Chapter Text
USS Bellerophon (Universe UT-01)
Captain Boris Rodenko spoke reassuringly to the two women on his viewscreen: one blonde and sitting in the center seat of a Nebula-class starship, and the other Asian wearing a lab coat and standing in what was obviously a medical facility, his thick Russian accent lending weight and confidence to his words.
“We will find him, Denise.” Captain Rodenko promised his lips turning up in a comforting smile. “I intend to make sure that he hears from your own lips that he is going to be a father.”
“Thank you, Boris.” Denise Murakawa smiled warmly at her and her husband’s dear friend, “I’ll light a candle and say the rosary for him and you.”
“Spasibo.” The burly Russian starship captain replied, his supportive smile still on his face as the blonde starship captain spoke.
“I’m sorry I can’t be there with the Suthy to help you kis apam.” Captain Elizabeth Shelby, commanding USS Sutherland, apologized, “But there have been Borg sightings in the Elkoli Sector…”
“And you are the best we have when it comes to dealing with the Borg, Elizaveta.” Gazing fondly at both women, Boris promised, “Do not worry. I will bring our wandering admiral back home.”
“Thank you, kis apam.” Liz smiled, further cautioning, “Be careful. There have been numerous anomalies in that sector and also sightings of strange ships. We haven’t been able to id any of them though. By the time we arrive on scene—they’re gone. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say that someone is probing our defenses.”
“Maybe so, dacha.” Captain Rodenko nodded as he repeated his vow, “I will be careful and I will bring Morgan home.”
As the images of the two women on the viewscreen were replaced by stars, Captain Rodenko took a deep breath and exhaled, “Let’s see if we can find our missing admiral. Take us to the Fregan sector, Mr. Harmon, Warp six.”
“Aye, Captain.” The athletic and attractive platinum-blonde haired human woman at the helm crisply responded, “Warp six.”
“Engage.” As the Bellerophon entered into warp, the Russian captain nicknamed the Commissar, by his crew during his time in the Border Service, turned to his first officer. “What is our ETA to the Fregan System, XO?”
“Approximate seventy-two hours at current speed, Captain. Fregan Sector is literally on the edge of the frontier.” Commander Ilya Xylides, a strikingly beautiful woman nearly human in appearance, her naturally purple hair and lilac eyes marking her as Halenoi, a new member of the Federation, responded. “Sir?” She added in a low concerned voice, “Might I suggest that you get some rest? You’ve been up ever since Admiral Bateson’s shuttle was reported missing thirty-six hours ago. With all due respect, we need our captain at his best.”
Taking another breath and exhaling, Boris barely suppressed a yawn. “You are right, XO. The crew needs rest too. Drop our alert status to green and resume normal watches. You have the con. I will be in my quarters.”
“I’ll comm you if anything happens or we get word, Sir.” Ilya promised as the burly Russian vacated the center chair.
“Spasibo.” Boris smiled, “Have a good watch, XO.”
“And you have a good rest, Sir.”
Retiring to his quarters, Boris first walked to the replicator, “Ryazhenka.” After unzipping and putting away his uniform jacket, the ‘Commissar’ picked up the fermented beverage and sat down on the couch. “Computer. Play the last message from Admiral Bateson. Stardate 56912.4. As the face of his former Border Service comrade and friend and later commanding officer appeared, Boris leaned back on the couch and, sipping his drink, watched again his old friend’s final message.
“Hello Boris.” Letting out a breath of air on hearing the baritone voice of his old friend, the burly Russian captain took another sip of his drink and paying close attention, listened. “I’m sending messages to Denise, Liz, and Joseph as well as you, but if what’s going on is what I think might be happening, I’m going to need you to ride point on this. Borg activity in the Disputed Territories is picking up, so I need Liz to handle that and what I’m going to ask you to look into is way outside Joseph’s wheelhouse.”
“Computer pause playback.” Boris ordered as he took another sip of his drink, “Why me, Morgan? I’m just an ex-Border Dog skippering a Nebbie now because of what happened to Liz a few years ago. Yes, I have a good ship and crew and we’ve done some good out here…but…why me?” After ordering another of the Russian fermented yogurt and milk drink and returning to his seat, he commanded, “Computer. Resume play.”
