Nothing of the pain and losses you might have endured because of the betrayal of those you considered your friend or colleagues. Again I was not here, but it doesn't mean I don't understand the situation. What the Captain did and what your tiny brain is unable to understand is that she values every single one of the lives on this ship. So if she took charge in choosing the fate of the traitors at that time with that build-up emotion, then this Ensign would have seen the cold dark space within a heartbeat. But every Captain must make the moral step that if your emotions are compromised, take a step back and let someone else handle the situation. In this case, Commander Ruslanovna did so. She evaluated every single traitor and based their judgment on their actions"

The group looked at each other confused. “Are you saying she is innocent because she is still here?” 

“I am saying that she is paying her debt to this ship. She has received her punishment” Stepping closer to that certain officer that just spoke, “Which is given by the command team, are you the command team Ensign?” 

“N…no” He stuttered a bit.

“Then what gives you, or any of you, the right to treat this young lady as trash? She is a valuable member of this ship. If I see anyone treat her this way again, I will make sure you depart this ship faster than you can say Kobayashi Maru. Do I make myself clear?” 

“Y…es ma'am”

Looking at the others “Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, ma'am” they all spoke at the same time.

“Then dismiss” 

They wanted to get to another table “Ho…I said, dismissed. You wasted your break with this joke you pulled.” She waved her hand to the exit as the group shrugged and left the room. Suto looked at Keeyiro, who was looking down a bit. “Sit down Ensign” 

There was a moment of doubt about the request, but she obeyed and sat down with the plate of food in front of her.

Suto sat down also and had her plate, eating her rice. She noticed that Keeyiro was not eating and wondered if her actions offset her in any way. But the way these officers treated her was not the Starfleet way, even though she was far from understanding the Starfleet idealism herself. “Tell me if something like this happens again” 

Keeyiro didn't reply but gave a simple nod, not trying to interrupt a conversation. She took a bite of her food slowly as the two sat there in quiet without anyone disturbing their food moment. 

The station was busy, traders trying to make their buy or sell something out of their inventory, civilians visiting the shops, and crew members trying to grab the supplies they needed for their ship. Markonian Outpost has been buzzing with life ever since the Blood Dilithium occurred. Sure the red stone present had slim down in the quadrant, but it only meant that there were now more specific jobs available. Blood Hunter, a person who tracks Blood Dilithium, a Red Miner, a person who mines the ore. And Dilithium traders got more aggressive in selling these rare items.

The crew of Mariner had docked with Markonian Outpost to resupply for their needs before the long journey into their deep space exploration assignment. K’Nala was one of the people who had returned to Delta Quadrant after the Blood Dilithium Operation that the Fourth Fleet had performed. She stared a bit into the crowd, the smiles and happy faces, wondering what they remembered from the incident. Easy to forget is easy to move on? K’Nala had difficulty doing so, now especially since she is in training for a command seat on the Mariner.

“K’Nala?”

A voice appeared at her side as she felt a hand on her shoulder making her look in that direction “Hmm?” She saw Drata standing there “Oh sorrrry I was daydreaming..”

“I noticed, I guess the place had left a stain on you as well?” Drata looked a bit concentrated, for him Delta Quadrant was not a place of happy memories after the whole ordeal with the Damascus. He managed to keep the ship together with Commander Valerio.

She shook her head slightly. “Nah, I just wish that Starfleet had sent us somewherrre we would be morrre useful.” K’Nala had expected Starfleet to send the Mariner to the Typhon Expanse and continue the deep exploration there. It was there that the legacy of Captain Kobahl had started and the reports she saw were impressive, to say the least. The things she found there were still talked about in some science institutions.

Crossing his arms, he nods slightly “I guess everyone had different expectations. But most of the crew that played a role in the Blood Dilithium was wishing any place than this” Drata looked around a bit “But life continues even of such proportion.”

“What is better? Being here or being back in Alpha where Starfleet Command mess is still being cleaned up?” A voice appeared from their side as they both saw Asipa standing there with a gift bag “I understand the double feeling of being here, but I have that same feeling being back in Alpha. I am still not feeling great being taken over by the Borg you know” She was one of the poor souls who had to endure the agony of being controlled by the Borg during the Frontier Day.

K’Nala smiled and nodded “Yeah, Captain Kobahl has refused to tell us what happened orrr what we did during ourrr break away from reality. People died and most likely by ourrr hands, but all footage has been classified as Starfleet didn’t want to create a fleet-wide panic”

“Or resignation wave…just the idea knowing you killed your fellow crewmate would not sit well with me” Asipa pointed out “So it does nag in the back of my head”

Giving a slight nod to that “I think everyone is dealing with that idea” Drata pointed out “Well you got what you wanted?” He looked at the gift bag that Asipa was holding onto as If her life depended on it “Your brother right?”

“Yea he has been asking for this for so long. As the man in the house he feels that it is my duty as a woman to get it for him” Asipa felt irritated by that.

“You can simply ignorrre his request, and if he makes an issue out of it you can redirect him to me?” K’Nala smiled softly at Asipa. “Because that is harassment on so many levels. You are not a second standarrrd and equal to everyone else”

She sighed “Let us say that Ferengi culture is a complicated one when it comes to that, especially in our household” Asipa wanted to roll her eyes. “But this is something I can’t change, they see my entrée to Starfleet more beneficial profit event for them that will bare fruit on a later date” She felt disgusted by being used as a tool for them and tried to ignore it.

“PLEASE ANYONE HELP ME” a voice cried out at the side of the Starfleet group that made them look in the direction of a woman on the floor begging towards traders that tried their best not to have a scene created. “Please help me get my family back”

“Ma’am I have told you already, I am not risking my ship to the cursed place. Many have lost their lives already by going there!” A trader spoke upholding his leather bag tidily.

Another man that stood there also “I am sorry, but my ship is not available also. I have also lost close friends that went savaging in that place, and they were lost forever” A sad facial expression was there as they both left the woman behind who started to cry.

K’Nala felt conflicted by the scene. No one paid attention to her. Drata and Asipa also looked around seeing that everyone passed the woman by. “Let us go” K’Nala spoke as Drata tried to stop her, but it was too late. K’Nala stood still at the side of the woman. “What help do you require ma’am?”

The woman looked up in full confusion and happiness that someone heard her plead for help. “I …I need someone to go to L’Talia Outpost and bring back my husband and son. The base has been out of contact for a month now.” Tears were still rolling down her cheek “Please, I beg of you, help me get my family back”

“We will give you assistance.” K’Nala smiled at her and placed her hand on her back as if comforting the woman. “Starfleet is herrre to assist. Please tell me yourrr story”

“You better watch your promise, Starfleet. That place is cursed. People that go there vanish from this space as if they do not exist” A drunk trader spoke up, looking at them. “L’Talia is cursed, and you do well to stay away from that place. Heed my warning”

K’Nala looked at the woman and ignored the man. “Please give me all the details that we requirrre to know of this place and yourrr family” Drata looked in the distance at the situation and just looked at Asipa, knowing that Captain Kobahl would dislike this lot.

“So you basically give out help without considering our situation?” Sazra rubbed her template as she sat back in her chair looking at K’Nala who stood before her. “Do you have any idea what position we are in right now?”

