Echoes from the Nebula

Posted on Tuesday February 22nd, 2022 @ 10:15pm by Commander Kanaka Shakura

1,431 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: S1-A1-Ep. 2: Our Foremost Virtues
Location: XO's Personal Quarters, Deck 02; U.S.S. Poseidon
Timeline: En-route to Starbase 129; One month after the events of S1.A1.Ep. 1: Spectrophobia
Tags: Kanaka "Kana" Shakura, Nightmares, Transit to Starbase 129, Starfleet Intelligence, Betreka Nebula

Executive Officer's Log. Stardate 72136.9.

It has been almost a month since the events that transpired during our last mission within the Betreka Nebula, and it doesn't feel as if the Poseidon and her crew have had even a moment to collect ourselves.

Immediately upon returning to Starbase 47, where we received a modicum of new supplies and rudimentary support to address the extensive damage to the Medbay following acts of sabotage, we received new orders from Starfleet to make our way over towards Starbase 129, close to the Argus Array and Cardassian Space. There, we are to receive into our care a group of Cardassian refugees, who we are then to escort back to Starbase 47 so that they may be safely handled by the relevant Federation authorities.

We'll receive updated orders from Starfleet once we safely secure our charges, but in the meantime the circumstances of this group of refugees - what brought them here, and why Starfleet wishes us to escort them deeper into Federation space - is being kept under tight wraps. Whatever the case, I hope Starbase 129 is able to provide us with more supplies and assistance upon our arrival.

The Poseidon and her crew are working around the clock in order to maximise our ability in light of all these challenges. Lieutenant Commander T'vek is working with the bare minimum in Medical, but despite that is managing to cope. Lieutenant Commander Sharpe is working tirelessly with his department to help keep the ship in as good a state as possible, and Lieutenant Commander T'Pri and Lieutenant Hirsch are working closely to ensure the continued security of the ship. We managed to apprehend those responsible for the sabotage of the Medbay; while most were handed off to Starbase 47, we have been permitted to hold one in the Brig for further questioning during the course of our mission.

I admit, I am apprehensive as to the intentions of Starfleet following the events of the Betreka Nebula. We've received no further word as of yet from Starfleet Intelligence as to the possible threat that was intent on harming us, nor on the likelihood of who the Gorn pirate Russhook' associates were. Our lone saboteur may be able to provide some answers, but I doubt very many. We also have yet to hear anything back on the pirate enclave we were originally pursuing.

All of it has left me disquieted, and in need of some answers...

Kana could tell she was dreaming. Betazoids had a knack for distinguishing between reality and the realm of the subconscious. Yet even she felt a little uneasy in this instance, as what she was experiencing certainly felt real, albeit the body she was inhabiting felt a lot more heavier set and taller then her own.

Seeing things from a first-person perspective, the lumbering mass she seemed to be embodying made its way down what looked like a set of darkened corridors. There were others in the corridors - shadows mostly, existing mostly in their peripheral vision, as if they didn't care to notice them - and they had the distinct feel of a Federation vessel. Except things were a little...off. Since this form she was inhabiting wasn't taking the time to admire details, she couldn't exactly say how, but something certainly felt out of character.

Eventually, the being on whom Kana's subconscious seemed to be riding as passenger came before a doorway. It slid open, and upon stepping in the room was almost entirely pitch black, though there was a large slab of a table in the centre that dominated the space. Lumbering around to one end, she could then see through their eyes that they were looking at two other figures in the room, again obscured in shadow. One sat down at the head of the table, the other at their side.

Another clue that it was a dream was that what occurred next felt very disjointed. Clearly, a conversation had happened, though the sounds Kana heard were no words that she could recognise, though they certainly felt like words. The only thing that did seem to be clear was the tone, switching from very dry and blunt to just outright sinister at times. This continued on for what felt like a good while, and Kana felt as if she was almost suspended, unable to wake herself up.

Then suddenly, a beam of light emerged from the table. A holoprojector, Kana assumed, which was proven right when it begun to produce various images. She was so caught off guard by the light at first that she felt blinded, until eventually everything came back into focus.

"Wait...are those pictures of the crew?" She thought to herself, stunned, as before her were images of each member of the U.S.S. Poseidon's senior staff appearing in quick succession. Sharpe, T'vek, Perkins, T'Pri, Phoebe, Paladin, Franklin and of course herself. When her face appeared at the end, the shadowy figure who stood next to the one seated immediately approached, and as they passed through the rays of light emitted from the holoprojector, their face briefly came into focus.

What Kana saw terrified even her.

~~~~~

Waking up with an abrupt start, the Executive Officer sat up straight in her cot, heart pounding within her rib cage and cold sweat running off her brow. She quickly calmed herself, knowing what she saw was only a dream, and yet...it all felt too real. What she saw couldn't have been what she saw, and yet it was. She didn't know where to even begin. Steadying her breathing and bringing her eyes into focus with the rest of her Quarters, she cleared her now parched throat and spoke out to the room.

"Computer, what is the present time?"

## "The present time is O-Four-Thirty Hours." ## The computer chimed back at her from the darkness.

Kana groaned. "Lights. Replicator, a glass of cold ice water."

As she stirred, the rooms lights gradually rose so as to not immediately hurt her eyes. Meanwhile, the Replicator on the adjacent wall immediately materialised a tall glass of water with ice. Stretching as she stood, the Commander walked over and retrieved her water, drinking it quickly due to the sudden thirst she had. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of the stars passing by in her viewport. One thing she couldn't help but notice is the large expanse of darkness between all those stars; part of her felt that, in light of recent events, she was beginning to notice it a lot more.

Suddenly, one of the many PADDs organised across the desk - a much more modestly sized one than the one in her Chief Counsellor's Office - came to life. Due to the way she had organised the chaos of all the PADDs she had come to juggle as Executive Officer, she knew from the position at which it was placed that it was her PADD for the most recent Starfleet Intelligence briefings.

Walking over and tapping on the screen, it took her eyes a moment to focus on the information that it was relaying. Still holding her glass of ice water, she took another sip of the little that was left. Then, she stopped. "Wait..." she gasped aloud as she started from the top of the PADD again, placing the glass down. Picking up the PADD, she went and sat down on the edge of her bed.

She re-read the message almost three times.

Starfleet Intelligence was informing her that, according to reports received from the U.S.S. Carla Romney and the U.S.S. Nautilus, the pirate enclave base that the U.S.S. Poseidon had been hot on the tale of only a month ago, and had likely been the origin of multiple offensive pirate actions in recent months, was now only a cloud of debris. Somehow, under the Carla Romney's and Nautilus's noses, it had been utterly destroyed. The circumstances which led to this outcome were as of yet still to be determined.

None of it made any sense to Kana, and the more she tried to come to grips with the possibilities of what had happened, the more she grew to fear for the Poseidon's continued safety. While they had long since left the reach of this now apparently dead base, the danger still seemed to be lurking close behind...

[END]

Cmdr. Kanaka "Kana" Shakura
Executive Officer & Chief Counsellor
U.S.S. Poseidon

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