My first attempt at putting this on paper. For some reason this is a story idea that I have toyed around with for quite some time. Hopefully if I put it on paper, it will clear out some cobwebs.

This is a cross-over story using the Star Trek TOS and Battlestar Galactica TOS universes. The characters are primarily my own creation with a couple of potential guest appearances from those nearer and dearer to you.

I do not own any rights to Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica. I have no intention of distributing this work for profit or personnel gain. Star Trek is the sole property of Paramount where as Battlestar Galactica belongs to Universal.

In the cold of space floated an object. Any inspection would reveal that is was not natural in origin. The large saucer in the front could be seen flashing occasional, repetitive and rhythmic points of light. The lower portion was perfectly shaped and the two nacelles behind the saucer section were perfectly proportional and mirror images of each other. It was easy to see that this object, this starship, belonged in space, but another look showed something else. One would think that this wanderer of stars should display power and grace but instead, it appeared crippled and weak. There were no holes, gaps or other signs of damage. Instead it just sat there almost crying to the stars its frustration that it could not leap from star to star. On the top of the saucer were markings that identified the great ship stuck in space. Normally brightly illuminated but now only visible by starlight were the words:

USS Kongo

NCC 1710

Captain Gerhardt Berg sat in the command chair in the center of the bridge. He was 52 years old with somewhat graying blonde hair that highlighted his years of experience with Starfleet. He was in excellent physical condition and exuded a confidence that his crew had learned to trust and follow. Gerhardt has had a long and distinguished career with Starfleet being known especially for his expertise in the Prime Directive and areas of interstellar law. In general his career had lacked some of the more extraordinary adventures experienced by the likes of James T. Kirk, but the Kongo and his crew had done more than their share to help support and protect the Federation.

This was supposed to be his last mission. He had been put up for promotion to Commodore and re-assignment to Starbase One. He had been asked to take on one last, very routine exploratory mission to investigate some unknown signals that had come from unexplored space. The signal had appeared intelligent if somewhat primitive. Nothing seemed troublesome or dangerous and they had even brought on a graduate student who had a theory about "life out there" that was consistent with the signals the Federation had received. All had gone well until the Event. Now no one could say what the future held.

Captain Berg looked around his command chair. Starship bridges were meant to be busy, bright and loud places. As computer interfaces evolved and were perfected, the need to convey information to human users more quickly and efficiently drove computer design towards user interfaces that were less "glitzy" than were found in the early years of computers. Even auditory inputs had been optimized to provide as much information as possible. Someone from 21st century may feel that the lights and sounds were a throwback to the mid 20th century but in actuality, the information being conveyed was much more dense and meaningful than ever before. Now, however, the bridge of the Kongo was quiet and dark. Crewmembers sat at their stations and looked at unlit panels. The viewscreen had been turned off some time ago and computer operations were limited to the bare essentials to keep the crew alive. Life Support had been cut to near minimal levels so the air was musty and heavy. While space was cold, the heat of 430 starfleet personnel caused the temperature to rise and become uncomfortable. Captain Berg marveled at the professional demeanor held by the bridge officers despite their grim fate.

"Captain", Gerhardt looked up and saw that his first officer was standing next to him. Lost in thought, he had not noticed his approach "Sloppy, Gerhardt" he admonished himself. If Starfleet had taught him nothing else, it was to be aware of what was around him.

"Yes, Commander", answered the Captain. Assad Hasan was his first officer and had served with distinction. Unusually he had come up through the ranks of Security to achieve this position. The security forces in Starfleet were in many circles considered a lower branch of the service. Serving on Starships as both as a police force and protectorate, they often had long stretches were they were unengaged only to suddenly be thrust into the most dangerous situations without warning. Whether it was protecting the ship from hostiles onboard to taking the lead on landing parties with little or no information on the environment, the "redshirts" were often the first to take casualties and the first blamed when things went wrong. Commander Hasan sought to change all of that. He insisted that Security be at the forefront of discussions and that they sit at the same table as other department heads when decisions were made. He began a program of cross-training to alleviate the boredom and properly integrate security personnel with the rest of the crew. He instituted new policies and protocols that allowed his security team to have the lowest injury and mortality rate in the fleet. He had also become the voice of reason for Captain Gerhardt as he faced difficult decisions.