“Yes, Captain” K’Nala stood there at attention with her hands behind her back keeping her head up. But the displeased face of her Captain was something she didn’t expect when she stated the conditions of what was explained to her “I did what felt right in the principles of Starfleet”

Silina narrowed her eyes “The principles of Starfleet don’t include providing help to any living soul that calls out for it Lieutenant. It might be ethically different if it was a planet that required our help, but you explained it to be one person that needed our help.” She shrugged looking at Sazra and saw how annoyed she was with this news “How harsh it might sound. We can’t waste our resources on this request”

“Drata, your input? You were there. Did you do any digging on the given information?” Sazra looked over her shoulder at him. “And both you and Asipa can explain per message to me why you didn’t stop Lieutenant K’Nala in this matter.” She looked back at K’Nala.

Scratching behind his ear, he looked at K’Nala with a look of, I told you so. “Yes ma’am, I did do some digging on the information. L’Talia outpost is a trading slash mining outpost on the edge of chaotic space. The place boomed up when the Blood Dilithium incident occurred, and because of its close location to a certain high density of dilithium it was for many blood hunters a home turf”

Miki broke a brief silence. “It is the information that comes after it that concerns me. Based on the information of the Markonian outpost, a month ago L’Talia outpost lost contact with anyone. All long-range communications were unanswered, and the worrying part is that any ship that tried to go there didn’t return. Markonian outpost advised us to stay away from the location as a warning label has been placed upon it.” He shrugged a bit, looking at his console. “But, they would appreciate it if someone went there to take a look”

“Of course, that would appreciate that. That way they don’t need to request Benthan Guard to deal with it” Sazra stated obviously as her eyes were still looking at K’Nala. “Seeing we just volunteered ourselves for this”

“There is a bit to this” Drata looked away from his console. “The outpost is on our route. We just have to deviate a bit to get to the station” Drata looked at K’Nala and gave her a wink.

Tapping her finger on the side of the chair, Sazra took a deep breath. “We can take a peek at the outpost. If they do require our help, then we are there to give them the support. But if they do not require our support, and it is a simple matter of a broken communication array or something else silly, I don’t want to hear about it again”

“Broken array is a bit far fetch, seeing we got reports of at least fourteen ships that have disappeared since the time that the communication has stopped with the outpost.” Miki read up the data that he got in front of him and leaned a bit on the console. “So I do advise we are very careful when approaching this base. We are unsure what to expect, and I would rather avoid another surprise.” He referenced the Avalon Fleet Yards Frontier Day event that was still drilled into him.

Silina glared at him. “Please don’t remind us of that.” An indirect warning to him was given on a friendly note: “But it is good to be careful and better be prepared for anything Captain. I got the new Hazard Team ready to check out if it is required.” A team that she had created in cases that needed specialty. She had discussed it already with Sazra back at Avalon Fleet Yards. This could be a good field test.

“All right, that seems to be dealt with. But Lieutenant K’Nala, I advise you in the future to restrain yourself from spreading our good manners behavior in stations or planets. We also have a plan to stick to and exploration doesn’t get far if we do charity missions for every cry of help that is out there in the galaxy. Heck I don’t think we get further than a star system if we do that”

Miki had a general idea of what his Captain meant with that. The Markonian Outpost was no exception for it. Many smaller requests could have a big impact on the political playground of Delta Quadrant. Many Starfleet Captains had to be careful about how to approach such requests as it might take more on their plate than they could handle.

“Yes, Captain. I shall refrain from offering help immediately to those needing help.” K’Nala felt guilty about the whole ordeal. She tried to do something nice and be a proper officer who is part of the command team, only to be whistled back for her action. She could feel the stares of everyone looking at her. The general vibe was that K’Nala gave them extra work that no one awaited. Great start for a Second Officer in training.

Waving her hand slightly in the air “It is not bad to offer help, but promising to provide help when your Captain has not been included in that conversation is a different story altogether. We are Starfleet Officers and we do what we can. But we are also limited in our ability to do what everyone in the galaxy needs.” Sazra smiled at her. “We are just one ship meant for scientific exploration. Keep that in mind. Get back to your station and the ship ready for departure Lieutenant”

K’Nala nodded to her and turned to her console to sit down trying to hold her tears. This was not going as she expected it to go.

“Arriving at L’Talia coordinates in five minutes” K’Nala announces while looking at the data coming in from her console. She knew that Starfleet did not approve of this mission, but having Captain Kobahl go as far as to take that extra step and take a peek into the cry for another person was one thing that she could appreciate. Thought she did get an ear full after that from Captain Kobahl for accepting such a request.

“Good, Lieutenant Miki get the ship to yellow alert. Let us go with your assessment of not knowing what we are dealing with and be prepared for the unknown dangers.” Sazra didn’t want to take any chances in this situation as she was flying into a fog of unknown parameters.

The lights changed to yellow as a broadcast went through the ship with Miki’s voice “Yellow alert, we are closing in on an unknown situation. Captain Kobahl wants everyone to take battle stations and standby” The communication stopped as he raised shields. “Shields are up, and crew are getting to their respective locations”

A nod came from Silina sitting in her chair beside Sazra. “Lieutenant Asipa, any communications from L’Talia outpost? Are they still not answering our hail attempts?” Silina had ordered Asipa earlier to start reaching out to the outpost to see if there was any source of life present at the outpost.

“So far no responses Commander. The communication array stated that it had received our message, but no reply was given. We are looking at two given situations, something has happened there, or the communication array is truly broken” Asipa could only guess that it was not the second one as it would not make much sense in the given situation.

“Arriving in less than one minute” K’Nala started preparing to drop out of warp procedure and sliding her fingers over the console.

Sazra just sat in the chair staring at the screen, seeing the stars passing by. “Let’s hope it is just an array malfunction so we are on our way to the mission we need to be.” Sazra expressed her displease in this side track and is really not in the mood to deal with humanitarian help right now. “If only a 93 ship were here right now…” She muttered to herself.

“Dropping out of warrrp in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1….” The Mariner dropped out of warp as a few ships drifted on their arrival location “BRACE BRACE” K’Nala yelled as she did her best to maneuver the Mariner past the drifting ships that blocked their entrance.

The bridge crew did their best to hold onto whatever was available as the Mariner made some impressive G strength moves as a few officers lost their balance and dropped to the floor. Sazra was not in the mood for this at all. She saw various ships on their path and her brain started to puzzle about what was happening.

“ALMOST CLEARRR” K’Nala felt the G strength on her as the Mariner moved past some ships and one hitting their shielding. The ship finally manages to get into the clear as it slows down in speed “We arrre…in the clearrr” She exhaled her breathing as if she had run a marathon.

“Good work Lieutenant” Sazra complimented her pilot and looked at Drata. “Report on the situation…what the f*ck am I looking at?” She points at the screen seeing a lot of active spaceships that were drifting around.

Drata was scanning as the data started pouring into his station. “We are looking at the vessels Markonian Outpost listed as missing in action. Initial scans indicate that the ships are all right, and no damage was done except for a few that didn’t enter the sector and collided with another ship” Drata shrugged. “But these scans indicate that the ships are operating on life-support systems and nothing else.”

“My scans indicate that there are also no lives on those ships. However, the further I scan, the more problems I have to get accurate data. Something is interfering with my scans” Miki added to the information of Drata.

“Source” Silina spoke up.

