Gamma
Posted on Sun Oct 25th, 2026 @ 9:13pm by Captain Rhenora Kaylen & Commander Jennifer Baldric & Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Commander Jenna Ramthorne & Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali
2,582 words; about a 13 minute read
Mission:
The Haunting of Deck 12
Location: Gamma Quadrant
The journey through the wormhole was swift and uneventful for the most part. Captain Kaylen returned to her command chair, legs crossed comfortably before her, the crew working like a well oiled machine. The ship itself through the odd niggle here and there- not completely unexpected after an extended and extensive repair.
The wormhole exit blossomed before them, widening to reveal the starscape of the Gamma quadrant. Still largely uncharted, Starfleet was slowly starting to reassert itself in this place after the war.
It would take a day for them to reach the nebula that Command wanted them to study - J class were extremely rare and always unique - the chance to study them left the Sunfire's science department almost delirious with excitement.
"Take her out nice and steady" She coaxed as they neared the aperture.
Aurora was enjoying the ride as she sat in her seat, it was nice to be out amongst the stars again. She shivered for a moment offering a wry smile. “Now that was weird, it felt like someone walked over my grave, as the old earth saying goes.”
Jenna settled into her seat at the helm, checked their heading against the navigation display, and laid her hand over the Engage control. “Aye, Captain. Course laid in, ready on your command.” She kept her attention on the viewscreen, watching the Gamma Quadrant stars emerge beyond the wormholes' shimmering threshold, while Aurora’s comment lingered in the back of her mind.
A wry smile tugged at one corner of Jenna’s mouth. “You know, sailors have their own version of that saying. A sudden chill or an uneasy feeling before a voyage was sometimes taken as a warning from the sea.”
"Indeed. Ancient mariners also had a saying, Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning. Red sky at night, sailor's delight." Savar replied as he looked at the others, "Not that is significant here other than to show how superstitious they were."
Aurora smiled. “I’m going to take note of all these sayings I find them fascinating.”
"I am pleased you find the sayings fascinating Aurora. I shall endeavor to supply more for you to take note of." Savar answered.
"Take us out Jenna, let's hope for clear skies" The Captain replied, relaxing into the journey. The ship exited the wormhole without so much as a shudder, sliding into the Gamma Quadrant as though gracefully exiting a slippery dip. The stars were unfamiliar and in the distance a nebula blossomed blood red against the dark sky.
"Set a course for the J class nebula, heading 145 mark 24, warp 4"
Jenna acknowledged the order with a crisp nod, her gaze moving between the navigation display and the blood-red nebula hanging in the distance. “Aye, Captain. Heading one-four-five mark two-four, warp four.” Her fingers moved across the controls, laying in the final adjustments before she engaged the drive. The familiar vibration of the Sunfire settled beneath her feet as the stars stretched into brilliant lines and the ship surged forward, leaving the wormhole behind them.
For a few moments, Jenna studied the nebula as it slowly grew on the viewscreen, its crimson clouds twisting against the darkness like smoke caught in an unseen current. “Warp four, course steady,” she reported. “Estimated arrival in approximately twenty-three hours, assuming the route stays clear.” Her eyes returned to the red haze ahead, curiosity edging into her otherwise measured expression. “I have to admit, Captain, that is one impressive shade of red. Let’s hope the nebula is as welcoming as it is pretty.”
“It’s beautiful” Aurora added as she sat studying the image on the viewscreen. “You certainly don’t get views like this aboard a space station, or on a colony. That’s why I like being aboard a starship.”
"It certainly is from this distance" Rhenora added to the banter bouncing around the bridge. Everyone seemed relaxed and happy, although she noticed a message from sickbay indicating Baldric was unwell and Bonnie had ordered downtime. Not surprising, those two worked themselves to the bones.
"It appears to be more burgundy or maroon as we draw closer to it." Savar remarked and quickly added. "However it is still an impressive sight."
Jenna's attention lingered on the viewscreen as Savar spoke, her green eyes fixed on the distant blood-red nebula. Something about its color held her fascination, the deep crimson clouds appearing almost alive as they twisted and folded upon themselves. For several seconds, she remained perfectly still. It took a quiet notification from her console to draw her attention back to the bridge.
With the ship settled into its long journey, Jenna completed her routine checks and transferred helm control to her relief officer. Rising from her chair, she turned toward the Captain with a small, familiar smile. "If you'll excuse me, Captain. It'll be awhile before we arrive, so I'd like to catch up on some paperwork and... other things."
