Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Caught In Time

ULC 29 – Temporal Intrigue – Prompt 3 “Mouse Problems”

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Omazei stood at the display on the wall and failed to stifle a yawn.  Everyone in the room started yawning as she spoke.

“I’m sorry about that, although I’m sure we are all, literally, tired of losing sleep.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and Omazei tapped a key on the screen.  A blurry image of a red-colored bipedal creature appeared.  The initial image changed with another of the same creature from a different angle, then another image as if on a rotation.

“This is our newest residence, Nunpar Hablas.  Discovered on Konar III in 2398 by the crew of the USS Ernst Mach, ironically, while on a routine planetary survey.  Logs reveal exactly what we’ve been encountering: loss of sleep from persistent interruption by these –“

As if on queue, a creature like on the screen passed through the wall closest to Kathryn’s chair.  The Nunpar ran in a blur and seemed to fly onto the table and ‘stopped’ in front of Kathryn.  Standing about 13 centimeters, it looked like a miniature humanoid and although standing still, it seemed to be in constant motion.  A high-pitched buzz emanated from the blurry creature as it waved its arms erratically.  Then it zoomed to stand in front of the Klingon Security Officer.

Bur’ar rubbed his eyes then pounded fists on the table as if to crush the Nunpar, which dodged the sudden attack.  No one else reacted to his actions.  The buzz intensified for a second, and then the Nunpar ran off the table and through the door of the room whose sensors registered the movement and opened belatedly.

“Forgive me Captain, I lost control,” sighed Bur’ar.

Kathryn rubbed her temples.  “Sadly, I sympathize with you.”  She looked to Omazei, who read the look on Kathryn’s face to continue.

“Yes, well, in summary, these creatures are fast and annoying.  Universal translators don’t seem to work on the Nunpar.  It seems the surveyors made very little effort to communicate with the Nunpar and the logs reflect a rather heightened exasperation that stymied their work.  The Ernst Mach laid warning buoys in the system because of their experience.  There are no recorded instances of the Nunpar off-planet.”

Anthi growled, “until now.”

Kathryn smiled at her First Officer’s remark.  “Okay.  A few questions.”

“Only a few?”  Anthi’s dark-shaded eyes flashed angrily, her antennae twitching as she interrupted her Captain.  Quickly she raised her hands as if to surrender.  “I’m sorry, sir.”

Nodding sympathetically, Kathyn spoke as she continued to rub her temples.   “How many do we have on board?  How did they get here?  How do we get them off?”

Chief Engineer Thel calmly responded, “I’ve scoured the transporter logs and these … things, are not in the database.  So they were either physically brought on board or transported from another source.”

Omazei stepped away from the display.  “Reports about this creature appeared nine days ago.  We have not passed another ship or starbase in thirteen days.  It’s possible it came aboard somehow during our last stop at Deep Space Eight.  Their Chief Constable replied to my query the other day and do not report anything similar.  Based on internal reports, I think we only have one.”

Buzzing returned and everyone started looking around until the Nunpar jumped through the center of the table.  It ran around in circles, collided with Bur’ar’s hand, and then ricocheted off the edge of the table.  Still vibrating it sank through the floor.

Kathryn looked shocked at the others.  “So.  How do we get rid of it?”

“Um, are we curious how it didn’t pass through Bur’ar?”  Omazei asked.

“No,” replied the others in unison.

“Or how it has not run out into outer space?”

“No,” everyone copied.

After light laughter from the group, Anthi cleared her throat.  “Seriously, we know it’s vibrating so fast as to be able to pass through solid matter without problems.”

“Except organic matter,” added Omazei after another yawn.

“Right, well I’m not going to make recommendations for a trap of that kind.  I could … but I won’t.”

Thel tapped the table loudly.  “We have to find a way to stop it long enough to trap it into something inanimate.”

Kathryn’s mental fog lifted at the idea of a box made of thin air.  “I have an idea.”

+++

Omazei stood from the trap laid out within the cargo bay.  Four posts about three meters high were spread out in a square about fifteen meters apart.  Closing a tricorder, she turned Kathryn and nodded.

Kathryn tapped her badge.  “Helm, full stop.”