With a few simple taps on the console, the main screen view changed to a large station. “I presume that it is L’Talia Outpost….but that is also the source of the interference” Miki continued. “Scans indicate that due to the interference transportation would be ill-advised” He saw that getting a lock would be too difficult.

Sazra took a deep breath. “Helm get us closer, Commander. Get your team ready for launch with one of our shuttles. I will give you the green light when I know more about the situation” Sazra nods to Silina who stands up to get ready.

Tapping her comm badge “All Hazard Team members report to transport room one.” She saw Miki moving and stopped at Keeyiro’s side. “That also means you Ensign” Silina continued her walk to the turbolift. “We will await your green light Captain, good luck”

Keeyiro shrugged as her duties as a general officer were to observe the duties of the operation officer. But staying on the bridge where she felt unwelcome in the first place was also a stab in the back for her. She took a deep breath and gave the Captain a slight bow, who ignored her. She moved to the turbo lift to prepare for the mission that would change her life forever.

The door closes when the Commander gives the command “Transport Room one”

The live feed from outside surrounded the room. Empty ships were floating lifelessly around with barely any energy to function. Suto’s eyes darted from left to right as ships were selected and scanned on various data fragments. The data she saw made her sigh as she tapped her chin for a moment, thinking, ‘What am I looking at here?’

A door appeared behind her as it opened up, letting the figure of Sazra enter the lab. “Got anything to report, Lieutenant?” She looked around as the door closed behind her. 

“Not yet” She didn’t turn around to give her Captain the attention she needed. But was focused on the data that was right in front of her. Suto took a deep breath and pointed at a few ships “These are the ships that were reported to be missing for a few weeks. Rather than sending in the cavalry, they choose to label it as a restricted dangerous area” 

Nodding and looking at the ships “What about the ships, any damage that you found on them?” Sazra couldn’t see any damage on them which means there was more at play. What happened here, why are these ships here, how could it even happen that people disappear “Any life signs?”

Shaking her head “Not really, that is the thing. The scans conclude that they are in perfect condition, just boot up their engines and you are good to go. Operations are up and running and continue daily life. Scans indicate that there are no life signs on any ships out there. But when I tried to scan the ships closer to the outpost I got interference and inclusive data” 

“Meaning that something is interfering with the scans?” Sazra already concluded that from the scans made earlier.

“Not only that” Suto zoomed in on the base. “Commander Ruslanovna already stated that transporting to the location is impossible, I expect that communications and such will become an issue also when investigating the base” Suto shrugged. “I need more data and time to get this figured out if the team that is out there can find the source and send it back to me, I might be able to get more answers out of the situation”

Sazra didn’t like that answer. Her scientific knowledge was ringing the alerts that something was off. She crossed her arms. “In the meantime, we need to contact the Markonian outpost to see if I can get more details about these ships and their crew. Their function, jobs, mission…which I can kinda presume. But at least the Markonian outpost will know that their ships are found, and the respective people can be contacted” 

“Well about that” Suto finally turned her head to Sazra, “I think it is not wise to inform the people that own these ships” She shrugged and looked at the floating ships. “Whatever did this, did it repeatedly good, and we might also be in danger if we are not watching out” 

It was a fair point. She did slightly consider their position in it all. Entering the area made it quite hazardous by itself, but whoever was doing this did have a good grasp of its area. “Are we dealing with a hostile creature? Imperium ships? Maybe biological virus?” Sazra shrugged at the idea of not knowing what they were dealing with. 

Suto looked back at the area and pulled up a list from earlier scans that compiled a list of ships. “These are the known registrations of the ships floating around here. None are indicated to be linked to hostile intention. No ships come from the Imperium” She pulled another info bullet list. “None of the ships have the indication of biological sustains that are unrecognizable to us or known to us to be poison” 

“So we are dealing with more questions than answers. Fun” Sazra didn’t know how to tackle this. Did the cry for help act as bait or was more happening that didn’t meet the eye? “I will order the bridge to start sending out buoys on a designated route as a warning to other ships, or they might meet a different fate than we did and clash into the floating ships” Sazra shrugged. “I will talk with Markonian outpost about the ships we found so far and give them the advice not to approach for now as we are still unknown what we are dealing with” 

Nodding to her Captain “That sounds like a good plan, Captain. I will continue with my investigation and hope we can get the data from the hazard team about their findings at the base” Suto zoomed in at the station. “If you wish to know, the base is functional, the main generator is online, and I can ID that lights are on at various locations. But scans of the base are unsuccessful, and communication to the base is unsuccessful as Lieutenant Asipa reported” 

Sazra looked at the base seeing the condition of it. “Plus there is no visible damage on it, which makes me more on edge and worried. Wondering what we got ourselves into” Sazra was not feeling great about the premises. “Hopefully we can get a peaceful solution from this case. I don’t think anyone is in the mood to be in combat right now” She turned around and walked to the exit. “Keep me updated on your findings Lieutenant. Good work so far” 

With her Captain leaving the lab, Suto’s eyes darted again to various ships. “What is going on here? Give me a clue. Give me a piece of that puzzle. You make me curious about what you are, what happened to you, and why it is like this” Suto’s curiosity was burning brightly. But suddenly she felt a chill down her spine as her focus broke off. Looking around her slowly and not seeing anything strange “Mmm what was that?” She looked at her hand and saw it shaking briefly. “Exhausted? When was the last time I slept?” Suto shrugged at that question. But a shadow disappeared from behind her. 

The transport room was unable to get a solid lock at L’Talia station. So Silina ordered her team to move to the shuttle bay and get the shuttle USS Flores out for a spin. It was the only way for them to get towards the base itself, but it would pose a treat, seeing they had no idea what was out there. Sazra had already warned her that something was going on that was not playing in their favor. Mariner would soon start securing the area to make it safer for any incoming ships that would find it interesting to follow them into this graveyard of ships. 

“Let us get going, people. Time is ticking” Silina stated as she sat behind the controls and boots up the shuttle systems. “Miki secure the hatch for me” While pressing various buttons to get the engines going, letting the shuttle slowly start hovering above the ground. 

The door closes and is secured by Miki. “Door secure Commander, we are ready to go” Miki moved passed Bruno and sat down next to Silina. “Getting shields up, and I will keep scans rolling and sending back to Lieutenant Scott while approaching the base” They were ready to go. The data was vital to know if something was going on close to the base itself or not.

Slowly the Flores moved forward and into the black void of space. “Plotting route to L’Talia Station” Silina announced, narrowing her eyes slightly. “These floating ships are unpredictable. Miki keeps them in check while I focus on flying from nav point to nav point.” Pushing the controls forward as the Flores moved toward the station it started to avoid the floating ships and making distance from Mariner. 

Tapping her foot on the ground, L’iera shrugged a bit. “What can we expect there? Do you think there are any wounded?” The Deltan was worried if she was prepared for the task given to them. “Maybe we needed Doctor Kossaal with us” The insecurity hit her as she tried to stay calm while the shuttle made movements through the floating ships. 