“You’re probably asking yourself why I’m asking you to do this favor for me instead of Liz or maybe Sam. Like I said, I need Liz to deal with the Borg—that’s the immediate threat. This is something that’s more long-term—that is if there really is something there and I’m not finally going crazy. As for Sam—while he’s on his way to becoming a great starship captain one day, he isn’t there yet. He still has a lot to learn.”
“Don’t we all.” Boris muttered as he sipped his drink.
“And…Liz is going to need him and the Victory along with the other ships to tackle the Borg.”
“So why are you sending me off on this possible wild goose chase when Elizaveta is going to need all the help she can get?”
“If you’re getting this message, Boris, it’s because I’m not able to talk to you in person. Something’s happening. Something big. I think bigger than what happened with Liz.”
“Bozhe moi.” Boris muttered as he continued to listen intently to the message.
“If it is what I think it is, then it ties in together a lot of stuff I’ve seen over the years. A crooked grin appeared on Bateson’s face as he uttered his next words, “I know what you’re about to say and no—I’m not saying that I’m the center of the universe or anything like that. Do I look like Terrance Glover to you?”
Laughing, Boris continued to listen.
“The first time I noticed something odd was when I was on the Merlin back in the day. You remember me talking about Sonny Parker and Brooks Erdolan? The Merlin was my first posting out of the Academy. We were a Border Service cutter so we didn’t do much in the range of exploration, but occasionally we’d have to send landing parties to the odd planet or planetoid. Mostly those planets were H, K, L, P type planets—not exactly places you want to spend your summer vacation at so they generally got a quick orbital scan, charted and that was it.”
“Da.” Boris nodded, “I am aware of them. They’re usually located in barren areas of space of little to no strategic importance to any of the big or not-so-big players and quickly forgotten by almost everyone but...”
“But they make perfect hiding spots for pirate and smuggler dens or drop off points.”
Nodding his head, Boris again agreed with his old friend, “Da tovarisch. Joseph was telling me about how he and his ship had to deal with a pirate’s nest in the Mulari Badlands a few months ago.”
“Anyway…that’s when I first saw them. Old ruins. We didn’t have the gear to carry out any sort of archaeological or scientific work, so Brooks and Sonny noted it in their reports and bucked them up the chain where they were apparently filed away and forgotten.”
“Bureaucracy.” Boris groaned, “One of the few constants in the galaxy.”
“Second time was when I was on the Ajax. I noticed what seemed to be a wormhole opening and closing again when I was standing watch with Dee-Dee.”
Chuckling Boris commented, “Standing watch tovarisch? Don’t forget, you’ve shown me a holo-image of Lieutenant Del’ Vecchio. I doubt very seriously you were merely ‘standing watch’ with her.”
“All right.” Bateson smirked as if the recorded image was live, “You caught me again, old friend. We were doing a little more than just standing watch, but we both saw the anomaly. We alerted Bob…Captain Wesley and reported to the bridge. Bob ordered the Ajax to the coordinates of the anomaly to investigate and our science officer picked up traces of verteron and chroniton radiation as well as dark energy. Robert dropped a sensor buoy and we departed. Starfleet kept the buoy active for a couple of years, but no other readings were recorded and nothing unusual happened so they picked it up and closed the case. Then I went to the Lady and that’s when it got a little more real—and weird.”
“Da.” Boris nodded, “I remember. That is why I am on the Bellerophon and not still captaining the Scamp.”
