"Sir the signal is an older form of sub-space and it appears to originate from a system a couple light years from here," Lt. Ivanovna reported as the captain and first officer exited the turbolift on to the bridge.
"What do we know about the system the signal is coming from?" Commander Yilaan asked.
"The signal is coming from the only class M planet in the system. An attempt was apparently made to inhabit it long ago; however, that colony ship disappeared, and no other has made an attempt," Lt. Reiv reported.
"No other? Why not?" Captain Freeman asked in disbelief.
Lt. Reiv pushed away the conn station panel and swiveled in his chair to face the captain. "They say the planet is haunted sir," he said.
The captain paced about and then paused a moment. "Haunted, eh? Well then we have ghosts sending us a signal?" the captain observed.
"I don't know sir," Reiv replied.
The captain rubbed his chin. "Well, the signal deserves investigating." He turned to Ensign Gates, "Ensign plot a course for the origin of this signal and engage at Warp Five."
"Aye sir, Warp Five engaged," said Ensign Gates as her hands moved swiftly over the controls to carry out the captain's command.
The Bristol traveled for an hour before slowing to impulse power to travel in system. Within another half hour, the ship was approaching the class M planet.
"Approaching Alyas Five," Ensign Gates reported, referring to the class M planet in question.
"Standard orbit Ensign," the captain ordered. "Lt. Ivanovna, scan for the origin of that signal, and scan for life signs on the surface."
"Standard orbit aye," said Gates.
"Captain, I'm detecting multiple humanoid life signs; perhaps a community of sorts," Lt. Ivanovna responded.
"What? Who's there?" the captain said. "There shouldn't be anyone there."
No one answered the rhetorical question. "Captain I'm detecting an energy wave heading for us from the planet!" the Russian security chief Lt. Ivanovna said suddenly.
"Shields up! Go to yellow alert," the captain ordered as he sat in the command chair. "Evasive maneuvers."
"Evasive initiated Captain," Ensign Gates said, and the Bristol accelerated and lurched to its starboard side.
"The wave is following; impact in twenty seconds," said Ivanovna as she braced herself.
"All hands, brace for impact!" Commander Yilaan called out.
Everyone braced for the supposed impact. However, no massive force was felt, and the crew looked at each other in confusion. One of the back science stations sparked and became non-operational.
The intercom chimed, "Bridge this is the Transporter Chief. All six personnel transporters are off-line. I haven't checked on the ones in the cargo bays, but I'd imagine they're not working either."
"Thank you Chief. Check on the cargo bays and let me know their status. How long to repair the systems?" asked the captain.
"Unknown sir, I..." the transporter chief started to say but was interrupted by an overlapping intercom communication.
"Engineering to Sickbay, medical emergency!" came an unfamiliar voice from Engineering.
"Acknowledged, I'll be right there," the familiar voice of Dr. Giovanni responded.
The captain looked alarmed, "Engineering, this the captain. Report!"
"Captain, this is Ensign Matthew Tanner. Chief Engineer Jevor has just collapsed sir, and I can't wake him."
"Is he still alive?" Commander Yilaan inserted.
"Yessir," came back the voice of the young ensign.
"Are there any of the assistant chief engineers on duty?" Freeman asked.
"No sir," the ensign replied.
"Summon one of them Ensign," the captain ordered. He then turned to his tactical officer, "Status of shields, Lt.?"
"Shields still at full strength sir; however our shields provided no protection from the wave, so far as I can tell," Ivanovna reported.
"Impressions Yilaan?" the captain asked his first officer.
"I don't think it was an attack sir. I think the beam was a scan of some sort and the malevolent effects were an unfortunate side effect," said Yilaan matter-of-factly.
"I was kind of thinking the same thing. Lt. Ivanovna, do you detect any further activity?" the captain asked.
"No sir," she responded. "Wait, now there's something. Captain, another energy wave!" she looked up from her console at them.
Ensign Gates swirled around, "Sir, we might be able to avoid it by moving to a maximum orbit. I think the beam may have a range limit."
"Do it!" the captain ordered.
The Bristol moved to a maximum orbit, which allowed for continued orbit of the planet, but was outside of transporter range of the surface.
"Beam approaching!" Lt. Reiv said. "Ten seconds. Sir, it is dissipating!" He paused, then added, "No effect. The beam apparently can't reach us sir."
"Try and open a channel to the surface, Lt. Ivanovna," Captain Freeman ordered, then commented sidelong, "Well done Ensign Gates." She smiled at him.
"Aye sir," Ivanovna paused, "No response Captain."
"Keep trying Lt.; I'll be in Sickbay," said the captain.
"Aye," she said as the captain left the bridge.
The captain arrived in Sickbay to see the doctor and several of her assistants rushing around; apparently there were other injuries besides that to Jevor. The captain stood back out of the way and called out to Giovanni, "How's Jevor, Doctor?"
"Not very good," she replied without turning to look at the captain. She was running a scan over Jevor; the expression on her face showed she didn't like what she saw. "Ten c-cs Inaproviline," she requested from an assistant who handed her a hypospray with the appropriate medicine. She shot Jevor with the hypo and turned to glance at the medical readouts; they showed him as being barely alive. Dr. Giovanni did another scan with a tricorder and frowned as an alert simultaneously went off on the medical readout; Jevor's heart had stopped.
