Surprise in a Rescue

Posted on Fri Jan 23rd, 2026 @ 9:29pm by Ensign Janelle Barett & Commander Jonathan Grayson & Commander Samantha Howard & Lieutenant Imik S'Niohun & Chief Petty Officer Aaron Geiger & Lieutenant Commander Deanna Celes
Edited on on Sat Jan 24th, 2026 @ 8:25am

1,580 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Not All Orders Are Easy
Location: Planet - Anthropology Blind

Deanna was the first to arrive in the transporter room. She had everything she needed, phaser and tricorder holstered on her hip. She signalled the bridge to get the latest updates and then waited for the others to arrive.

Jon was next into the transporter room. He smiled at seeing Deanna already there. “I should have known you’d be the first here and waiting to go.”

“Always, Commander,” Deanna said with a smile. “I’ve already gotten the latest updates from the bridge. We’ll be in orbit in five minutes.”

Moments later, Janelle Barett stepped through the doors.

She was already in full away team readiness, tricorder clipped neatly at her side, phaser secured, uniform pristine. Her expression was composed and professional, giving nothing away. If there was a tightening in her chest as she crossed the threshold, it didn’t show.

“Ensign Barett reporting,” she said crisply.

She stepped onto the platform with practiced ease, her gaze flicking briefly to the transporter pads as the emitter coils began their faint shimmer. She had used transporters countless times in training, hundreds of simulations. Controlled variables. Predictable outcomes.

Still, the familiar prickle traced along her arms. Not fear. Awareness.

Procedure was easier than memory.

She flexed her fingers once, then clasped her hands neatly behind her back.

Entering the transporter room, Imik noted the three people already there. She did a quick bow and stood off to one side. She had acquired an Ojnas tricorder but also carried a Starfleet one. Imik tested both to ensure they were operational, and both passed inspection. Removing her blaster, she spun it gunfighter-style and listened as it clicked, the weapon readying itself to fire. She then made the weapon safe.

Turning to her companions, she smiled. “Pardon my actions, but on occasions Starfleet and Ojnas technology can interfere with each other. I am taking both to ensure we gain all the information we can, should one or the other fail due to radiation.”

“Seems like a sensible precaution, though I’ve never known a tricorder or phaser to fail under the circumstances we are entering,” Deanna noted.

She sensed the unease and unrest that sat just inside Imik. Sometimes being a telepath, particularly one of her power, had disadvantages. She glanced to the young ensign standing on the transporter, looking eager, yet carrying fear and trepidation just beneath the surface.

“Ensign, your phaser is set at level four. Stun setting level one will suffice for this trip,” she said with a gentle smile, hoping to correct the oversight and ease the young officer’s mind.

Imik could feel someone attempting to telepathically read her emotions, something most Ojnas would only do with a family member. Jon, although linked to an Ojnas, could not be responsible. He simply didn’t know how. The ensign also did not appear responsible. She was open to Imik and had no skill in that field. The CMO was also not capable, which left only the Lieutenant Commander.

Imik made a mental note to have a quiet word at a later date. She herself had to restrict her ability due to law and expectation, and in this case rank held no privilege as far as she was concerned.

Aaron walked through the door, a worn backpack filled with clinking tools and a faded Starfleet Corps of Engineers logo slung over his shoulder. Facing the Executive Officer, the Chief came to a crisp attention.

“Commander, Chief Geiger reporting as ordered.”

Aaron made his way to the empty spot on the pad. “Lieutenant, pleasure to meet you,” he said with a respectful nod to the CSO. “Ensign, nice to meet you as well. Glad to see I’m no longer the new guy.”

Sam arrived last, having prepared treatments for everyone else before grabbing her gear. She had stocked up on radiation treatments as well as her usual medical supplies, meaning the shoulder med kit had been discarded in favor of a backpack. She took her place on the platform a few moments later.

“Transport coordinates received. Ready to transport you,” the young transporter operator stated, looking at Jon.

Everyone stepped onto the transporter platform and it activated. They dematerialized in the standard blue hue and moments later rematerialized inside the anthropology blind.

The interior was dimly lit, as if only emergency lighting was active. None of the consoles appeared operational, and a few looked as though they had overloaded. It was quiet. The blind was built into a rocky hill overlooking a small village by a river, according to the reports.