“You know about what happened to Bob, Aliz, and Jennifer with that obelisk and what Talana discovered—that poor Klingon and Vulcan—what those aliens did to them. You also know about the ruins we found on Eleuthra IV. And you know about me, my crew, and the Bozeman being caught in that time loop. But there’s more. Recently I got reports of more and more of those anomalies appearing and disappearing. They never stay open long—seconds at the most. And they all have the same thing in common: the presence of trace amounts of verteron and chroniton particles accompanied by dark energy and sometimes dark matter. A few weeks ago, a scout ship found more of those ancient ruins on Fregan III—another L class planet. I’m going with Lieutenant Saunders to investigate. Once is coincidence, old friend. Twice? More times? No…there’s something going on out there and I think it’s big. So. If you’re seeing this, that means that Saunders and I ran into something and we’re not able to reach anyone. If that’s the case I need you to go to the Fregan system. Find out what’s going on and if it is as bad as I think it might be, then do whatever you have to do. Take care of yourself old friend. I hope one of these days we’ll meet again. Tell Joseph the same thing. Give my love to Liz—tell her to try to take care of herself. And…tell Denise I love her. The only reason I am doing this is that I want her to have a future and if what I think is happening is occurring, then we are all at risk. Take care…good hunting…and I’ll see you on the other side—wherever or whenever that other side might be.”
“Bozhe moi. How big a pile of mugatu shit did you get yourself into Morgan and that you’re getting me into as well tovarisch.”
“Say, Angie, do you know what’s going on here?” Lieutenant Luciano Conti, operations officer and navigator of the Bellerophon, asked the platinum blonde woman in the seat next to him.
“I’ve got no idea, Luciano.” Angie responded with a frown as she lowered her voice. “All I do know is that when the Commissar gets that look on his face, something serious is going down."
“Simi?” Commander Xylides called out to the Bajoran science officer, “What can you tell us about Fregan III?”
“Class L planet.” The chestnut haired Bajoran woman responded, “Marginally habitable but on the cool side. You’ll definitely want to wear your parkas.” She joked before continuing her report. “It was charted in a survey of the Fregan Sector by USS Carlyle in 2347. They investigated some old ruins and catalogued their findings.”
“Which were promptly forgotten thanks to the outbreak of hostilities with the Cardassians that year.” Ilya finished.
“Correct.” Simi confirmed with a barely disguised scowl at the mention of the word Cardassian. “After the war the sector lay within the neutral buffer zone between the Federation and the Cardassian Union.”
“And since there’s no Class M planets in that sector and Fregan III was in contested space, neither the Federation nor the Cardassians wanted to take the chance on a possible confrontation over what amounted to a pile of rocks.” Dya Alevastos, the Elasian weapons officer stated.
“Right.” Ilya nodded her head in affirmation. “And given the present state of Cardassia and Bajor and the Federation facing potential and real threats on multiple fronts, the sector is still low priority.”
“Making it a great place if you want to hide something ugly.” Angie commented.
“Exactly.” Ilya agreed before addressing her weapons officer, “Dya? I want you to run another check on our weapons and defense systems—just in case.”
“Do you want me to call a surprise drill?”
“Not now.” The Halenoi first officer replied with a shake of her head. “Let’s let the Captain sleep for a bit—he’s earned it. But I will recommend that we do so once he wakes up, so be prepared.”
“Aye, Sir.”
Twelve Hours Later
Hearing his door chime ringing, Boris, wearing a sweatsuit, answered, “Enter.” Smiling as his old doctor and friend entered, the Commissar joked, “I’ve been following your orders and doing my daily exercise routine. In fact, I’m on the way to the holodeck for a workout now. Care to join me?”
“Don’t mind if I do.” The Denobulan doctor responded joining his old friend as the pair walked down the corridor to the turbolift. “Do you have any ideas as to what Morgan might have run into?”
“Da.” Boris nodded as the pair entered the turbolift, “All bad.” Calling out to the computer, the Russian captain commanded, “Deck Five.”
“Not like our days on the Scamp.” Vordus remarked as the turbolift moved to its destination.
Answering with a snort of laughter, Boris agreed, “Da. Joseph and I never chased anomalies or poked around in old ruins.” His laughter now a winsome smile, he joked, “Well…there was that one time…”
“I know. I was there.” The doctor laughed, “So…have you heard anything from Vribb or the rest of our old gang?”
“Da.” Boris replied as the pair exited the turbolift and made their way to the holodeck. “Ronata is doing well as is the Scamp. She’s concerned about the Orion Syndicate though—it’s gone quiet in her sector.”
