The Perseus entered the unknown gaseous effect with little fanfare. Lieutenant Reiv was at the helm of the craft while Lieutenant Ivanovna manned its tactical station. Also travelling with the pair were Lieutenant Michaels and Ensign Leland, officers in the Bristol's science division. Reiv eased the ship in at one-eighth impulse power, and while Ivanovna kept an eye out for anything dangerous, the two scientists began intensively scanning and recording the data they retrieved from the phenomenon.
The Bristol kept an open comm channel to the Perseus, which was occasionally interrupted by static due to electromagnetic interference. Its Bridge crew, consisting primarily of Captain Freeman and Commander Yilaan in the command chairs, Lieutenant Hathaway at the Conn, Ensign Carlon at Navigations, and Lieutenant O'Shea at the Tactical Station, waited patiently for any report from the Runabout.
Eventually, Lieutenant Michaels' voice broke through the static, "Captain, this is very interesting."
"What is it, Lieutenant?"
"Well sir, from some of our initial readings, the core of this thing isn't at all what I expected. Our scans from on board the Bristol only indicated a field of energy, a gravitational presence. What we've found so far is in fact a field of energy, but it is much more concentrated and active than I would've guessed. The gravitational emanations come from this source and are strong," she reported.
"Any danger to the ship, Lieutenant Ivanovna?" Freeman inquired.
"Not as far as I can see. Lieutenant Reiv's expert helm control has adequately compensated for the gravitational pull on our craft," Ivanovna replied dryly. Reiv made a face at her, but said nothing in response.
The Perseus continued its mission of scanning and recording, checking in with the Bristol at regular intervals. Captain Freeman and Commander Yilaan had adjourned to the captain's Ready Room, where they spent their time going over crew evaluation reports. The captain had ordered apple juice, three degrees Celsius, from his food dispenser, and had summoned up coffee for Commander Yilaan, before the two had sat down and started working.
"Well, okay, first things first I guess," Freeman mused over his beverage. "Lieutenant Sims seems to be on report by Lieutenant Ivanovna every time I turn around. What is his problem? You've talked to him."
Yilaan nodded, frowning, "I have, and so have the ship's counselors. I think that, despite the Lieutenant's arguments to the contrary, the death of his sister in a swimming accident on Earth last month has affected him more deeply than he's willing to admit."
"Do you think our counselors can help him through this before he ruins his career?" Freeman asked matter-of-factly. "I mean, we all feel for the man, but he's a step away from demotion at this point."
Yilaan sat back in her chair and paged through the contents of a portable document holder, rubbing her chin as she stopped to examine one section. "We might be able to, but I think he'd get better care at a Starbase medical facility. There would be less distractions for him; he'd have no responsibilities, other than dealing with his emotions."
"Or would putting him off the ship do more harm than good?" Freeman inquired. "He's among friends here, after all; he'd be all alone at a Starbase."
Yilaan smiled at her captain. "Weren't you just arguing for putting him off the ship a moment ago?"
Freeman shook his head as he drank some of his juice. "I wasn't arguing for transferring him in as much as I want to try and do what's best for him and for this ship."
"Well, I'll talk to him again," Yilaan replied simply after a pause. "We're due to put in to Starbase 78 in a few weeks anyway; we can transfer him at that time if it's appropriate."
Freeman nodded and punched a couple of buttons on his computer. "Now then, on to happier tidings," Freeman said, half to himself. He sat and read the contents of his screen for a moment, then glanced up at his First Officer. "Both Ensign Bradley of Security and Lieutenant Junior Grade Lofton of Medical are up for promotions to Lieutenant Junior Grade and Lieutenant respectively. Their service records are both exemplary, particularly Bradley's. Both Ivanovna and Doctor Giovanni think highly of their respective charges." Freeman shrugged and folded his hands. "Do you have any comments? I don't see a problem with promoting them both."
Yilaan shook her head and crossed her legs as she skimmed copies of the information Freeman referred to in her portable document holder. Freeman leaned forward on to his desk and waited for Yilaan to finish reading. "Fine by me Captain," she said finally. "I agree with you completely; they're both capable officers and their skills and experience are compatible with deserving promotions." Freeman nodded at her and began to enter some information into his computer. "I've noted of late that Ivanovna's been using the computer to test herself on command protocols. She'd be capable of trying for Lieutenant Commander in a few months; and what with her department head experience and all, I'd be surprised if she wasn't a shoe-in," Yilaan commented.
Freeman didn't look up as he stoically replied, "Mmm-hmm," to Yilaan's report, causing Yilaan to smile to herself. "Okay," he said at last. "I've recorded the promotions with the computer. I'll call the two officers up here at the ends of their shifts and give them the good news."
Yilaan was about to reply when all of a sudden the ship lurched violently to starboard as though it had struck something; or more likely, something had struck the ship. Freeman and Yilaan were thrown violently to one side; both managed to grab ahold of the table they were seated at to prevent themselves from roughly striking the floor. Their drinks, however, had no such dexterity, as both cups slid to the carpet and disgorged their contents. In a flash, the ship's red alert klaxon was blaring, and the ship's two senior officers were on their feet and headed out the door of the Ready Room and on to the Bristol's main Bridge. The ship was then struck again, causing the two officers to nearly lose their footing.
