A Ship From the Past

Posted on Sat Jan 27th, 2024 @ 12:09am by Captain Shran dh'Klar

Mission: Lost & Found
Location: USS Washington

It had been a few weeks since the conclusion of the peace talks. A few weeks since the Norse goddess Hela had returned to the Washington for her prize and had caused mischief for the crew. Shran had been thankful in some respects that Hela had taken an interest in some of his crew members as it had kept her from interfering in the peace talks. The fallout from Hela's visit was still being felt, though to different degrees for various members of the crew. Shran was happy that the ship and crew had been able to immediately get underway once the aforementioned events had taken place.

They had rendezvoused with the USS Sacajawea, a supply vessel a few days prior to take on needed supplies before continuing to explore and map out this new sector of space. It was simple, old fashioned mundane work, but after all the craziness, Shran was quite happy for the mundane, and he thought it was good for the crew as well. The work had kept Ops and the carious Science departments quite busy. This was good in Shran's mind as it kept Inara busy, and her being busy with work seemed to make her a happier person. The mundane nature of the work had also allowed Shon and Seth time to adjust to the new baby, and to deal with the emotional damage done by Hela. It had also allowed Callie and her subordinates to really delve into counseling and trying to get everyone back into some sort of normal mental state.

Shran though remained on guard, though he was good at hiding it. He knew that this lull in action was just that, a lull. Sooner or later something out of the ordinary was bound to happen; that was a given, and what seemed liked their curse. It was no surprise when something less than ordinary finally showed up.

"Report" the Andorian said as he entered the bridge from his Ready Room.

"We are detecting another vessel adrift at the edge of the asteroid field" Deanna replied as she left the command chair and made her way to her Ops station. "Federation signature, Oberth class" she said as she continued to analyze the incoming data. "It appears to be the USS Daystrom. The Daystrom went missing nearly 75 years ago."

"What the hell is an Oberth class ship doing this far out?" Shran questioned aloud. "Power readings or life signs?"

"Not detecting any life signs, but all systems seem to be functioning on minimal power. Initial readings suggest that the ship is fully functional" Deanna answered.

Shran placed his hand on his chin and leaned forward pensively. "Deanna, link into their systems. Activate their bridge screen, and then check their internal sensors for any signs of biological contaminants."

Deanna was quick to comply with the captain's orders. The view screen came to life showing the small, simple bridge. Everything looked as it should, with the exception of a visible layer of dust seeming to cover most surfaces. What was curious was zero visible signs of the crew. It was as if they had disappeared without a trace.

"I'm not reading any biohazards captain. I could have the vessel up and running again in a few hours" Deanna said confidently.

"Any sign of any dangers or other vessels?" questioned Shran.

"Negative sir. Though magnicite deposits in many of these asteroids in the field are limiting our ability to scan within the asteroid field" Deanna replied.

"Very well. Notify Jon about this derelict ship. I want you to accompany him and an away team to take a closer look at the ship, determine how it arrived here and what happened to the crew. I also want LeFaye to have an engineering team over there to get the ship back up to working order, safely mind you. Tell Jon to bring Inara along, and Shon if she is up to it. I think a medical perspective may be in order. Perhaps have Phoenix go with him as well, for security if Jon so sees fit."

"Right away sir" Deanna responded.

Shran remained pensive, keeping his attention on the images from the viewscreen. "We'll remain here and continue scanning and begin a full analysis. Inform Inara that I want her people to begin a full analysis of this asteroid field. I want an in-depth study done, not just simple scans."

Deanna entered the turbolift. "Computer, location of Cmdr Grayson."

"Cmdr Grayson is in Science Lab 1" the computer replied.

"Take me there" she commanded. The doors closed and the turbolift rushed her to her destination.

Shran kept looking at the viewscreen, studying the empty bridge of the Daystrom. His antennae twitched. Something was amiss, he could feel it.