Chapter Text
The New Threat
by Lord McCovey Cove
Chapter One: Visual Range
NCC-74705 (USS Bellerophon)
Cestus Sector, Warp 9.975
Main Bridge
Stardate 65539.4
Lieutenant Commander Martha Jones cast furtive glances at her commanding officer from her seated position on the bridge. The Intrepid-class starship Bellerophon hurtled toward the source of the distress call at maximum warp, and the already-tense atmosphere emanating from the captain's chair notched upward a tick once the distress call ceased.
"Let's hear it again, Mister Blake," ordered the captain.
Lieutenant Commander Ursula Blake, the ship's chief operations officer and third-in-command, replied with a quick affirmative before replaying the last distress call for the fifth time.
The overhead speakers crackled to life with the sound of communications interference. "This is... -nant Silok, acting commander of Outpost Zeta-Thirtee- ... -any Starfleet vessel within the sound of my voice: we have sustain- ... -vy casualties. We are attempting to evac- ... -able to engage escape pods or shuttle- ... -quire immediate assistance. I repeat- ..." The message dissolved into static once more, but for the final time.
On the heels of the final bit of static in the message, the captain rose from her seat and strode toward her ready room. "Number One," she said in the same accented English as Martha, "you have the bridge. I need to consult with Starfleet Command." Without waiting for a response, the captain disappeared behind the sliding doors.
Martha turned her attention back to the streaking stars of the viewscreen and announced, "I have the bridge, aye, sir."
Lieutenant (jg) Ethan Pope turned around from the helm console to face Martha. "Sir, forgive me for saying so, but it seems more than a little odd that Starfleet should be so secretive about the details of this outpost no one heard of before today."
Jones did not meet the helmsman's blue eyes. Instead, she chose to occupy herself with the center console she shared with the captain. "You're forgiven, but let's concentrate on our duty. What is our ETA to the outpost?"
Pope answered quickly, "Five minutes, sir."
"Right." Jones keyed open a commlink. "Bridge to Engineering."
A baritone voice replied, "Engineering. This is Taurik."
"Commander Taurik, we will be arriving at the outpost in under five minutes. Prepare your engineering teams for immediate boarding."
"Acknowledged, sir. Engineering, out."
"Mister Cooper," Jones called out.
The ship's chief tactical officer, Lieutenant Gwen Cooper, replied from her duty station. "Sir!"
"Security alert two, all teams," ordered Jones. "I don't know what the hell we're flying into, but I intend to be prepared."
Gwen grinned. "I couldn't agree more, sir. Security alert two." The console began to beep wildly. "Incoming transmission, Commander. Starfleet Security. Eyes only, commanding officer."
Martha did not reply, instead she opened a link to the captain. "Sir, you have a call holding from Starfleet Security."
The captain's contralto tone floated down from the bridge speakers. "Pipe it through."
She nodded to Gwen, who in turn routed the call as ordered. "Patching it through, now, Captain."
The communication was open for a mere fifteen minutes, and included a series of data packets on an encoded frequency. After the call was completed, the captain returned to the bridge.
"Number One, I want a meeting of the senior staff in ten minutes."
Martha shared a look with Gwen as she responded, "Aye, sir. Ten minutes."
"Outpost Zeta-Thirteen was one of twenty-five outposts littered across the Federation. The Zeta outposts are scientific in nature, each one dealing in theoretical experimentation," Magambo said to her senior staff within the bridge's conference lounge. She stood before the large screen as they listened. "Thirteen was charged with controlling recovered Borg technology to discover the feasibility of constructing a transwarp network.
"According to their last report, they had progressed to the third phase of research, which involved the activation of a repaired Borg conduit generator. This phase also included a series of experiments to determine how such a network is generated and sustained. The first experiment was completed three weeks ago. The eighth experiment was to have been completed today.
"Starfleet believes that this experimentation may have been the cause of this accident. At this time, Bellerophon is the only ship assigned to investigate. Two additional starships are being dispatched, however, Cestus' position prevents a speedy arrival. It will take one week for the closest ship to arrive.
"Our orders are to initiate a full investigation while also preventing any other starships from entering a buffer zone of one-quarter parsecs. Mister Cooper and Mister Pope, you will utilize the ship's shuttles to run a picket line to prevent any trespassing."
Lieutenants Cooper and Pope replied their understanding of the order.
The captain continued, "Number One, Commander Taurik, Doctor Thann. You will take a series of away teams to the outpost, catalogue the dead as well as all data retrievable from the outpost computer."
After all of the senior staff acknowledged their assignments, the captain dismissed them all. Commander Jones remained behind.
"Yes, Number One?" asked the captain.
Martha frowned. "Begging your pardon, sir, but was there something else that Starfleet mentioned? Something not quite right about their experimentation?"
The captain grinned inwardly. She turned away from Martha to face the viewport. "Four years we've served together. At times, I forget how perceptive you are."
Martha angled her view to the deck, repentant. "I meant no disrespect, sir."
"And none was perceived, Number One, I assure you." The captain folded her arms. "No, Starfleet held me enraptured by tails of dimensional transport they felt should be classified at the highest levels. What I withheld from the wardroom, I will share with you with the condition that you do not repeat it."
"Of course, sir. I give you my word."
The captain returned to hold her executive officer in warm regard. "Your word has always been without reproach."
Within the confines of main engineering, Commander Taurik and Lieutenant Cooper lifted each of the data nodes and settled them in a row. Every other one showed signed of damage to the exterior.
"You think you can sort any of this out?" asked Gwen as she set one of the nodes into the data port cradle.