“Don’t worry. We are there to investigate what is happening. If there is indeed a large sum of people requiring help, I think we require more than just the Mariner” Cho pointed out. “The Mariner is built for exploration, not for humanitarian missions” 

“Ensign Cho is right about that” Silina announced while focusing on flying. “You must see ourselves as the advanced party that checks out if the coast is clear. We can collect data to know what is happening and what we are dealing with. If we conclude that there are wounded or people in need of help, the Mariner can contact for additional help, and I bet we have some Starfleet ships in the area that could help us out”

Bruno nodded as he prepared his science kit. “Though we need to stay behind to give additional help until the backup has arrived. But we are walking two steps ahead of ourselves and presuming to know the situation. For all we might know is that the people on the station might be dead” Bruno shrugged and saw L’iera looking concerned at him. “It is an assumption, don’t worry. Nothing is confirmed that is the case right now” 

Nodding to Bruno “Yea, you are right. We have to check out what is happening and head back to the Mariner for additional steps to resolve this situation” L’iera said. 

Taking a brief stare at each other, Miki looked from Silina away and the young Ensign. “Stay calm Ensign, you are safe with me in your team. I make sure of that” Miki smiled softly in her direction and looked back at the scans. “We are entering the station space. Initial scans indicate no damage to the station. But scans of life are still being rejected as errors. This interference is also difficult to locate. We might have more luck when we are at the station itself” 

Nodding to that conclusion “Right, let us brace ourselves for a smooth landing and stay vigil at your surroundings, everyone. We don’t know what we are dealing with” Silina spoke while guiding the Flores into the shuttle bay that was opened and a force field open. “Strange that this is still active, yet I see no life in the bay” Silina looked into the bay while slowly landing the Flores in a good location. 

Miki scanned the bay for any poison or infection area. “The air seems to be clear. No strange things noticed by the computer” Miki stood up from his chair and walked to the hatch as he kept his rifle at his side. Opening the Hatch slowly he steps out first with his rifle up front. He scanned the area with his big eyes and noticed nothing strange “Clear” he announced as the other members of the Hazard team joined him outside beginning their scans. 

“I am reading that the operational systems are still active” Cho lowered her tricorder and walked to a wall panel trying to access it. She shrugged. “But it seems there is a system-wide lock. If we want access to this, we need to get to the engineering or find the operational area where they have access” She looked behind her seeing the Flores getting turned off. 

Nodding to that report “My scans are being interfered with by whatever is interfering with it” Bruno concluded lowering his tricorder. “I might be able to pinpoint it better if I get a better reading. I would suggest moving into the station to be able to angle the signal from this” 

Giving a pad on L’iera’s shoulder for comfort. Silina smiled at her and looked at the rest of the team. “We stick together that is for sure. I will follow Bruno’s suggestion to move further into the base to see if we can triangle the signal interference. I tried to contact the Mariner and got a lot of interference so that is our priority right now” Silina ordered. “Let us get moving, but stay on alert” She signaled Miki to move forward. 

With that, the team moved behind Miki into the main hallway leading them to a new area. 

After leaving the shuttle bay, the Hazard Team started to explore deeper into L’Talia station. The flickering of lights, the cracking of metal or wood, but mostly the silence was noticeable. The station had life support, but life was gone, as if it was never there. Hallways leading to the Promenade were dirty and rusty with a dark red. If anything gave alarm bells, it was this kind of area.

Her eyes peered into the hallway that had some lights flickering. Silina narrowed her eyes. “There was no one to welcome us, the ships outside showed no life, but it was in perfect condition, and now you are telling me that our communication with the Mariner is gone also?” She finally turned her head toward Keeyiro. “Explain Ensign Cho?”

Keeyiro was struggling to look at the data of her tricorder “I can’t Commander, there is something like a jam interfering with our communication. It’s like we are being baited into exploring this place for some reason” It was a far fetch, but her background in Intelligence gave her the itch that more was going on than meets the eye.

“My data shows the same theoretical conclusion, Commander” Bruno said. He was more calm and focused than the Ensign. He was trying to find any logical answer to the disappearance of the communications “What are we going to do next?”

He had his rifle lowered looking into the hallway that gave Miki chills over his spine “ We have two options, one we continue and find the source of that jamming device or whatever device is doing this. Two we get back to our shuttle and leave” Miki wanted to leave as there was something wrong with this place, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Thinking about her options, Silina looked back toward the shuttle bay with a quick reflection as if she had the idea that something was looking at them.

“What’s wrong Commander?” L’iera notices the reflection.

Hearing her voice made Silina feel anger again, getting flashbacks from her interview in the brig. She shook it off. “Nothing Ensign” A brief, but direct reply to her. Silina looked at Miki who was still staring down the hallway. “Captain Kobahl wants to know what is happening here. We do our part. Let us get deeper into the source and discover what is happening. The sooner we get that source, the quicker we can brief Mariner about it”

“But we could brief them by returning to the shuttle Commander?” Bruno pointed out a logical view.

She nodded. “But at the same time, we are not in immediate danger and I would presume that Captain Kobahl is also keeping a check from her side on our parameters.” Tapping the device on her chest “They see our heart rates, indicating our status. If we are in danger, we return to the shuttle and get out of her. But the mission is to get answers of what happened here, get that family, and return to Markonian Outpost”

“A mission that we supposedly not be doing right now?” Keeyiro shrugged and rolled her eyes a bit.

“Hmm” Miki looked in her direction. “Let us move out. Standing idle won’t help us get answers” He started to move pointing his rifle up front. “Best to get in defensive formation”

Nodding to that conclusion “Agree, Lieutenant Dacio get to the back. Ensign Cho traces that interference…Ensign L’iera and I take the middle” Silina raised her rifle now, and the team started moving forward toward where Ensign Cho was guiding them. The team soon arrived in a large open space hall.

The hall was designated as the promenade of this station. There was also a silence, hearing a crack of metal or wood here and there. Stalls of shops looked abandoned but this setting, this area was different from what they saw at the shuttle bay, it was not so much abandoned, but it was rushed. Chairs were on the floor, boxes were broken on the ground, and shops were plundered in some way.

“What happened here” L’iera looked at her side to the shops and could see some unfinished food on the tables. “Whatever happened here, it happened quickly”

“Spread out, stay close but investigate the area. Ensign Cho check if you notice the signal strength anywhere. Lieutenant Miki gave me a sit rep of what you think might happen” Silina knew that Miki was strong in his field of observation. It was one of the key elements that made him a perfect candidate for the Chief position.

He gave a nod as he lowered his weapon briefly but still held firm on it. His big eyes scanned the whole room closely, but his mind felt like a slight pressure hit his head, making him blink. He ignored it. It might have been the stress of entering this area. Miki took a deep breath and made a full 360 turn around. “The observation of Ensign L’iera is accurate. The promenade had been left in a rush, people’s food was still on the tables, and chairs were pushed to the ground as if people wanted to leave quickly. But I also noticed that the entrance to the docking bay was trashed as if a lot of people wanted to leave at the same time”

Bruno looked up from the shop where he was standing toward Miki. “But that makes no sense. The shuttle bay looked fairly untouched. There was nothing strange there…” He heard a low tune growl coming from the store as he looked carefully into it and at first glance, he saw nothing. But when he narrowed his eyes, he saw two red eyes open and staring at him. “What the…”

Without a second to react, Bruno gets dragged into the darkness as the team looks in horror at what happened and rushes to the store seeing some of his gear on the ground and hearing him scream into the darkness “DACIO!” Silina stopped holding her rifle and pointed into the darkness “Shit….” She saw Keeyiro wanted to follow. “Stop…this mission parameter has changed. We are no longer in an investigation situation, but a search and rescue….we need to be careful right now”

“Do we return to the shuttle and call in Mariner help for further advice?” Miki asked having his weapon aimed into the darkness and turning on his flashlight showing a reflection of an open door that was forced open. But unable to view where it was going.