Rhenora raised her eyebrow and nodded, keeping her curiosity to herself.
Jenna stepped into the turbolift and called for her destination, already turning her thoughts toward the things she hoped to accomplish before their arrival. The doors slid shut behind her, and the familiar hum of the lift accompanied its descent. Then the lights went out.
Jenna instinctively reached for the wall to steady herself as the lift shuddered to a sudden halt. Before she could call for the computer, a woman's scream pierced the darkness. She recognized the tone, Rhenora.
The sound was unmistakable, filled with a terror Jenna had never heard from her Captain. A moment later, the ship's alert klaxon erupted around her, accompanied by the distant rumble of explosions and the tortured groan of twisting metal. Jenna slapped her combadge, calling for the bridge, but her voice disappeared beneath the alarms.
The turbolift doors opened. Beyond them lay the bridge of the Sunfire, torn apart by a violence Jenna could scarcely comprehend. Consoles had been ripped from their mountings, exposed conduits spat showers of sparks across the deck, and thick smoke drifted beneath the flickering emergency lights. Blood stained the floor, the walls, even the shattered remains of the viewscreen. Bodies lay scattered among the debris, some slumped over their stations, others thrown across the deck by whatever catastrophe had struck the ship.
Jenna stumbled forward, her breath catching as she began recognizing faces. Savar lay motionless beside his station. Aurora was sprawled near her chair, her eyes staring lifelessly toward the ceiling. Everywhere she looked were people she knew, people she had served beside, laughed with, and trusted with her life. More familiar faces appeared among the dead, people from years and ships long past, impossibly gathered together in the same ruined room. And there, beside the command chair, lay Rhenora.
"Captain?" Jenna hurried toward her, stumbling over debris as she crossed the bridge. Her heart hammered against her ribs, each breath growing shorter as she dropped to her knees beside the motionless Bajoran. "Rhenora?" Her voice cracked as she reached for her friend's shoulder. "No... no, come on. Look at me."
Blood had pooled beneath Rhenora's body, spreading across the deck toward Jenna's knees. She reached out with trembling fingers, desperate to find some sign of life, some warmth, some reassurance that there was still something she could do.
Her hand was inches from Rhenora's face when the alarms stopped. The lights returned. Jenna blinked against the sudden brightness, her outstretched hand hovering in empty air. The smell of smoke and blood vanished, replaced by the familiar sterile atmosphere of a functioning starship. Beneath her feet, the deck was solid and steady, and the gentle hum of the turbolift filled the silence.
The doors slid open once again, revealing an ordinary corridor aboard the ordinary ship. Jenna stood frozen inside the lift, staring through the open doorway, her heart still racing and her hand trembling at her side. After a deep breath she touched the beads of sweat pooling on her upper lip with the back of her hand, collected herself and stepped out of the lift.
Aurora frowned her senses having picked up on a huge spike in emotion, fear, terror, heartbreak, and more. It was there now it was gone as quickly as it had arrived, and she had no idea who it came from. She looked towards Rhenora completely perplexed by what she’d felt.
Savar caught Aurora's look of confusion as she looked at Rhenora. "A problem Aurora? Something we can help you with?" He inquired, a trace of curiosity in his voice.
Rhenora looked across curiously, a slight furrow in her brow at Savar's concerned tone. "What's on your mind Aurora? What did you feel?"
“There was a sudden rush of fear, terror, anguish.. but it’s gone now.” Aurora added with a shrug of her shoulders. “It was so strong.”
"Odd" Rhenora replied with a hint of concern. A quick glance around the bridge showed noone in distress but it was more than possible for Aurora to feel something from someone on the deck or so below them, or someone she had a strong connection with. She filed the information in the back of her mind.
"Let me know it it happens again"
“I will.” Aurora nodded taking a moment to refocus her mind by closing her eyes. Opening her eyes again she suddenly found the bridge in-front of her crowded by the bridge crew all gathered around the First Officer’s seat. Getting up she pushed her way through only to find her beloved Savar crumpled on the deck, completely lifeless. She let out a cry of despair as tears streamed down her face, before everything suddenly changed. She was up out of her seat, tears still streaming down her face, but Savar was alive and well. “Wh…what!? What just…?”
"Aurora." Savar's voice reached out to her. "What is wrong? Why are you crying?" The voice was level but there was concern beneath the tone. He was concerned, this was not normal. "What are you feeling? Do you need to visit Sickbay?"
