Chapter Text
Earth Spacedock, Page 11
Captain Aeris - Earth Spacedock, Infirmary
Aeris sat up in a biobed with Cetra scanning her with a medical tricorder. "How's it looking Doc-- I mean, Lieutenant?"
"Actually, I'm earning my MD, so you really will be able to call me Doc soon." Cetra closed her device. "Oh, and along with elevated stress levels, I'm detecting residual bio plasma on you. It doesn't seem to be harming you, but I think you should wear this bio electric caliper for now."
The Captain attached a small device on her neck as an Engineer entered and went to a nearby bed. "Thanks," Aeris said. "Now, if I could deal with this lockdown and possible threats to ESD. Did you know there's a warship cloaked in the vicinity and we're okay with that?"
"No, ma'am," Cetra answered in shock as she moved to work on the next patient.
Lieutenant Winry sighed. "Just a headache. Ship decommissioning is so much fun, I think I got over-excited."
"Bio plasma, huh?" Aeris pondered. "The Zephyra once detected the same residue on Undine a long time ago. I wonder if it's related."
Winry perked up. "Hold on. Are you the Captain that spent weeks aiding a group of 8472 ships? They said you were crazy?"
"Doing nothing would've been crazy. The Zephyra developed specialized medical equipment to treat them."
The Engineer nodded. "I was more interested in the technology you created anyway. If you can localize Undine biology and detect their native realm's molecules, you could adapt that to some kind of interdimensional device."
"And, what, access Fluidic space? What for?" Aeris asked.
Winry shrugged. "I don't know. Scientific interest, I suppose."
"Lieutenant, are you developing interdimensional technology?"
The woman smiled. "How'd you guess? I'm heading a side project for a scanner with some of my team. We're competing with the Corps Engineers. They think they're so great."
"Huh," Aeris replied surprised. "Can you use my medical data to extrapolate quantum signatures and then scan those with your device?"
Lieutenant Winry nodded. "If you let me on the Zephyra, perhaps. I'd have to use your modified Sickbay equipment."
"Done. I'm taking you off ship mothballing duty, not to ruin your fun too much. In the meantime, I have to check ESD's lockdown--"
But then the station went to red alert. Reeve's voice flew over to her comm. "Reeve to Aeris. You might want to get back to Operations."
"Acknowledged," Aeris tapped her commbadge. "Well, Doc, looks like those stress levels are going to have to wait."
---
Earth Spacedock, Operations
Later, Captain Terry walked around the curved hallway and into Operations. It was busy with senior personnel commanding and managing their own staff for various sections of Spacedock.
"Hi, I'm looking for Admiral Nat?" Terry said, approaching Commander Batou from Spacedock's engineering and showing him a PADD. "He gave me this mission I'm to join to a mysterious Dyson sphere."
Batou just looked at him, overly stunned. "Have you even been around lately?"
"Huh? I was working on my ship's approach strategy this whole time. I have so many ideas!" Terry said, knowing he probably couldn't ignore the fact Batou's implication was that he probably missed several key events.
The Commander took Terry's PADD and erased it. "Trust me. You're late."
"Well, this was unexpected," the Captain replied, but decided that it was probably better to accept things. "So, what's going on up here? Any Ferengi merchant ships?"
Batou shook his head as he continued working at his holo-console. "That's not my area, but I did notice a Ferengi ship, the Fortune's Gold, come right up to the window to tap it incessantly with its hull. Apparently, they couldn't wait for docking procedures."
"Oh! That is so interesting. Everything you do up here fascinates me, a man of strict Starfleet procedure."
The other officer looked at him. "You know, if you're up to no good, not everyone is going to judge you for it. Also, you could hide it better."
"Hey, people judge things all the time. I mean, it's not like I can read minds, but I know it happens. That, and my motives are not as transparent as you think."
Batou closed his console. "Well, what are they?"
"Huh?"
He asked again. "Your motives. I always find it odd that people go off on rants and then end them so cryptically. For once, I want to be that guy that asks straight out what's going on, negating further actions on the part of the subject and preventing what possible outcomes may arise." But as he had looked away halfway through his diatribe, upon returning to glance, he found Captain Terry had already left Operations. "Oh."
---
Earth Spacedock, Operations - A week later
Aeris worked intently in the command ring. "Reeve, we need to locate those lost ships. What have we found out so far?" Aeris asked. She wasn't going to lose the Lexington, the Philadelphia and the Firestorm all in one go.
The security commander turned to her in sudden shock. "You're back!?"
"I only went to get more PADDs. One for each ship we're searching for," Aeris said as she handed them to him. "An extra one for that Vulcan ship that keeps flying by the window."
Reeve shook his head and gestured to the pattern enhancers surrounding the Captain. "No, you disappeared from this spot for quite some time. You've been gone a whole week!"
"What?" Aeris replied, shocked. "What'd I miss?"
Commander Reeve brought up some data on his holo-screen. "The Lexington and the Philadelphia returned, reporting having been stuck in a dimensional void. The Firestorm went even more missing and the Molly appeared out of nowhere."
"Let me get this straight, everyone got to have a week of recovery and getting their heads together and I get nothing??"
The man shrugged. "I guess. Also, since you've been gone, I've taken over security again, and, in an effort to maintain heightened levels of awareness, I've been running drills and exercises around the clock. Living in fear! It's a new thing I'm trying. Also, I think, due to your situation, you should step down in your role in Security."
"Are you kidding me? I need to add to this heightened level of stress, if not, to channel mine into everyone else!"
Reeve shook his head. "Yeah, I'm already pushing the threshold. You'd just be a tipping point in our Tuvok sweat drills that would send our token Bolian officer off the edge."
"Forget that!" She pointed to nearby tactical officer Lieutenant Aramaki. "You there! Laps around ESD and don't stop until I tell you!"
Aramaki fumbled in shock. "Ye-- Yes, ma'am."
"Still got it," Aeris said as she suddenly noticed Reeve standing in different location than the last. She then turned to see Aramaki not moving, but panting, out of breath. "What did I just say? Now it's double laps!"
Aramaki groaned and then ran off.
"You disappeared again. He did twenty laps," Reeve reported.
Aeris cursed. "Damn. I guess you're right. And I was this close to normalcy, ever since the Zephyra had been recalled here. It was finally feeling like I had a life again."
"If it makes you feel any better, I'll call you for our weekly Cargo Bay raids? We mostly target unsuspecting Romulans."
The Captain smiled. "I'd like that."