Stardate: Now

Obsidian Sector

 

Hou Yi’s Stellar Cartography lab had begun to fill with a low murmur of conversation as its senior officers and crew assembled for what promised to be a pivotal briefing. The projected stars and nebulae painted the scene in a kaleidoscope of colors, lending an otherworldly glow to the gathered beings. Despite the beauty of space all around them, the air was thick with the weight of unspoken questions. The underlying current of rumors that had swirled and eddied around their accelerated departure from spacedock seemed to be gathered together in this one chamber, embodied by the holographic star map shining down on them, displaying their immediate sector and beyond into Romulan territory.

Down on the control island, on a somewhat lower level than the laboratory space where the crew gathered, Commander Akia was little more than a dark silhouette against the starry backdrop as he finished going over a few remaining shipboard matters with Wyatt and the new head of Navigation, Cykran. The low hum of curiosity from above swelled into a rising tide of conversation as the time for the briefing approached.  He had summoned most of Hou Yi’s command structure to this briefing: all bridge officers, all department heads, all senior NCOs. He swept his gaze over the assembled officers and enlisted personnel as they slowly filed in, a microcosm of the multivariate life of the Federation. Among them were old friends whose capabilities he’d relied on in the past, as well as new faces whose mettle had already been tested in the turmoil of their accelerated launch. They were still inchoate as a team, but already showing signs of the cohesion they would need—a mix of species, disciplines and experiences, all united by the common life they had chosen. He took a moment to absorb the energy of their collective experience and readiness. Then, seeing that the time had arrived, he put his thoughts aside and swept the group with a light but focused touch of sonar. The common gesture, that of a leader reaching out to his pod, brought the other Cetaceans among them naturally to order. The rest followed suit a moment later, perhaps not understanding the gesture itself, but sensing the change in cohesion. The low murmur of conversation ebbed away. An expectant silence settled.

“Some of you, I’ve had the honor of sailing with before,” he began without further preamble. “Others, this will be our first trip. I’m sorry that we’ve had so little time to get acquainted. As you’re all aware, we’ve launched quite a bit ahead of schedule, and for reasons that were, to say the least, vague. I appreciate the professionalism you’ve all shown in handling all the uncertainties.”

“You’ve probably all heard the rumors, about a covert mission deep into Romulan space. Something about their internal politics. As some of you might suspect,” he said with an acknowledging glance to one or two knowing smirks, “Those rumors are entirely false. Command thought it best to seed them in channels we know to be monitored by Romulan intelligence, in hopes of keeping our neighbors from thinking too much about where else we might be going, before we have a chance to get there. Now that we’re underway, I can tell you that our actual mission is far more important, and—I hope—has nothing to do with Romulans.”

He nodded to Cykran. A new set of coordinates appeared on the map, marking a region on the fringes of explored space, northward of what remained of the Romulan Empire. The stars rushed past them as the holographic map zoomed in, illuminating a course highlighted in red.

“Six days ago,” Akia continued, “Starfleet lost contact with a geophysical survey team in the Angelan sector. As of today, they’ve been declared overdue and missing. Our job is to find them. We’ll be joining a task force of three other ships already in the area, and will divide the work between us. But of all those assigned, we’re the best equipped for a search operation, and I fully expect that in the end, it will be up to us.”

The room’s atmosphere tensed as the gravity of his words began to sink in on the officers assembled. It was a large region to cover, even for a small flotilla, and time would be a crucial factor.

“The ship we’re hunting for,” he went on, “Is the T’Rukhemai. Some of you may know someone aboard.” He scanned the expressions, felt that one or two might, and emphasized his next words with a broadband pulse. “Take heart, if you do. We have no reason yet to expect the worst. As of now, they’re merely overdue. The region’s seen some heavy ion storms in the past few weeks. If that’s the cause, and they followed procedure, this may simply be a communications disruption. But if they do need help, we’re not going to let them down.” He let a pause fill the space, every officer going over the mission in their own mind. “Any questions, before we adjourn?”

“Captain, is there any reason to expect raiders or enemy action may be involved?” asked Sheza.

“We have no indication of that yet, Ensign,” Akia replied up to the Tellarite. “But, you know, space loves to surprise us. I want you to keep your sensors peeled and our phasers tuned.” There was a low murmur of agreement around the room.

“Anyone else?” he asked, sweeping the assembled faces. Seeing only determination and focus, he straightened up. “All right, then,” he concluded. “Remember, we’ve been chosen for this mission not just for who we are individually, but for what we can accomplish together.  Get to your departments and brief your teams. Work with Counseling if anyone’s personally affected. Those people out there have faith in us. Let’s take this as an opportunity to prove them right. Dismissed.” The gathering dispersed, each officer to their own team.

“Chief,” he added, directing the word to Naarim, before the engineer could leave. He glided over, joining the Bajoran beside the doors. “You’ve had time to go over your personnel files?” he asked.

The engineer obviously had, and nodded with sad understanding. “I’ll talk to the kid.”

Akia shook his head. “That’s my job. You’ll talk to him after. I’ll need to borrow your office.” With a decisive flick of his tail, he propelled himself through the doors and into the corridor. Some things he would delegate, but informing a crewman that his mother had just been declared missing was a duty that fell to him alone.