"Report, O'Shea!" Freeman called out over the blaring of the klaxon.
"We have been engaged by a Romulan destroyer, which decloaked to port; our weapons are locked, and our shields are up," O'Shea quickly replied.
"Return fire; target their engines and weapons if you can," Freeman ordered as he and Yilaan took their seats. "Damage report, Lieutenant."
O'Shea fired the ship's phasers, "I've scored hits; the shields around their forward weapons array and engines have been weakened. We're loading torpedo bays. They caught us by surprise sir. We took damage to our sensor array and secondary hull; the first hits came with our shields down..." O'Shea then interrupted himself, "Captain, incoming torpedoes!"
"Hathaway, give me evasive action," Freeman ordered quickly.
"Coming about to two-seventeen, mark three-five-eight sir; increasing to two-thirds impulse," Lieutenant Hathaway replied as he engaged the new course. The torpedoes missed the Bristol, but disappeared into the gaseous anomaly that the Perseus was charting.
Freeman saw this and blinked; barely hesitating a moment, he continued, "O'Shea, get me the Runabout and continue to fire on the Romulan vessel."
The Bristol had pulled away from the gaseous anomaly somewhat, and engaged the Romulan ship with its phaser banks and aft photon torpedoes. "Several hits sir, and I have the Runabout on audio; Federation scrambler frequency three-nine," O'Shea replied after a few moments, as he efficiently handled several tasks at once. The ship shook as more Romulan disruptor fire found its home.
"Reiv this is the captain, take ..." Freeman began, when suddenly the viewscreen, which had been focused on the Romulan and the gaseous anomaly, filled with a bright flash of light for several seconds before returning to normal.
The Romulan ship, its shields nearing collapse from the combat, turned tail and ran, recloaking itself as it did so. For now, however, all attention focused on the gaseous anomaly. "Reiv this is Captain Freeman, come in," he called. When no reply came, he stood and looked over the tactical station at Lieutenant O'Shea. "Reestablish communication with the Perseus, Lieutenant," he ordered.
O'Shea worked feverishly at his controls before looked up at the captain and shaking his head. "I'm unable to reach the Runabout now sir."
"Were they destroyed Captain?" Lieutenant Hathaway asked, an edge in his voice as he swiveled about in his chair to face Freeman and Yilaan. "Are they..."
Turning to face the front of the Bridge, Freeman put up his right hand and interrupted his anxious helmsman. "Don't jump to conclusions Lieutenant. Their comm system may be damaged." Freeman then turned back to O'Shea, "Maintain yellow alert for now, and keep the shields up. No more surprises. What is the full extent of our damage?"
Lieutenant O'Shea pressed a few buttons on his control panel before reporting, "There was a minor hull breach on Deck 26, near the Arboretum. The computer sealed it immediately. Our primary sensors are also malfunctioning. We also took several minor hits to various sections in the primary hull. However, warp drive is online, shields are functional, and weapons are available at your command." Freeman was about to thank O'Shea for his report, but a troubled expression on the lieutenant's face kept him quiet. "Captain, one of the hits damaged a part of the ship containing the children's school; there are numerous injuries. Sickbay is responding."
Yilaan put a hand on Freeman's right shoulder, "Captain, Lieutenant Hathaway's daughter Melanie was in that section."
Freeman looked at Yilaan, then at his helmsman, who sat, staring straight ahead at the viewscreen, nervously rapping his fingers on his console, but saying nothing. He almost imagined he could see the beads of uncertainty and worry coursing down Hathaway's brow. "Mister Hathaway, we seem to be out of danger for the moment. Commander Yilaan is relieving you; see to your daughter."
Hathaway was up and out of his seat in a flash. "Thank you Captain," he said, flashing a quick smile before darting off the Bridge via the port-fore turbolift. Yilaan took his place at the helm position.
"Lieutenant O'Shea, tell the damage control teams that their first priority is repairing the sensors; if the Perseus is damaged or crippled, we'll need the sensors back online before we can attempt a rescue," Freeman ordered, getting back to business. He strode forward until he reached the helm and navigation stations, putting one hand on the back of Yilaan's chair. "Commander, can you sense anything? I know on occasion you can sense the thoughts of others over great distances..." Freeman quietly requested, letting his sentence trail off.
Commander Yilaan sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. A look of calm concentration came over her face for a minute before her eyes fluttered open and she looked over her shoulder at Captain Freeman. "I'm sorry sir; I couldn't sense any trace of them."
"Very well," Freeman said in a low voice as he returned to his command chair. He flipped open a panel on the armature of his chair and had the computer summon a reserve helmsman to relieve Yilaan. That completed, he closed the panel and stared at the viewscreen, waiting for a report, unconsciously tapping the panel with the fingers of his right hand.
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