A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale.

Posted on Sat Aug 24, 2019 @ 5:36am by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant Commander Miguel Torres & Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Lieutenant Arashi Tanaka Mr. & Lieutenant Cassandra Kennings & Lieutenant AJ Taggart & Lieutenant JG Camille Lévesque PhD

1,940 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Plaga Navis
Location: Various
Timeline: 48 hours after Bishop Takes Queen

Chief Medical Officer's log, supplemental.

It's been 48 hours since we've begun looking for the Captain. [sigh] What began with some hopeful leads rapidly came crashing down. Lieutenant Tanaka was able to follow the security footage back and determine which ship the kidnappers arrived on. We then scanned for an ion trail from their location, and a warp trail out of the system. However, we quickly discovered that we'd been following a false trail. We returned to the colony and scanned the area, finding another trail, which led to another dead end.

We're now re-scanning and attempting to determine if the next trail is another false lead. We're also holding steady in preparation for taking on a team of specialists. With luck, they'll offer some assistance in finding the Captain.

Hopefully before the XO gives himself a stroke.

=======

Alec walked into Nicole's office. "I need to talk you," he said as he shut the door. His voice was calm but undertones of excitement coursed through it as he sat down. "We've been running around chasing our tail. People and ships just don't vanish. We've already followed two false trails, but I pulled the colony's spaceport record of departures and there was an automated freighter that also left. What if that bastard Torrance got Rhea on that ship and they used the wake of the freighter to mask their trail until they were far enough out to change course and head for their base?"

"I'm a Doctor, not a stealth pilot," Nicole said. "However...it's possible." She mulled it over for a moment. "That would explain why there are only false trails and no odd-branch-out for a real trail. I'd suggest Penny look over the flight plans and determine the most logical direction after that freighter, because after all this time, there's going to be virtually no trail left."

(tag)


======= Starfleet Runabout [i]USS Munro[/i]=======

AJ sat back in the copilots seat of the runabout, his eyes closed as he attempted to rest before they docked. The previous day's exercise had drained him to the point that he needed sleep yet it eluded him like life evaded the dead. Relaxing slightly and slowing his breathing, he could feel sleep begin to come to him in short waves and he began to drift.

Hearing an urgent beeping from the helm, he snapped awake and checked the source of the alarm. Reading the sensor, he realized that the runabout was approaching the [i]Victory[/i]. Stretching slightly, he tapped the console to bring them in on an approach. Staring out of the viewport, he marveled at the Victory's sleek and sharp lines. She was a magnificent ship and one he was glad to keep heading back to, even if it was briefly. Tapping the communications panel, he opened a channel to the Victory's helmsman.

"Victory, this is Starfleet runabout callsign Sierra Romeo approaching off of your port quarter, requesting priority landing clearance."

==========

Penny's eyes went wide with surprise at the sound of a familiar voice. "Acknowledged runabout," she said, excitedly. "Komo mai! Shuttlebay will be ready in thirty seconds!" She quickly plied her boards, sending word down to the shuttlebay to clear a landing space. "Welcome back."

Alec, after talking with Nicole, had returned to the bridge and went directly to Penny. "Penny. We're going in circles. The automated freighter that left the planet, remember it? What if Torrance used it's ion trail to cover his own when he left the planet with the Captain? Then, when he was far enough away, he changed course and headed for his base?" Alec rushed on. "I need you to plot the most logical direction he would have headed. Hopefully that will lead us to his base and the Captain."

Penny tilted her head, thinking. "Okay," she said, brightly, going over the freighter's flight plan and checking the local star charts. She kept focused on her board, not looking as Alec returned to his office.

Camille was at the science station when the message from the runabout came in, and recognized the excitement in Penny’s voice. She had said ‘welcome back.’ He had been here before? “Pardon me, Penny, but who is this person coming aboard?”

"Oh, it's Lieutenant Taggart," Penny said, brightly. "He's Nicole's..." she paused just past the nick of time. "Friend." she finished, blushing and putting her face over her boards.

“Penny...” Camille replied, squinting across the room. Being probably not professional to ask for more details across the bridge, she got up and walked over to the helm station. “You’re blushing. C’est qui? Un ancien amour?”

"C'est compliqué," Penny whispered. "I'm going for a coffee break," she said to no one in particular and stood up, motioning for Markus to take over and headed for the turbolift.

“Damn it, Penny!” Camille whispered as her friend left the bridge. She couldn’t follow, so instead she returned to her station. But this conversation wasn’t over.

It took an extra moment to realize that perhaps Penny wanted her to follow. She kept working at her station another few minutes before excusing herself to the ladies' room. She left the bridge, quietly identified where Penny was, and headed that way.