Shaking her head “We can’t, we can but that would mean that whatever grabbed Lieutenant Dacio gains more time. We move and hopefully, Mariner acts on its own” Silina shrugged and signaled to move into the door. “Careful, Miki lead, single row formation, L’iere second, I take third, Cho takes last, and pay attention to that signal. Move” The Hazard Team moved forward into the unknown while Mariner stood by blindly unknowing what was happening to the team and dealing with its problems.

Tapping his desk with one hand and holding his other hand against his forehead. Kossaal tried to figure out what was happening. Since arriving at L‘Talia, the number of sick patients has doubled or even tripled. It was specific cases of sleeplessness, being overworked, unable to rest, and waking up from nightmares. He didn’t know what it was affecting them, where it suddenly came from but one thing he knew for sure, L’Talia had a connection to it.

“Doctor you need some sleep”

A voice came from his side as Kossaal looked up seeing his nurse standing there “I know, but it seems we might be dealing with a problem that affects our ship and then my sleep is but a small issue in the overall problem we try to contain.” Kossaal was speaking in riddles as that was the side effect of the sleeplessness on him.

Theetika narrowed her eyes a bit and held her PADD close to her. “The amount of people dealing with sleep problems is what you are referring to?” She made an educated guest as she was not blind to what was happening in the sickbay.

“Correct, I alerted the command staff to be here. They should be arriving any minute now” Kossaal’s head tilted sideways to look at the door seeing both Sazra and K’Nala walking into the sickbay. “As the humans would say, speak of the devil” He smiled softly and leaned back in his chair seeing the two entering the office “Captain, Lieutenant”

Both of them nodded to the doctor. “What is going on doctor? I am dealing with our away team being out of reach. So I hope this is urgent” Sazra spoke with her mind elsewhere.

“Oh, it is definitely urgent Captain” Kossaal took a deep breath. “Since we arrived at this location we have seen an increase in patients” He raised his hand seeing that K’Nala wanted to ask “The symptoms you might have already noticed at the bridge, sleep problems. Be it naps, be it resting, or just relaxing. It all backfires for some odd reason into a nightmare that is unexplainable”

The two looked at the doctor quietly as Sazra crossed her arms letting out a deep breath and nodding to that observation. “I have noticed it on the bridge. Yes, I have sent two people to take some time off from their duties as they fell sleepy”

Nodding to that “Over the last 12 hours since we are here, I got complaints of people being unable to sleep. Terror hunts their dreams” He tapped his finger on the desk. “The interesting part is that it is all related to past events. Life events” He looked at the two.

“Why is that interesting?” K’Nala was confused.

The nurse turned her head to K’Nala “Because nightmares are associated with despair, anxiety, disgust, or sadness. So basically, emotions, the mind makes images based on what you feel and project that. These dreams are vivid replies to past events, making them not per se defined as a nightmare but a recollection of memories.” Theetika explained.

“So why is it a problem if people would be having recollections of theirrr past or having nightmares?” K’Nala was not beating around the bush, but at the same time, she was interested in the topic.

Sazra stared at Kossaal who just looked back at her. “Because it is unlikely that a whole crew is affected with the same symptoms. We might be dealing with a serious medical issue at this point, and what do you think the cause is and what will fix it?”

“Partly true, yes it is strange that people are impacted by it simultaneously, and we might be dealing with a shipwide problem” Kossaal resumed. “But what is the cause or how to fix it? No answer there” He was blunt about it because it was the truth. “My main priority is the health of the crew. If we don’t fix this nightmare problem, you will look at a dysfunctional crew who are unable to operate their stations properly”

“It means” Theetika saw that K’Nala didn’t understand the situation fully “If these nightmares or terrors continue. Crew mental issues will become physical issues over time. They will develop fever, perhaps stress or anxiety. They would lose their focus at their station, and it would be very dangerous if, for example, a pilot would be unable to fly us out of a dangerous situation”

Giving a slow nod to the explanation. “So we arrre dealing with a situation that might renderrr ourrr ship to a stand still” K’Nala looked at Sazra who had already figured out the given situation and gave her a nod of confirmation. “So we need to figurrre out as quickly as possible what the cause is and stop it”

The room became quiet as everyone knew what had to be done but the question that lay on their minds was how part “I will start investigating the files on the patients. Maybe there is a correlation between them in a certain element. But I am certain about one thing, L’Talia is key in this whole ordeal. I just don’t know what the lock is” Kossaal was a bit annoyed unable to solve this puzzle.

“Time is of the essence in this case. I need to focus on the away team on that station, so please brief Lieutenant K’Nala on your progression. If it gets out of control I will meddle with this” Sazra felt that the situation was still contained but was worried at the same time that she didn’t know for how long it would be.

Theetika and Kossaal nodded as they saw Sazra and K’Nala leave the doctor’s office. “When does it become a dangerous doctor?” Theetika asked looking at the command team leaving the sickbay. “When are we in a dangerous situation?”

He leaned back in his chair. “It depends on the biological clock of every species on this ship. But average? I give it 48 hours max. After that, we will lose many people who cannot function the way they should. So as the Captain said, time is of the essence in this case” Kossaal nodded to his nurse who left the office. “Meaning I got less than 36 hours to fix this” He felt the pressure on his shoulders and started to type on his computer to begin his search.

The smell of sweetness, yet that tiny bit of acquired wet plants was thrown in the mix. As Asipa sits up quickly from her bed, her eyes are big and breathing quickly. She recognized that smell from anywhere; her blurry eyes got sharper, and she could hear the familiar sound of rain pouring down. Her eyes went to the window to see the reflection of a lighting in the window. “No….impossible…” 

“Asipa! Get up, lazy girl…” A male voice came from the hallway. 

Her eyes darted toward the opened door, and due to a breeze, Asipa noticed that she was not wearing any clothing. Quickly covering herself in shock, she said, “What is going on? Why am I naked?!” 

“Naked? Because you are a woman, and it is a tradition within our house that a woman doesn't wear any clothing. Now stop this nonsense and get up. Or dad will be angry at you again.” A male Ferengi was standing there with a soft smile in her direction.

Asipa looked at the man, “Bek?” She looked confused. “But that means….I am on Ferenginar….” Muttering to herself, looking confused, “How is this possible…I should be on the USS Mariner" 

Raising his arms over each other, he looked at his baby sister: “That sounds like a Starfleet ship, sis. Be careful what you are saying. You know how Dad feels about Starfleet.” Bek looked over his shoulder, hearing some pans drop. “I think you better get out of bed and get cooking. Someone is grumpy.” 

She gets slowly out of bed, grabs her blanket, and puts it around her. “I refuse to stand naked in this house, even for you brother,” Asipa growls and walks past him. “Lets see what the hell is going on, I need to get out of here….” 

Bek smirked and shook his head. “Your funeral, sis….” He followed her to the living room.