Taurik ran a series of commands from his station as he answered, "I shall endeavor to do so, Lieutenant." He peered at the results. "This node's data has degraded to seventy-three percent. It may be possible to recover the remainder." His eyes looked over the engineering personnel working in the compartment.
Gwen touched the console interface and tapped it to zoom to the degradation report.
"Mister Sato!" called Taurik. "A moment of your time, please."
Systems Specialist First Class Toshiko Sato handed off her current work to a fellow petty officer and approached the console in use by the chief engineering officer. "Yes, sir?" she replied.
Taurik turned to face the lieutenant. "Lieutenant Cooper, I'm not sure if you have met Specialist Sato?"
"Gwen Cooper," she nodded.
"A pleasure, sir," replied Toshiko with a small smile and a quick nod.
"She is one of our most experienced computer specialists. I'm confident she will recover the data easily."
Gwen raised her eyebrows. "That's high praise, coming from him."
Toshiko grinned. "I believe that's the first time he's paid me a compliment."
If Taurik was discomfited, he hid it well. "The data in these nodes, Mister Sato, is of the upmost importance to the captain and apparently, Starfleet Command. Any information you should happen to be privy to in the course of your assignment, is of the highest classification. Obviously, I will be unable to provide you with any assistance from your peers."
"I've never really needed it, where this kind of work was concerned, Commander," Toshiko said with pride.
Taurik continued, "If you require any assistance, contact me directly. Do not accept any projects from any other officers, until further notice."
"Aye, sir."
"Lieutenant," said Taurik, before he turned away to approach ladder up to the second level.
Gwen followed the Vulcan and when they stood before his private station, she turned to peer down at Toshiko working on her new assignment. "She must be your best."
"She is of great usefulness to my department," Taurik admitted as he logged into the computer station and activated the primary display.
She changed the subject. "What do you think of the latest report to come from Doctor Thann?"
"I'm calling up the data, now."
Now, he had her attention. Gwen read the report as filed by the doctor only minutes prior.
"Fascinating."
"That's one word for it." She read out loud, "'Deceased showed signs of complete cellular disruption at the subatomic level.' What do you make of that?"
Taurik blitzed through the data as only a Vulcan could. "It could be a possible side effect of their experiment. The captain did say they were attempting to create a transwarp tunnel through space, using borrowed technology. If the event horizon was unable or perhaps too powerful, an uncontrolled burst of radiation from the tunnel could have this effect."
"I'm not quite certain of that, sir." Gwen extended her left index finger to trace around the lines of the scans. "I'm neither an engineer nor a doctor, but to me, this looks like the damage pattern of an energy weapon. Look at the rings."
"That is one way of interpreting the data," he said unconvinced. "I'm certain each one of us will have a unique perspective on the matter."
"Commander!" called Toshiko from below.
Both officers snapped their heads toward the voice. Taurik grabbed the rail with one hand and gestured with the other, beckoning her to approach his station.
Gwen stifled her amusement at seeing his brief irritation with the sudden interruption.
Toshiko climbed up, wearing a somber expression on her face. The data node in her hand was shaking. "I'm sorry for my outburst, sir, but I think if you will allow me...?"
Taurik inclined his head toward her, moving back to give her clearance to operate his station.
The display shifted to the output from the node. Toshiko explained, "I started with the standard algorithms, and moved through a custom series of data recovery protocols. I was able to recover some of the data on the first two nodes. They were logs and reports about something called 'Project Excelsior.' I got to the third node and started to go through some of the audio files to ensure the integrity when the file began to play." On the last words of her sentence, her voice trembled.
Gwen reached out instinctively to steady the non-commissioned officer. "Are you all right?"
"I'll be all right," promised Toshiko, her tone demonstrating her appreciation for the officer's concern. She shook it off and said, "I'm sorry, sir. Sirs. But you need to hear this." She touched the playback command. "The video was beyond recovery, but the audio was easier."
A male voice reported, "-'ve successfully opened the gateway to a new dimension of space. Project Excelsior is a success! We are keeping the event horizon stable to the minimum requirement under the project guidelines." There was a pause. "Lieutenant, increase the stability matrix to full and let's send the test article in sixty seconds."
Another voice, further away from the audio pickup replied, "Yes, Doctor."
The first voice returned, "The test article is a modified torpedo casing with the standard mark ten probe sensor package aboard. It is programmed to enter the bridge and return in five minutes."
A new voice, female, called out, "Doctor, the bridge is showing signs of instability. I think... I think there's something coming through!"
"Shut it down!" ordered the doctor's voice sternly. "Power down the matrices!"
"It's too late! I'm reading an object in the tunnel, approaching the bridge. It's coming through, now!"
"I-I'm Doctor Thomas Macready of the Federation Sci-"
A loud voice, shrill and distorted, screamed over the speakers, "ALERT! LIFEFORMS DETECTED! ADVANCE AND ATTACK! ADVANCE AND ATTACK! EX-TERM-I-NATE! EX-TERM-I-NATE! EX-TERM-I-NATE!" With each word, additional voices added to the cacophony.
The sounds of weapons fire never before heard filled the speakers, along with the cries of the voices that spoke earlier. Until nothing but silence remained. The audio file reached its end and the display returned to a stand-by mode.
No one said a word. Anywhere within the compartment.
Taurik noticed that all of his staff were now looking up at the second level in horror. "Return to your duty, at once!" he ordered in a raised tone. He pulled the node from the connection and held it. "Mister Sato, Lieutenant Cooper, with me. We're going to see the captain."