“Could be good.” Vordus pondered, “Or it could be bad.”
Nodding his head, Boris agreed as the pair entered the holodeck, “Da. They could be relocating their operations as she and Joseph have done a pretty good job of shutting them down. Or they could be preparing a trap for one or both of them.” After a momentary pause, the Russian captain ordered, “Computer. Initiate Rodenko One.”
Immediately the holodeck transformed into a gym with a treadmill, weights, and a punching bag. The Denobulan doctor added, “Computer. Weighing scales for human.” As the scales materialized, Vordus smirked, “Get up on them Boris. I want to see where you’re at now and then I’m going to perform a stress test on you. I’m interested in seeing your progress.”
“You are a slave driver.” Boris muttered as he got up on the scales. “Satisfied?”
“Not bad.” Vordus nodded, “You’ve lost three pounds. Now get on the treadmill. I want to see how your heart’s doing. If that’s showing improvement too, we can see about altering your diet somewhat.”
“How much improving?” Boris asked as he got on the treadmill and began his workout.
“Good…good.” Vordus nodded his head in satisfaction as he read the tricorder results. “Your heartrate is strong…respiration well within normal.” After a while, the Denobulan doctor instructed, “That’s good enough, Boris. Don’t overdo it. Go grab a shower, Captain—you owe me breakfast.”
“Da.” Boris laughed, “I’ll meet you at Babushka’s for breakfast.”
Returning to his quarters, the Russian captain grabbed a quick sonic shower and dressed only to have the red alert alarm ring out just as he was zipping up his jacket. Rushing to the bridge, the Commissar, taking the center seat, nodded his head in satisfaction as the department heads reported in.
“Shields raised and weapons online.” Dya called out from her tactical console.
“Engines are ready.” S’taav, the Vulcan chief engineer, announced from his station.
“All decks report ready. Damage control on standby.” Lieutenant Commander Tanvir Kumar, the operations chief, declared.
“Sciences ready.” Lieutenant Commander Simi announced from her station.
“Helm and navigation ready for action.” Angie and Luciano exclaimed in unison.
“All stations ready for action, Sir.” Ilya reported to the captain. “One minute thirty seconds.”
“Very good.” Boris nodded his head in satisfaction. “Take us off alert status, XO, and my compliments to the department heads and crew and…” he added with a crooked grin, “Good job, Ilya.”
“Thank you, Sir.” The Halenoi first officer responded as the red alert lights and alarms faded and the ship returned to normal. “Orders, Captain?”
“Time until we reach the Fregan system?”
“Eighteen hours at current course and speed.” Lieutenant Harmon responded.
“Very good.” Boris acknowledged, “Maintain current speed. My office, XO?”
“Aye, Sir.”
“Have a seat, Ilya.” Captain Rodenko requested, motioning to the chair in front of his desk.
“Is there a problem, Sir?” Ilya asked as she noticed the worried expression on her captain’s face.
“Da. I think so.” Boris affirmed, “What I’m about to tell you now is classified at the highest levels, but you need to know now in case something happens to me.”
“Yes, Sir.” The Halenoi first officer responded, “What is it?”
“It concerns Admiral Bateson.” Boris replied, “Besides hopefully finding our friend, we are following a trail he has been following for over a hundred years.”
“Sir?”
“These are Morgan’s personal logs—don’t worry, you’re cleared to see them. After you’ve gone through those, I’ve got some logs from the old USS Lexington and the USS Sutherland I want you to peruse. Finally, once you’ve done all that, I’ve got some of my personal logs for you to examine.”
“That’s a lot of homework, Sir.”
“Da.” Boris nodded, “It is. But you need to be aware of at least a little of what we might be dealing with.”
Rising from her seat, Ilya smirked as she made her exit, “Then I better get started. I’ll see you later, Captain.”
Angie
“You’re relieved, Angie.” Ensign Rarek, a young Caitian male just recently graduated from the Academy and one of the newest members of the Bellerophon family announced as he placed a friendly hand on the blonde lieutenant’s shoulder. “Go to Babushka’s and grab yourself something to eat and maybe a drink or two.”