Entering the living room, Asipa's eyes met that of her father, sitting in his chair, tapping the table with a platinum slip. “Great, my day got worse….” Asipa muttered once again to herself. Taking a deep breath, “Dad…what is going on?” She wanted an explanation: how could she be here and not where she belonged? She escaped this awful place of old traditions and horror. 

The old man's eyes turned toward his daughter. “What is going on? My daughter is not taking care of the household chores as she should be. She would rather lie in her bed, dreaming silly things. We make the profits in this household…..so give your father the respect he deserves.” 

She knew that hell would break loose if she didn't show the proper respect. Asipa placed her wrists against each other, making a cup under her chin, and slowly bowed toward her father. “I ….apologize, Father, for my lack of respect for the great house and its ruler. I hope you can forgive me and explain what is going on. I ….” Asipa shrugged, knowing this would let loose the hellhounds. “I am supposed to be in Starfleet right now and not in your beloved house.” 

“Starfleet, is that so girl…..” He calmly stated with a click of his tongue of disapproval, “In the House of Dago, we do not speak such dirt. It is a great omen for the great material continuum!” Dago shrugged and shook his head. “What have I ever done to you that you are so disrespectful of our ways and traditions!” 

Asipa felt a snare break in her and bit her lip to calm down. She pulled the blanket over her naked body. “Tradition…you mean that we women are mere tools for the men? Are you not worthy of wearing clothing? We are not worthy to do a business deal! Are you afraid of your status, father!" 

Dago stands up out of anger and points his finger at her. “How dare you? This Starfleet poison is spreading over our beautiful world, and women are now getting more power. Power they do not need….” 

She felt as if a glitch had broken her anger. Asipa looked around, and with every thunder, the room started to flicker slightly out of shape. “This is not real….” Asipa took a deep breath and felt the calmness come back to her, ignoring her father's raging insults. “This is a dream….well, a nightmare.” She looked at her father, who looked now quietly at her.

“You can't escape your people….or what you are,” Dago spoke while rubbing his earlobe.

Asipa smiled in his direction. “I have a much better life right now, a life you never could have given me. Enjoy your hellhole of a puddle, dad. I will never return here, and this dream will never get to me.” She closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. While exhaling, she opened her eyes and found herself in her own comfortable bed on the USS Mariner. She sat up, checked her clothing, felt that her pajamas were on, and felt reassured. “It was just a nightmare….everything is okay.”

Without knowing, other crew members woke up from their nightmare as well, all vivid experiences of what they would describe as realistic to a horrifying degree. The crew is being plagued with a storm of nightmares. 

“We have to keep moving.” Cho raised her rifle and pointed up front as she looked carefully into empty rooms; the team was nearby. But things felt off. It felt as if something was there watching them, placing Cho on the edge and constantly looking around. “Keep calm, keep it together, Cho,” she muttered to herself.

She swung her rifle around only to notice the area changing in shape, and before she knew it, she was in a corridor familiar to her. Looking down, she noticed her hands empty. “What the…” her rifle was gone, and she looked at her side at the closed doors that led to Engineering. Cho felt a panic attack building up, she was in the one place she wanted to forget, she didn't want to be there! 

“Come on! We have to do this. The Lieutenant is depending on our part of success!” A petty officer told her to have her phaser ready to move into engineering. 

Cho baked slowly up, shaking her head. “No…no, no, this is impossible; this already happened.” She felt the panic crawling up her. She was in the midst of the mutiny, which was in full motion. “I can't do this again; I don't want to go back into the brig!” 

The petty officer blinked, a bit confused. “What are you talking about? It's Captain Kobahl who will get to the brig, and that Gamma Quadrant trash will be removed from this ship!” 

Still shaking her head, “No, we will go into the brig, not the Captain! We are in the wrong here! We will be the ones to get court marshaled for going against our Captain! This mission is not what it seemed, our mission….” Cho dropped to the floor, placing her hands in her hair. “Lives depend on the succession of our mission! We are wrong, WE ARE WRONG!” She started yelling.

“Cho, listen to me. We agree on doing this. The mutiny is already happening. We are already deep in this; we can't go back on it! Now get yourself together and get up!" The petty officer whispered in her direction, looking at the door. “People are waiting inside for our entrance. Now get up!” 

Cho heard shots fired in the engineering and shook her head “No no no this is wrong!” 

The petty officer rolled her eyes. “Shit…” She entered the engineering without Cho and left her behind in the hallway. 

Hearing the yelling and screams in the mix with the shots fired and the sound of exploding consoles. Cho felt something poking her side and looked at it with tears rolling down her cheek “My….tricorder” She felt it buzzing and grabbed it while slowly sitting on her knees. 

She looked at it and looked confused at the incoming data. “This is … not the readings of a Starfleet ship. I …I am not …” She placed the tricorder against her head and pressed a few buttons. When the bleep came, she pulled it down and looked at it again. Cho took a deep breath, “My brain activity is overloading, the memory area is fully active….” Cho lowered her tricorder, letting the information sink in. She heard the screams from behind the door and looked in the direction.

“This is….not how this happened. We went in, fired a few times, and got overmastered by Commander Valerio…..we lost within minutes,” Cho blinked. “Yet it's still going …” Slowly standing up Cho looked at the scanner again and aimed it at the door, then to the hallway and towards the other side. “My brain activity is linked to …a vague signal that is coming…..from within there." She looked at the engineering doors.

Taking a deep breath, she walked through the door, only to drop into a gap and hang there. Cho blinked and looked over her shoulder, seeing Silina standing there holding her shoulder. “You are back with us?” Silina pulled her back out of the gap and into the hallway. “What happened? You were screaming…”

Without a second of thought, she embraced the commander and let her tears roll over her cheek. “I ….was trapped in my memory, it seemed. The memory of my deeds during the mutiny.” Cho felt ashamed of her actions and shrugged. 

Silina lets Cho hug her and pats her back softly. “It's okay. How did you break out of it?” 

“I scanned my head, and my brain activity was off the chart.” Cho pulled back and picked up her tricorder, showing her commander the data. “It is affected by a low-tune signal. In my memory, I was trying to follow it and find the source.” Cho looked at the gap. “But you saved me, and I think the shock of the sudden drop got me out of it.” Cho shrugged, realizing how deep the gap was.

Taking a deep breath, “A signal you say….that might be the source of this place. We need to find Bruno and fast. That signal might lead us to where Bruno is being held.” Silina was out of leads and unable to do any scans. So, while this signal was shady and unreliable, it was their best bed in the given situation. “Lets move out!” Patting Cho's shoulder, “Good work, glad you are well.” With that said, Silina raised her rifle and moved in the pointed direction that the signal was with a slight detour and not going through the gap. 

Nodding to the acknowledgment that the Commander believed her. Cho smiled softly and grabbed her rifle from the floor, following the Commander. 

Coldness, heavy breathing, and a major headache with an aching pain going through his body. Dacio slowly opened his eyes as one vision was blurred by the red of his blood seeping down from his head wound. He growls and sits up slowly, only to fall back onto the ground. It was like the gravity was much heavier here. It was brutal and painful, but he pushed through it and got himself to his knees. He noticed some devices on the side that were blinking; looking carefully around, Dacio noticed that he was in a crafted cage.