She dropped the tricorder and shouted, "Five c-cs Tricordrazine!" to her assistant, who shot Jevor with it himself. Jevor's heart started again, and the medics breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile the captain glanced at the five others that joined Jevor in sickbay. He noted with some interest that three were Andorian, like Commander Jevor, and the other two were Caitian. It was not lost on the captain that the only four Andorian and the only two Caitian members of his crew were now lying in Sickbay, likely the result of that strange scan. He turned to the doctor, "Keep me apprised." She nodded to him, and the captain left sickbay.
Captain Freeman proceeded down a corridor towards a turbolift and tapped his comm-badge, "Engineering, this is the Captain; send a team to assist with transporter repair."
"This is Lt. Tomlinson sir. I already sent a team; Ensign Tanner informed me of the problem," came back the voice of an assistant chief engineer over the intercom.
"Well done Lt.," said the captain as he entered the turbolift.
The captain exited the lift on to the bridge. "Any contact yet?" he asked.
"None sir," Lt. Ivanovna responded shortly. "Still trying."
"Commander can I have a word with you?" the captain said to Commander Yilaan. She nodded and both proceeded into his ready room.
"Commander, I find it extremely odd that there should be people on that planet. I find it even stranger that the entire Andorian and Caitian complement of our crew should be lying in sickbay with serious conditions after that beam hit us. We need to find out what's going on down there," the captain stated.
Commander Yilaan clasped her hands behind her back and nodded. "Aye sir," she agreed, "I could take a shuttlecraft and investigate."
Captain Freeman smiled, "Just what I had in mind Commander."
Both officers exited the ready room; the captain sat in the command chair while the first officer readied her team. "Ivanovna, Reiv, walk with me," Yilaan said. She then contacted Sickbay as she and others began to move towards the turbolift. "Dr. Giovanni, your status," Yilaan requested of the chief medical officer.
"All my patients are alive, but in serious condition. They're stable for now. It was almost as if something just drained some of the life out of them. It would helpful if I had more information," Dr. Marisa Giovanni replied.
"Join us in the shuttle bay Doctor, and maybe you can get your answer. We're going to the planet," Cecilia Yilaan said.
"Aye Commander," the doctor acknowledged.
The four officers arrived in the shuttle bay and boarded the shuttle Xerxes. The doctor had a small medical kit with her.
"Xerxes ready to depart Captain," said the first officer as she activated the shuttle's engines and remotely opened the shuttle bay door.
"Acknowledged. You have the coordinates of the community Commander?"
"Aye," Commander Yilaan said as she piloted the shuttle out of the bay and into open space.
"Good luck Commander; Bristol out," the captain finished.
The captain paced around the bridge while the replacement bridge officers went about their duties.
"The shuttle is entering the planet's atmosphere," Ensign Gates reported after a few moments.
"Thank you Ensign," replied the captain, bringing his attention back to the shuttle expedition.
After a heartbeat, Ensign Gates spoke again; this time her voice was heavy with concern, "Captain, there's something wrong."
"Report," the captain ordered as he strode up to the navigator's station.
"The shuttle's signal is fluctuating; they're losing speed," Gates reported.
"I'm getting a transmission from the Xerxes," said Lt. O'Shea, Ivanovna's replacement at the tactical station. "On screen."
The captain looked up at the screen; the transmission was shaky and garbled. Lines of static were widespread. Commander Yilaan was trying to speak, but her voice was being distorted."
"Yilaan this is the Captain," Freeman shouted over the static. He then glanced over his shoulder to the tactical station, "See if you can clean up the transmission, O'Shea."
"Aye sir," O'Shea replied. "Captain, I'm reading a large atmospheric disturbance around the shuttle."
The captain nodded grimly, turning his attention back to the viewscreen. "Commander Yilaan, come in!" he shouted.
The static cleared momentarily and she responded, "Captain we're caught in some sort of storm," she reported. Her image then became distorted and a garble of words and images continued. "....can't hear you, but we're....is hurt. He was thrown.....," the distorted snips of Yilaan's voice filtered through. Suddenly the screen flashed and there was the sound of screams from the shuttle's occupants.
"Captain, the shuttle has been hit by lightning; they're going down!" Ensign Gates said excitedly.
"Yilaan come in!" shouted the captain. He then tapped his comm-badge, "Transporter Chief, do we have transporter capacity?"
"Negative Captain," the chief responded.
"We're not in range any longer either," Ensign Gates said.
"Dammit!" said the captain angrily.
Snipits of Commander Yilaan's voice filtered in, "....impulse engines.....shields are gone, heavy damage to.....lost.....down. Repeat, we are going down." The transmission then cut out abruptly.
"Commander?" the captain said, "Commander Yilaan, come in!" He turned to Lt. O'Shea, "Reestablish communication."
Lt. O'Shea's fingers danced over the control panel. He looked up at the captain grimly, "No response sir."
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