Deanna scanned the area with her tricorder. They were in the main observation deck. Behind her, the planet proper was visible. A powerful storm raged outside, rain falling in sheets while lightning flashed and thunder rolled continuously.

“Not detecting anyone in here,” Deanna said, looking to Jon. “Maybe the Chief can check out the reactor.”

The moment her boots hit solid ground, Janelle instinctively checked her footing, eyes adjusting to the low light as she raised her tricorder. The storm beyond the viewport caught her attention for half a second, raw and violent, before training reasserted itself. She focused inward, cataloguing silence, damage, and the unsettling absence of people where people should have been.

“I can look at the reactor. Assuming it’s functional, it will still take some time to bring up safely,” Aaron said, bringing up schematics on his PaDD. “The discreet power curves these blinds use are designed to be harder to detect via infrared and electromagnetic frequencies. The drawback is that power-up and power-down sequences take longer than typical shore-based applications.”

Imik scanned her surroundings with her Ojnas tricorder. A quick scan showed no life forms.

“I will accompany the Chief as both security and for further intelligence gathering, if you have no objections, Commander,” she said, looking to Jon. As she waited, she checked her blaster for ease of draw and smiled at the Chief. “I hope not to use this, but being prepared is not a bad thing.”

Sam conducted a detailed scan with her tricorder. “Definitely no life signs or signs of recent habitation. Radiation levels are acceptable for now, but let’s not go sightseeing. The medication can only do so much.”

Jon waited until the others finished before speaking. “Alright, Chief, get the power back up. Imik, go with him and see if anything looks unusual.” He looked to Sam. “Sage advice. I don’t plan on us doing any sightseeing.”

“Deanna, Ensign Barett, come with me. Let’s see if we can determine where the Doctor and his team are.”

Janelle inclined her head once.

“Aye, Commander.”

She adjusted her grip on the tricorder and fell into step beside Deanna, matching her pace with ease. Her attention moved methodically through the blind’s interior, access points, damage patterns, blind corners, cataloguing details as training had taught her.

The storm outside flashed again, thunder rolling low through the structure. Janelle did not look back.

“If the Doctor’s team evacuated in a hurry,” she said evenly, eyes on her readings, “there may be residual equipment signatures or emergency transponder traces left behind. I’ll scan for anything that doesn’t match the blind’s baseline.”

Procedure first. Answers later.

She moved along the curved interior, tricorder held steady as she swept it across bulkheads and access panels. Power fluctuations registered intermittently, not enough to be accidental, not enough to be stable.

“I’m picking up residual energy signatures along this corridor. Portable equipment, not built-in systems. They’re faint, but recent.”

She paused at a junction where the deck plating showed signs of hurried foot traffic, scuffing inconsistent with routine maintenance. She crouched briefly, adjusting her tricorder’s sensitivity.

“No active life signs,” she continued, straightening. “But there are indications of a staged withdrawal. If the Doctor’s team left under pressure, they likely regrouped rather than dispersed.”

Another scan, narrower and more deliberate.

“I’m also detecting trace medical polymers in the air, dermal sealants and antiseptics. Not enough to indicate treatment here, but enough to suggest someone injured moved through this section.”

She glanced briefly toward the XO, then back to her readings.

“I recommend we follow the residual signatures toward the auxiliary observation alcove. If they were evacuating under low power conditions, it would have been the fastest route to cover and concealment.”

Janelle stepped aside to clear the path, ready to proceed at Jon’s direction.

Deanna continued to study her tricorder. The theories being discussed were plausible, but one possibility was being overlooked. The anthropology team may have left willingly and integrated themselves into the indigenous population. Evidence pointed toward that conclusion, rare as it was, especially for experienced Starfleet anthropologists.

She walked over to Jon and spoke in a low tone. “We should consider that Darkwa and his team have breached protocol and integrated themselves with the locals. Power levels indicate the holographic generators are inactive, meaning the blind is visible from the outside. It’s rare, but it has happened before, and we need to be prepared for that possibility. The captain will enforce the Prime Directive.”

Sam overheard. “If we can get closer to the nearest village, I may be able to scan for individual biosigns, isolate them from the native populace, and then we can work on extraction.”

“It will likely be a forced extraction,” Deanna replied. “This is shaping up to be more difficult than we first thought.”

TBC

 

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