“Acknowledged,” replied a male voice.  The ship’s engines lost power and the ambient sound of warp travel faded.

At a nearby console, Kathryn tapped a few keys on a console and the four posts activated, a faint blue spark intermittently appearing  between the columns to reveal the ‘walls’.  Otherwise the space within the trap was peaceful.

Bur’ar lifted a phaser pistol and adjusted a setting before firing into the trap.  The beam penetrated two meters past the invisible barrier before slowing down.   After a few seconds, Bur’ar stopped firing.  Within the trap, the phaser beam slowly traversed the distance until it came to a stop at the center.

Omazei opened her tricorder and scanned the area.  Impressed, she whistled before continuing her scans.  “The trap is maintaining temporal integrity, with time effectively stopped in the center.”

Thel looked up from his Engineering console.  “Power input from the warp core is stable.”

Kathryn nodded and she yawned.  “Good.”

Anthi stepped up to Kathryn and stretched.  “What do we do with the Nunpar once we’ve caught it?”

“Unless we race back to Konor III, I have no idea.  I’m too tired to come up with something witty.”

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Cast For Crew:
Kathryn Beringer - Rachel Nichols
Anthi Ythysi - Kathryn Winnick
Thel Ythysi - Kevin Sorbo
Omazei - Gemma Arterton
Bur’ar - David Ramsey

Thursday, June 22, 2017

All For Many

Unofficial Literary Challenge 28 - "Abandoned"  Prompt 3

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All For Many

Continued from To Look No Further

Solonae Dyson Sphere, 2409

“We’ve reviewed your recommendation, Captain Beringer.” Admiral Janice Mathers smiled and paused to lace her fingers on the desk. “To be honest, I’m a fan of the proposal. There is merit and moxie in it.” Her smile slowly faded. “But others on the panel are not convinced resources should be used toward the endeavor.”

Kathryn nodded appreciatively. “Fair enough Admiral Mathers. I was hoping maintaining radio silence during the search would be a deal sweetener. As you know, the proposal seeks to find missing crew that went out to explore a strange new world.”

“As you know, it’s rare for ships to go missing, but the galaxy is a big place and exploration has it’s challenges. They knew the risks involved. ”

Undaunted, Kathryn continued, “the difference is that the Misericorde disappeared within a confined area.”

“Past the shield barrier,” countered Janice. “It’s like the Wild West out there. Your proposal is effectively abandoning Solaris to the mysteries and dangers that got Misericorde lost in the first place. Without some support, Starfleet may as well strike another ship off the list.”

Kathryn pressed on. “Anything is possible. Yet, Solaris is a fast ship for his age and my crew is more than capable to handle this mission. We’ve been conducting sorties against Voth and Undine predation fleets for several weeks now. We have gained a lot of experience dealing with them. My ship is equipped with state-of-the art sensors and weapons. There have been very little roster changes in months. Morale is high over here.”

The Admiral sat back and drummed her fingers before asking, “why Solaris, why now?”

Sighing under her breath, Kathryn then realized the Admiral was vocalizing the review panel’s discussion. “I understand the panel’s concerns. But the reality is that Solaris is not a front line vessel. Even though we’ve been combat active at Dyson Command, before that we were transporting material and personnel more than usual the past year. You’ve seen the latest ships out of SCE: the Avenger is warfare in art form! But it’s not like Solaris by an Astronomical Unit about general capabilities. Save the latest and greatest against the here and now. Send me and my crew to find the Misericorde.”

Admiral Mathers tightened her lips. “I support you, Captain. But tell me something the panel hasn’t heard already.”

Kathryn looked away for a few seconds to look at a blank section of wall in her office before looking back to Janice. “In my observations, sir, I think the Undine threat is a precursor to something bigger and we are going to need every ship in the fleet. If there is a chance the Misericorde is intact, then we’ll need it. More importantly though, there are over three hundred Starfleet person’s missing out there. They deserve to be found. Their families need them to be found. In my line of work, ‘risks involved’ is a mediocre response to complacency.”

The Admiral’s eyebrows lifted again and Kathryn quickly added, “respectfully, of course.”

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Cast for crew: - Audrey Marie Anderson
Kathryn Beringer - Rachel Nichols