“Good idea.” Angie responded with a bright smile of her own. “I am feeling kinda hungry. After dinner, I think I’ll wind down with that program I ordered last month. Have a good watch.”
“Will do.” The Caitian responded, “Have fun.”
Waving at friends and fellow crewmembers as she entered the Bellerophon’s unofficial pub, the blonde helmsman, making her way to a replicator, placed her order, “Pepperoni pizza with extra cheese, tossed salad with oil and vinegar dressing, and large cola.” Smiling as her order appeared, she walked to an empty table and, sitting down, began to eat.
“That looks…different.”
Looking up, Angie smiled as she recognized the attractive petite auburn-haired Trill woman wearing the blue-trimmed uniform of the sciences, ensign’s pips on the collar. “Hey…Lexa is it?”
“Yeah.” The youthful Trill replied, “And you’re Angie…right?”
“That’s right.” The blonde helmsman answered, “You’re one of the new ensigns that came in—aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” Lexa responded, “Just last week.”
“So…are you coming off shift or going on?” Angie asked, motioning for the other woman to join her.
“Coming off.” The Trill science officer responded as she took the seat on the other side of the table. “Hmmm…that smells good.”
“Grab yourself a slice. There’s more than enough for the both of us.” Angie chuckled as she pushed her plate to the center of the table.
“Thanks.” Lexa replied as she flagged down a waiter and ordered a sparkling water for herself. “So…do you have any idea where we’re going or is it hush…hush?”
“I don’t think it’s a secret or anything like that.” Angie mused before taking a bite of pizza and washing it down with some cola, “We’re headed out to the Fregan System. It’s out in the boonies so who knows—you might get something to do.”
“I wish!” The youthful planetologist exclaimed, “I’d like to go out and stretch my legs but…”
“But what?”
“I don’t think Commander Simi likes me.” Lexa heaved a dejected sigh, “I think she’s still upset because I was late reporting to my station when we had that alert.”
“That was when you first reported aboard and you didn’t know your way around.” Angie consoled. “I know you got your butt chewed out, but take my word for it, the Commissar chewed Simi’s rear out first.” Smiling, she placed a hand over that of her Trill friend. “Besides, you’re not the only one who’s gotten chewed out by a department head. I got my rear reamed by Tanvir once when I was an ensign. Think of it as a rite of passage.”
A big grin on her face, Lexa commented before taking a bite of pizza, “You’re always so cheerful! How do you keep it up? I don’t think I’ve ever caught you in a bad mood.”
“Oh, I have my bad days and bad moments.” Angie confessed as she brushed back a lock of blonde hair, “Believe me.”
“You wouldn’t know it from seeing you.” Lexa commented, “You’re always smiling and happy.”
“Not always.” Angie replied, the expression on her face now more pensive, her lips turned up in a tender smile. "It’s just that when I feel down, I kinda conjure up one of my ghosts.”
“What do you mean—ghosts?”
Her smile still gentle, the youthful blonde explained, “I don’t mean ghosts as in dead people.” Angie chuckled softly, “It’s kinda hard for me to describe. I just imagine that one of my parents or my best friend or my first love or friends of mine who I went to school with when I was a teenager are here with me, backing me up. They keep me from sinking—if you know what I mean.”
“Are you sure you’re not part Trill?” Lexa laughed, “Someone I know who’s joined told me something like that once. That whenever he felt down or felt like he was going to give up, one of his old hosts would speak to him and give him a boost.”
“You see.” Angie laughed merrily as she finished her pizza, “It works. That proves I’m not as crazy as you think.”
“Damn!” Lexa swore as she glanced up at the chronometer. “I’m sorry, but I’ve gotta go—a bunch of us are getting together to celebrate Jessek’s ascension day. I’d invite you to come with, but…”
“Hey.” Angie smiled, “It’s a lower deck thing. It wasn’t that long ago for me. Go on and have a good time.”