He started to look into the area he was kept as his eyes stopped at the humming device that pulsed every few seconds. It affected his headache as if a wave went through his head. He narrowed his eyes. “I …am unable to ID it…I have never seen it before.” He muttered and placed his hand on his head, feeling the next wave pass through him. Dacio took a deep breath and tried to ease his pain. 

Dropping back on his ass by the force of the gravity put on the floor of his custom-made cage. Dacio looked down at the device, following a cable running to the main generator. “Engineering….I …think.” He tried to make himself familiar with his surroundings. But his eyes stopped at another custom-made cage, and he felt the panic growing inside of him. “Well, that answers what happened to the crew…” Seeing lifeless bodies inside of it. He just needed to have faith that the team would find him before whatever snatched him got hungry.

He leaned against the back of the cage as he felt another wave going through him. Dacio growled a bit but tried to endure the pain that was pushing through him. It felt like hours, but then, after a while, he heard footsteps. He looked in the direction of where it was coming and saw the away team slowly entering the area. …help, please," He managed to get out of him. He tried to lift his hand, but the gravity pulled it back down. 

Silina entered engineering first and noticed Dacio in the cage. “Miki, L'iera get him out, Cho check the device." She held her rifle up to keep the area in check. She had no idea what they were dealing with, but the bodies in the other cages quickly filled the void with unknowing for her. Furthermore, she changed the rifle setting to the highest setting and shrugged. She took a deep breath and walked to the cage where Miki was disarming the security guard. 

“Almost……done” With a click, the gravity device goes off, and the door opens. Miki takes a step back to let L'iera move into the cage. “This is very basic crafting, sir…” Miki checked the devices in the cage. “Use what is available kind of situation” 

Nodding to Miki, “We are dealing with an adaptable predator….wonderful,” Silina kept the area in check. “Do your security checks,” she eventually ordered as Miki stood up and started his round. “Well…how is he?” 

L'iera was almost done with her examination of Dacio: “He will manage….beaten up, head wound, some broken ribs. But fixable,” L'iera said calmly and placed a sedative at his neck. “Nothing to worry about, mister Bruno.” She gave him a soft smile. 

Dacio nodded, getting slowly up on his feet with the help of L'iera. “I don't remember anything of the thing that took me, ma'am,” He stated to Silina, regretting that he couldn't provide more information. “But the observation of the Lieutenant is accurate. This is all custom-made. Use what is available, and quite aimed….” They all shrug at another wave of pain going through them from the device, “….to hunt and disable any sort of scanning and communications” 

Grabbing the side of her head, Silina nodded toward Dacio and looked at Cho. “Well…got anything on that device?” The team moved towards Cho, who was inspecting it while a drip of blood was going down her nose. “ You seem to be working too close to the device, Cho…. it's affecting you.” Silina shrugged and nodded to L'iera to begin her examination.

Ignoring the obvious, Cho looked carefully at the device. “I …don't understand this material. It works on … touch but differently. It's hard to explain, sir.” Cho looked at Silina. “But it is the source of what is affecting us, our communication, and everything related to it.” Cho made some space for Dacio to inspect it. She stood up, letting L'iera take care of her bleeding nose. “We need to disable it…and quick” 

“Right, Bruno are you able to get it disabled?” Silina grabbed her rifle tied as she heard a sound and looked up “I don't think we got a lot of time.” 

Dacio inspects the whole device carefully: “If we disable the power flow, the energy poured in this device will bounce back. That is quite a risk as I don't know what it will do in return. Another option is to bash it, and hopefully, it will not blow us up in response.” He growls a bit as another pain wave enters his body from the device. “But honestly….I rather bash the crap out of this device” 

A loud bang on the metal, another swing, a huf, and a puff as Dacio slams a metal tool against the device. Slowly, cracks were forming into the outer shell. The team kept the area in check as Keeyiro was nearby, keeping readings on the tricorder to see if any changes were happening. She looked at Dacio, who slammed again into the device. “I notice sensor scans are coming in. Keep it up…we are slowly regaining our equipment functionality again.” Looking back at her tricorder.

Dacio growled, feeling another pain wave going through him, and used that frustration to slam into the device with a loud yell followed by an energy slam. The device slowly cracked open as Dacio looked in the direction of Cho. “Well? I am getting tired here…” 

Keeyiro kept her eyes focused on the tricorder readings and slowly nodded. “The device signal output is decreasing slowly, but long-range scans are coming in. Communications are still down from what I have seen, yet…” 

Narrowing her eyes a bit, she didn't turn toward Cho. "Explain..." Silina demanded as her rifle moved from one side to another, keeping the area in check.

“I am getting output, no input. This means that what we send out is being received...I think,” Keeyiro explained, looking in the direction of the Commander. “This means that it is potential and very plausible that Mariner is receiving our communication; we simply can reply to them."

Miki hears sounds coming from various directions as his rifle also moves from one spot to another. “I understand what you are saying, which is good news. But I think we really should be leaving. If we are dealing with a highly intelligent predator, then it knows we wreck up its toy.” Looking at the team, he says, “So, Commander, I urgently advise a retreat from the device and getting into the transporter range."

She lowers her rifle for a brief moment and takes in the information given to her: “If the device is decreasing and communication output is working, then we might be able to get out of here in one piece. Miki, take the lead. For now, I will stay behind and deal with the predator to give you guys time.” Silina noticed a specific resistance building up and raised her hand. “I am the team lead here, and there are no arguments on this matter. Cho and Dacio, you were already exposed to the creature's brutal attacks, and Miki, you are able to bring them to safety. ”

While he disagreed with the given situation, there was logic in her reasoning about what needed to be done. Miki took a deep breath. "Let's move out….” He motions to the other two and nods in the direction of Silina. Raising his weapon and going in the direction that went back to the outer rings of the broken station. 

With some doubt, Dacio followed Miki, and Keeyiro looked at Silina. “Be careful…it is quite savage when probing your mind." Keeyiro shrugged, feeling that pounding, soft feeling in her head. “I see you on Mariner…” as if she wanted Silina to make a promise. Dacio moved behind the rest of the team, leaving Silina behind.

Silina nodded in Keeyiro's direction. “I will, Cho…” She muttered, grabbed her tricorder, and scanned the device one last time. Then she nodded to herself and placed the tricorder on her belt, raising her rifle and moving from the engineering area to the other location. From what Silina had noticed, seen, and understood the creature's behavior, it acted on surprise, fear, and being open. It was rather crafty and used its surroundings to its advantage. 

Taking a deep breath, she opened her mind. Fear was already crawling up her spine, but as an experienced doctor who had seen horror in all shapes and forms, it would take this creature everything to crawl under her skin. Thought there were weaknesses that Silina was aware of. 

“Oh my, you are quite a juicy catch, and here all alone.” A voice crawled into Silina's head.

Alerted by the sudden voice, she tapped her combadge but said nothing. Silina looked carefully around the broken-down, dim hallway. She couldn't see anything, and flickering lights didn't help her vision either. “Show yourself…” 

Out of the shadow, a creature appeared. The first thing that would be visible were the dimmed yellow eyes and the pointy red back reflecting the light's flickering. The creature had heavy armor on and large claws as it stomped onto the ground; it sounded heavy and stopped before her. “Here I am, behold my glory before your wicked end at the hands of my hunt." The words pierced into Silina's mind.