==========

Acting First Officer's Log

"It's been two days since the Captain has been taken. The crew has been exhausting every possible avenue in order to find her. So far no success. However I must say that watching them and how hard they have been working has only made me prouder to have them as my shipmates. I knew that having Nathan help on this mission was just asking for trouble. However the Captain was also right in the fact that we needed his help with our mission. On a side note. Even though I have never wanted a higher level of command, I have found myself doing that repeatedly over the last couple of years. Until the Captain is rescued I have to once again serve as the ship's XO, which means I have a duty to preform. I have asked the Ship's Counselor Lt. Cassandra Sanders and the Chief Medical Officer Lt. Nicole Anderson to meet me in sickbay. All they know is that I needed their input on somethings." ~ End Log

[Sickbay]

Miguel walked into sickbay exactly at the time he had said he'd meet them. That was one of the benefits of his genetic makeup was the internal clock he had was near perfect. The only thing that could upset it was if he something interrupted his conscious thought. He only hoped the the other two would be as on time as he made his way to the CMO's office.

Nicole and Cassandra looked up from their muted conversation as Torres stepped into the doorway. "Commander," Nicole said. "How can we be of service?"

Miguel looked around to make sure that no one was within ear shot. He didn't want this to be overheard, yet he needed it to look as if it were just a normal consultation. "As you both know... since the Captain went missing I've been serving as Acting XO. In that capacity I'm responsible for the safety of the crew. We all know that Commander Hunter and the Captain are close. What I need to know from the two of you is have either of you is your opinion on how he's been handling it. I haven't noticed anything as yet, but then again I'm not trained in looking for that. So what have your observations been?" Miguel asked in a soft and yet audible tone that didn't betray the seriousness of what he was asking.

Nicole immediately sealed the entry to her office and gestured to Cassandra, who smoothed her uniform. "I've spoken to him and so far he seems relatively stable. He's upset, naturally, and he's extremely fixated on finding the Captain. I would say he's somewhat daunted by suddenly being in Command for an unspecified period of time, but I don't think it's beyond his capabilities. While he is most definitely affected, in my professional opinion his judgement is not impaired by it."

Nicole nodded. "I would have to concur," she said. "He's been stalking the corridors for the past two days, and I doubt he's sleeping well, but he's focused and determined right now. Overall, I'd say he's handling it as well as could be expected."

Miguel nodded in agreement with the both of them. "Good keep me informed if you notice any changes." he told them both."Now that that is done." he turned to the counselor. "How is the rest of the crew holding up?" he asked.

"The knowledge of the Captain being kidnapped has everyone a bit on edge," she said. "But the prospect of the Terran Empire starting to make footholds into our universe is disturbing them more. There are already whispers of who can be trusted and what can be done. Doctor Anderson's confirmation of the crew all being from our reality has helped stem the tide of anxiety, but it will eventually rise again. We need to take steps to ensure that trust is not lost among the crew."

"My team has been upgrading the internal sensors so that they'll be able to conduct scans for the quantum signatures of those from the mirror universe. They should be done in another 48 hours." he informed them both.

"I'd keep an eye out for transporter signals," Nicole said. "From what I've read, they're rather adept with them. I'll continue random checks with the crew, including senior staff." She sighed and sat back, looking at Cassandra. "What I wouldn't give for a full blown telepath right now."

"We already have the sensors looking for what we have on record about their transporter signals. We might not be able to stop them from beaming on, but we'll at least know about it. And once engineering finishes the internal sensor upgrades, we'll be able to detect any of them that are on board. But there is still one thing that bothers me...." he told them and then paused for awhile. "From what we've been able to determine thus far, these Terrans, have been here for years. So yes it's possible that several of them have infiltrated Starfleet. But what's also possible is that they've coerced some members that are native to this universe to work for them." he added grimly.

"Well, I have far too much on my to-do list to have time to work for someone else as well," Nicole said. "So I'm safe."

"And on that comforting note," Cassandra said, standing up. "I won't take up any more of your time," she said, smoothly leaving Nicole's office.

==========
-Security office-

Arashi had been running ideas through the computer to track the missing captain and whoever took her. As it stood that was an impossible task. He had run simulations on tracking warp trails, which when they tracked them for real were fake. The possibility of tracking a cloaked ship crossed his mind but that turned out to be a dead end since he did not know whether the ship even had a cloaking device. Then he had an epiphany. "Why didn't I think of this before!?" He said to no one in particular and decided to track the quantum signature of the ship, because if it was from the Mirror universe, that would mean that they could be tracked by their unique quantum signature. He was proud of himself and he decided to talk to someone about it.

 

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