“Thanks.’ Lexa grinned. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, the petite Trill asked—really pleaded, “Would you mind if we could hang out together sometime?” she blushed, “I’m still trying to get used to how things work here and haven’t really met many people and well…”
“Sure.” Angie smiled back, “Let me know when’s a good time for you and we’ll get together and do something—spend some time on the holodeck or something like that.”
“Yeah.” The young Trill smiled back, “I’d like that. I’ll get with you once I get a good idea what my schedule will be and we’ll set it up.”
“Works for me.” Angie grinned back, “Have fun and I’ll see you later.” Watching as Lexa walked away, Angie reached into her pocket and pulled out an old coin that had been carefully protected from wear and the elements. “Hi Dad…” the young blonde smiled a sad smile as she gazed down at the coin, “Something good happened today. I think I might have found a new friend.”
Simi and Luciano
“Something wrong?”
“What?” Simi looked up from the game of backgammon she was playing with Luciano.
“Something’s on your mind.” The handsome dark-haired Italian operations officer observed, “This is the third game in a row you lost. Normally we break even. What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.” The Bajoran science officer replied, shaking her head.
“Simi…” Luciano gazed intently into his friend’s eyes, “Come on.”
Sighing, Simi reluctantly confessed, “I got some news from Bajor a few days ago. Until yesterday I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.”
“What is it? Bad news?”
Nodding her head, Simi answered back, “Yes. Ever since the Bajora tava formed that coalition with the Bajor First Party and gained control over both the Council of Ministers and the Vedek Assembly, Bajor’s become more and more isolationist.”
“I know.” Luciano nodded, “It hasn’t been that long ago that Federation citizens were expelled from Bajor. Why? Is your family in trouble or something?”
“No.” Simi shook her head, “They’re not in any trouble.. The government issued an order that’s going out to all Bajorans serving in non-Bajoran governments or organizations like Starfleet. I’ve been given a choice: renounce my Federation citizenship and resign my Starfleet commission and return to Bajor where I can accept a commission in the militia if I so choose or refuse and stay in Starfleet and be stripped of my Bajoran citizenship and barred from entering Bajoran territory.”
“What are you going to do?” Luciano asked.
“ I sent a message back telling them that I was not going to leave Starfleet or give up my Federation citizenship—even if it meant that I would lose my Bajoran citizenship. I got their response a few hours ago.” Taking a deep breath, she groaned, “I’ve been stripped of my citizenship and excommunicated.”
“That’s why you’re not wearing your earring.” Luciano noted.
Nodding her head, Simi admitted, “Right. I’m forbidden from entering any temple, retreat, or any other shrine and banned from having any contact with any Orb of the Prophets and no Bajoran of faith will talk to me.”
Putting the pieces together, Luciano reached across the table and took his friend’s hand in his. “Your family has disowned you—haven’t they?”
Nodding her head, Simi burst into tears, “Yes!”
Acting instinctively, Luciano rose from his seat and reaching over to his friend, embraced her as he consoled, “You’re not alone, cara mia. You have friends and I am one of them.”
Ilya
As she listened to the logs, Ilya let out a breath. “I don’t know if I’m more worried about Morgan being right or wrong. If it’s wrong, it just means he’s crazy. But if he’s right…” shaking her head, she murmured, “I hope you know what you’re doing, Boris.”
Boris
“Are you sure about this, Boris?”
Smiling at the image of his old friend and former Border Service compatriot, Boris replied in a grave, rumbling voice, “Da. Tovarisch. I am. Have you ever known Morgan to act irrationally or to deliberately lie or exaggerate—except when he’s telling one of his stories that is?”
“No.” Joseph Akinola shook his head, “Not in the many years I’ve known him.”
“Same here.” Boris affirmed, “Something is happening and I think we’ll discover at least part of the puzzle on Fregan III. I wish I could ask you to join me but…”
“Neither the old Bluefin nor its skipper is built for this type of work, my friend.” Joseph responded with a sad smile. “Take care of yourself and bring our friend back home safe. Fair winds.”
“To you as well my old tovarisch.”