Aurora wiped her eyes as she looked towards taking a deep breath to calm herself. “I’m sorry, I saw…thought I saw…” she paused. “You were dead, you were lying right there.” She pointed to the deck in front of Savar’s seat. “Everyone was gathered around you.” She shook her head. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
"Aurora." Savar reached a hand out to her. "As you can see I am fine. There is no reason to apologize. My concern is you and these visions you are receiving. They suggest an outside influence at work, and we must determine why you are receiving these attacks."
Aurora nodded as she took Savar’s hand for a moment before moving to sit back in her seat; her heart was still pounding from the shock of the vision. “I don’t know if it is an attack; I’m not sure what it is.”
Rhenora couldn't directly ascertain what was causing this, whether it was the region of space, a life form, or something from within the Sunfire. Options A and B opted for continuing to move through the region and hopefully past whatever was the issue; option C indicated a full stop and investigations.
"Let's go to yellow alert - Aurora, report to sickbay and see if you and Sarah can figure out what's going on. Helm - continue course and speed for now." It was a calculated risk to continue travelling at warp, but given the options, Rhenora felt continuing whilst they conducted investigations was the best bet.
Aurora nodded as Rhenora told her to go to Sickbay. Perhaps she was just overtired, and it was nothing more than that.
Sickbay
Meanwhile in sickbay, Commander Baldric was under quarantine, still green, an emesis bag clutched in one hand as she lay curled on the biobed. Whatever medication they had given her had yet to be effective, leaving the human commander feeling sore and sorry for herself.
Dr Wilson meanwhile worked in her office, running Baldric's latest bloodwork through the medical database and trying to ascertain an effective treatment. She leant back, rubbing her eyes against the harsh glare of the screen and the fatigue that was making concentrating difficult. When she opened them again, things had changed considerably.
Sickbay was filled with wounded, the main lighting was out, replaced with the eerie red glow of emergency lighting mixed with the constant alarm of red alert. The smell of blood and death were evident, and there was an energy in the room that was almost defeatist. Banging could be heard from the main doors of sickbay; someone trying to break in? The forcefield flickered and fell and a stream of Borg erupted through the now forced doors. She watched her fellow crew attacked as they lay awaiting treatment, the odd phaser blast a testament to the determination battling the inevitable. They were vastly outnumbered and outgunned.
Hands shaking from exertion, Sarah gripped her weapon, seeing one of the Borg advancing towards the Quarantine bay, Jennifer still enclosed within it. The quarantine field fell easily, and the Borg advanced, arm outstretched towards Baldric.
Sarah fought her way forward, the Borg having long since adapted to their weaponry. She raised her weapon in a last-ditch effort to help Jennifer, heart pounding in her ears as the Borg killed and assimilated everyone else in the room.
The weapon charged....
"What the heck?" Baldric sat up as the ship's CMO advanced towards her with a hand weapon raised. There was something in the Doc's eyes that spoke of things being seen but yet not seen. The quarantine field fell, leaving the commander weapon to nose with the CMO. The weapon charged, and Jennifer reacted, striking out with the blade of her hand, hitting the doctor's wrist and rolling out of the way. She heard the bones snap and winced, bile rising in her throat as the Doc seemed to regain her senses. The emesis bag wasn't quick enough.
Walking in, Aurora was just in time to see the exchange and the condition of poor Jennifer. “Sarah? Are you alright? What happened?”
" I....." Sarah was lost for words, seeing the phaser on the floor and the pain from her now broken wrist registering. "Owww, what'd I do?"
"You tried to shoot me point blank," Bladric retorted greenly, seeing that Sarah was once again herself.
"There were Borg... everywhere. We were overrun - they were assimilating everyone..." Her words trailed off.
“It’s okay,” Aurora offered a nod, offering her head. “That’s why I’m here. I had a vision of Savar lying dead on the bridge; Rhenora wants a complete workup to see if there’s anything to go on.”
Sarah looked around, still not trusting her eyes before they fell on the deformed bones of her wrist. "Let me get this sorted, then I'll start running some scans." She turned and headed back towards the main ward, grabbing a bone knitter as she went.
“Do you need some help?” Aurora added as Sarah headed to get her bone knitter.
"Uhhh yeah, thanks. You should probably notify the Captain that whatever is going on isn't isolated." Sarah replied as one of the nurses came to assist. Within short order the bones were mended and Sarah was able to work again with a supportive splint.
TBC
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