Silina felt a wave of fear engulfing her in his mere presence. She cracked her neck for a second to endure the piercing in her mind. “Can you not speak? Your intrusion in my mind is quite unpleasant.” She rubbed her template on the side of her head. “Who are you? What do you want? Why are you …hunting here?” 

A snort came from the creature, moving its claws a bit, but looking at his prey, “Weak-minded can't handle my speech; weak-minded be part of the Gazor hunt. You are a collection of my travels, and so is this hunting ground my feast,” the words continue to pierce into the mind of Silina.

Trying to endure the pain, she shrugged. “You are only a weak creature because you hunt in the dark. Klingons would spit on your lack of honor in battle. I am not afraid of you….” Silina tried to taunt the creature, keeping the attention focused on her. This would allow her team to escape: “You stand before me, yet you failed to take any of my team... and you call yourself a hunter.”

The creature narrowed its eyes and said, “You lie. You are afraid…I feel, I see.” He stepped forward in her direction, and Silina automatically stepped backward with her rifle up, aiming at him. “See, you lie.”

This did confirm some things for Silina: The creature could detect a lie, she was indeed afraid, and her words were a play to see what would trigger. It was a gamble, but it worked out in her favor. She took a deep breath, feeling blood dripping down her nose from the creature's abuse of her mind. Silina knew that her trained mental mind would break eventually, and this delay was the sole reason that the creature hadn't snatched her yet. “You know that the device is broken. You know that my crew can hear me….” Silina used her wildcard, “You also know they can destroy this base... with you on it."

The creature growls, “You bluff! The one who cares for you is on that ship. I can see it in your memories. Caring is a weakness…” Gazor is alerted by this threat. “You have no spine to back your claim. Your ship wouldn't take such action, and I shall feast on them also!” 

Taking a deep breath and holding her grip on her rifle, she said, “Let's put that to the test then, shall we… This is Commander Ruslanovna to Mariner. I request that you fire your full might on this station and destroy it.” Now, the real gamble was on. Was communication restored enough? Would she die now, or would her trust in her Captain, her love … be true? 

Another snort came from the creature, “See, see, Gazor is right. Weak-minded is bluffing. Now, you will be a juicy feast for my hunt. I will…" The station started to shake, the lights in the hallway changed to red flickering lights, and a broken alright started to be sounded throughout the hallways. Gazor looked around in shock. “They attacked…” Meanwhile, outside the station, the Mariner was releasing its full might and shooting everything it had at the broken station. Phasers quickly hit their target, torpedoes slamming into the outer hull of the base as explosions followed.

“Now…we die together, your hunting days are over, and I am the true winner of this hunt.” Silina lowered her rifle and could only produce a slim smile toward Gazor, who couldn't believe this was happening. The station was shaking violently, and in the hallway, there were explosions. “But you see, Gazor, you misunderstood one thing; I believe... in my Captain.” With that, a wall of fire speed enters the end of the hallway in their direction as Silina materializes out of the area.

Gazor yellow eyes grew bigger, and he saw the weak-minded disappear, replaced by the brightness of the fire wall now coming in his direction. “I have been played…” Gazor closed his eyes as the fire wall hit him. From outside the station, the Mariner flew over the now-exploding station. Peace returned when the large explosion was gone, and the station was in pieces. 

The area was a chaos of broken pieces of what had happened after the match. The Mariner was hovering nearby at an observation distance. The debris was out of range of the ship, as chaotic space was noticeable in the far distance. The bridge crew kept the remnants of the station in check while doing their duties in ship operations. Sazra looked over her shoulder and saw Silina entering the bridge, followed by Kossaal. “Commander, Doctor…” She looked back at her console, where she was already writing her report to Starfleet command.

“Captain, I am here to do my debriefing on the given situation,” Silina stated as Miki also entered the bridge, taking his spot at the security station. Silina gave a brief nod in his direction. “The away team has entered L'Talia station with the primary mission of finding any life and explaining what happened to it. While on the station, we encountered communication problems due to an interfering signal.” 

Giving a brief nod, Sazra looked at her XO. She didn't show it on the bridge, but she was glad that Silina was safe and no longer in any kind of danger. “Lieutenant Taritt reported to me that the interference worked one way. We could hear you but not the other way around.” 

“The said device of the information received from Lieutenant Bruno is that it was the primary source of the interference.” While entering the bridge, Valerio stated, “The scan is quite interesting as it is difficult to conclude the device's origin or even how it is constructed. I already gave him a lecture on bashing unknown devices,” Adrián pointed out.

Silina nodded in his direction. “Without communication and Lieutenant Bruno in danger, we had to become creative about what was going on. The creature had captured the Lieutenant, and time was of utmost importance.” She crossed her arms, letting Kossaal do his medical checks on her. 

Then Miki spoke up from his console, “The creature is also unknown in our database; we don't know if they are related to any Delta Quadrant species. However, we have suspicions of a close relationship to such. The creature in question used telepathic to communicate and attack its victims. Overloading their brainwaves to pass out if you are not, like Commander Ruslanovna, trained in mental shielding. Then you get dragged and….will be a feast for the creature.” 

“People on the station are then presumed dead?” Sazra looked around the bridge.

“Initial scans indicate no life on the outer rings. When we went deeper, we found the remnants of the people present on the ship. Potentially, there are more bodies, but seeing how long the station was in the current condition, I can only presume that they are all gone.” Silina concluded her scan report.

Sazra shrugs. “Lieutenant Taritt, do long-range scans of the area. It's better to be sure than sorry.” “Our scans have not been able to find any life, either, but I shall do another sweep of the area,” Drata confirmed, looking back at his console. 

Looking from Drata back to Sazra, Silina continued her report: “The creature eventually faced me, and as Lieutenant Miki stated, my mental protection training helped me take a slight advantage and time for the rest of the team to retreat. It was a gamble….but it worked out.” 

"A dangerous one," Sazra quickly pointed out and leaned back in her chair. “But I am glad the team is back with little to no injuries. I believe Ensign Cho is out of commission for a day?” She looked in the direction of the doctor to get a confirmation of some sort about it. 

Kossaal stopped checking Miki and nodded in the Captain's direction. “The Ensign was exposed to extreme mental exposure by the creature. So I ordered her to take some rest, and I will keep her brain activity in check. The report from my side is that the device or the creature had an impact on the nightmares happening on our ship. I am receiving fewer reports of nightmares, and people are getting more sleep as we speak.” 

Giving a nod at Kossaal, “Good,” Sazra turned to the screen, seeing the station pieces. “Let's stay a bit. Then Lieutenant K'Nala can plot a course away from here. I want those station scans before we leave,” Sazra ordered and looked at Silina. “Get some rest before you return to full service. I think the doctor already cleared you for it?” 

“She is clear but needs some rest to recover her last energy. It was an intense experience to see what I could read from the scans. So do follow my advice and get some rest,” Kossaal pointed out, finishing up on Miki. That also counts for you, Lieutenant.” With that said, and seeing Miki nodding to him, he turned to walk back to the turbolift. Captain, I will be in sickbay. If you need me,” he said. 

“Thank you for your time; everyone else resumed duties. Away team members are ordered to take some rest.” Sazra took a deep breath and gave Silina a nod before looking back at her report. 

Silina and Miki walked to the turbolift to join the doctor and take the rest they needed. As the door closes, K'Nale taps onto the console. “Plot is set, and we can leave upon request.”