"Captain, here is the latest report on power reclamation efforts. We are projected to extend our reserves for another 72 hours. That means we have 24 days until full Life Support collapse". The commander reported this as a matter of fact. Both men understood that he was citing their death sentences if things did not change.

"I see," responded the captain. With half a smile, he asked "Did someone neglect to tell us about a 3D projector in their quarters?"

"No sir," responded Hasan, "we shut down sickbay." That brought Berg back to reality. On any Starship Sickbay was the most secure space and an area that has held sacrosanct for the injured and needy. Many starship doctors had stories of performing life saving surgeries while under duress. Civil personnel were often sent there during dangerous situation.

"Is there anybody that needs attention?" asked the captain, his first thought being towards his crew.

"Doctor DeFleur advises that there are two crew members with minor ailments which can be treated with field equipment. We can repower sickbay if we need to. Right now it seems unnecessary ."

"Understood, commander. Are the matter/antimatter containment fields still intact?" He asked. One of the great ironies of their current situation was that the warp engines were still generating power at peak levels. There was simply no way to divert that power to generate a warp drive or anywhere else in the ship for that matter. Fortunately the containment field was designed to run directly off of the Warp Field.

Commander Hasan nodded "Yes sir, that remains stable."

Captain Berg thanked whatever power which was appropriate for that small favor. He turned to face the front of the bridge as a habit and expected his first officer to leave the side of his seat. Quickly he realized that Hasan was hesitating as if he had something else to say. It was unlike the Security officer to not speak his mind so Gerhardt turned back and said,

"Anything else, Commander?"

The First officer nodded and said, "Yes sir. Lieutenant Rodriguez, could you join us please?"

Kiko Rodriguez was the ship's primary helmsman. Relatively new to Starfleet, she started her career in piloting merchant ships before deciding that Starfleet held something more for her. The merchant ships she piloted often travelled routes which were known to see raiders and aggressive competitors that helped hone her skills. Berg had seen her take some particularly inventive maneuvers inside a nebula when they had been playing chicken with a K7 Klingon Battleship. While talented, she was still learning a how to be an officer and all that came with it.

Kiko stepped up to the center of the bridge in front of the captain. She put her hands behind her back and waited, not quite patiently, for the first officer to speak.

Commander Assad began speaking with deliberation and articulating the words he had practiced internally over the last two hours. 'Sir, we wanted to discuss our plans to start cannibalizing the shuttlecraft power supplies to augment our current reserves. We would like you to consider an alternative."

Here the commander hesitated. Captain Back looked at him with a bit of impatience and said, "I'm listening."

"Sir," jumped in Rodriguez," we would like to propose to send out the shuttles in a search pattern to see if there is anything of value in the immediate area. Maybe even get within earshot of a Federation ship. We would send the shuttles out in a standard deployment pattern forming a sphere around the Kongo. Each shuttle would travel for 12 hours and then return."

"We could run them in shifts with rotating crews," added Hasan. "It would give some of our people a chance to step off the ship if only for a short period."

"Commander, Lieutenant the odds of us finding anything are virtually zero. We would be using precious resources which may just give us enough time to be found. Starfleet knows where we were and that we are missing. Who knows what type of trail we left after the Event? We are blind, we cannot move and we cannot send for help. The amount of space a shuttle can explore is very small. I can't see the value of it."

"Sir you are right but we need to do it anyway." Hasan lowered his voice. "We are starting to lose the crew. They have held up extraordinarily well but as the clock continues to tick and we run out of ways to stretch the batteries, they are beginning lose hope. This is something, even if a pipe dream, that we can do. That they can see we are doing. Please, let us show that we are doing something. It will make a tremendous difference."

Captain Berg looked at the two officers. He then glanced around the bridge. He looked at the faces of the professional men and women with whom he served in many cases for years. They were all professional and doing their jobs as best they could. He then saw something else; their resolve was fading. It was subtle and had probably crept up on them over the last few days. He realized his officers were right. All may be lost. They may be drifting in their final coffin. But he could let them try.

"Lieutenant Rodirquez, please arrange with Commander Hasan a schedule to deploy our shuttlecrafts in a search pattern around the Kongo. The crews should be comprised of all volunteers but we will obviously want crews that can manage multiple situations," he looked at his first offices," and please arrange for a shipwide announcement describing our plans."