Note: Star Trek belongs to Paramount, and so on. This is not a challenge to their authority, or to any of their copyrights. This is merely a story that I wrote to enjoy, and for others to enjoy for free. All intellectual copyrights belong to me.
This story takes place roughly fifty ears before Captain Kirk and friends have their jolly romp through the galaxy.

Prologue:
"Can anyone hear me! Somebody help me!"

The two ships danced through space, one obviously pursuing the other. From afar small bursts of light could be seen, as ions from weapons dissipated some of their energy into the vastness of space. From afar, the scene was calm, almost tranquil. Getting closer though, you could see that the pursuing ship was far larger than the smaller prey in front of it. The small prey ship seemed to be trying to dodge to avoid the blasts coming at it, but it was too slow and clumsy.

"This is Lieutenant Wilhard, on the shuttle Arcturius. Cease firing, cease firing!"

It now seemed as though the larger ship was toying with the smaller, deliberately hanging back for a second to pretend it was leaving, then suddenly moving ahead to block the small shuttle's path. The predator ship looked like a demented bird, with outstretched wings, and a long neck that seemed to be reaching for its prey. The shuttle looked like a frightened creature, with a blocky body, and a pair of warp engines attached to its sides. Several more shots flew from the larger ship, and all lights on the smaller suddenly went out.

"Oh no, all the power's out!"

The larger ship now seemed to be maneuvering to pick up the smaller one. It slowly moved over to the smaller shuttle, and a web of lines was fired at the smaller shuttle, to help it into the docking bay.

"This is Lieutenant Wilhard of the United Federation of Planets. Can anyone hear me? I'm being captured by some unknown ship. Can anyone hear me?"

The smaller ship was gently drawn into the docking bay of the larger ship, and as the door closed a final plea for help was made"

"This is Lieutenant Wilhard. Can anyone help me!"

End prologue

Captain Morgan: Excelling

Captain Morgan strode onto the bridge of the Excellon. He was proud of his new command, and he intended it to be one of the finest examples in the fleet. Although she was a new ship, with most of the crew on board straight from the Utopia Planetia Shipyards, he was confident he could get them into a well-organized team.

His ship was one of the new Vectron-class starships, with four internal launch bays for nuclear missiles, a total of seven laser turrets, two main-line lasers, and a main-line gauss cannon. The front two-thirds of the ship was a roughly triangular shape, with the tip of the triangle cut off. There was an engineering section in the rear of the ship, and the warp nacelles were mounted flush with the engineering section, to reduce structural strain.

The whole ship was two hundred meters long; with light-weight crystal armor all over the front two-thirds to a depth of half a meter, and the engineering section was covered with the crystal armor to a depth of thirty centimeters. The crystal armor was designed to refract and reflect incoming laser energy, and exploding in a cloud of crystal if the laser energy was too high to reflect or refract. The expanding debris cloud would serve to further dissipate the laser energy being directed at the armor.

The laser turrets were distributed all over the ship, with one turret on top and another below the main hull, two turrets along each side of the main hull, and a single turret at the rear of the engineering section, to prevent any blind spots from being exploited. The two main-line lasers though, were mounted facing forwards, and were limited to a maximum of five degrees of aiming by force fields manipulating an energy lens. They were mounted adjacent to the gauss cannon, which was also mounted along the centerline of the ship. The center of the ship's mass was inside the center of the barrel, and was designed to reduce any possible missing by the acceleration of the projectile causing the ship to turn.

The gauss cannon was designed to attack either stationary targets, or ground bases. With a small machining shop nearby, theoretically any material could be turned into a gauss round, but using pre-machined rounds was far safer, as they had been balanced to prevent any possible wobbling while being accelerated. If the round wobbled while being accelerated inside the gauss system, the metal slug could miss the target, or tear through the hull next to the gauss cannon, ripping its way through the interior of the ship as the round expended its kinetic energy. When a one hundred kilo slug was accelerated to two thirds the speed of light, it had a massive amount of kinetic energy, and anything that was hit by such a round would know it.

The main reactor was an anti-matter power plant that was fed from a bank of fifty anti-matter storage pods below the engineering section. Each of those anti-matter pods were capable of supplying power to the ship for one week, and were contained in separate pods so refueling and testing could be conducted on one pod while the one next to it was providing power to the ship. All the pods were kept attached to the ship by electromagnets, and were being pushed away from the main hull by gas cylinders. The power for the anti-matter containment traveled through the same loop as the electromagnets, giving a simple safety system.

If power was lost to the antimatter containment, the electromagnet would also lose power, and the gas cylinders would begin to exert their pressure against the pod. If power was restored to the containment in time, the electromagnets would reassert their force, returning the pod to safe storage. If power was not restored in time, the gas pressure would push the containment pod away from the ship, where any possible containment failure would not occur next to the ship, or within a safe distance. With a pair of secondary containment systems on each pod, each with their own power system, the pod had a safe time of half an hour before containment would completely fail and the pod would be destroyed by the antimatter within it reacting with the pod's walls.

The main reactor was also designed along similar lines, with a minimum of non-reacted material within the chamber at all times. If there was a problem with the main reactor, the anti-matter flow was simply cut off, and the reaction within the chamber would burn itself out within one tenth of a second. The auxiliary fusion reactors could then be started, and a complete system overhaul could be performed to get the main reactor safe again for normal operations. If that wasn't possible, the ship would go to power saving mode, with a minimum of lighting and comforts, and the ship would go to the nearest starbase at warp one. Although the trip would take a while, it was better than being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a dead reactor.

All the consoles of the ship were designed with a minimum of power requirements. Electrical power was generated from the waste heat of the reactor, and was used to run most systems on the ship. This left main power available for powering the weapons, shields, and engines.

The shields were designed to defend against known threats, which were potential pirate ships operating with Federation technology. Since the main anti-shipping weapons in use by the Federation were the nuclear missiles and lasers, electromagnetic shields had been developed to protect against nuclear EMP effects. There had been no success yet in defending against the neutral photons and other particles emitted by lasers and their derivatives, but the crystal armor was designed for that purpose.

Captain Morgan turned to his XO, Commander Verrin, and asked her, "Is this ship and crew ready to go?"

"Ready and waiting Captain." Commander Susan Verrin knew the reputation of Captain Morgan. He had graduated second in his class at Starfleet Academy, and had done his hardest to make up for the one class that had cost him the first place claim. The Captain was among the greatest tactical and strategic geniuses in the Federation, if not the best.

The problem though, was that he had not done well in Philosophy. That one class had cost him the rank of first in his class, and was the thorn in his paw, so to speak. Also, he was one of the few officers in Starfleet who insisted on maintaining a fleet of warships. He had repeated his claim that a powerful military was crucial to the Federation's security often enough that a few had listened and more had noticed. The few that had listened had designed a warship based on current technology and a few of his ideas, and the others had seen an opportunity. An opportunity to be rid of him, along with a few others who had graduated from Starfleet Academy. They upper echelon in Starfleet had decided to give him a warship, and send him off to one of the far reaches of the Federation, and leave him there to be rid of him.

The crew assigned to this ship was also not exactly known for their "conformity" to Starfleet regulations. Except for the Captain and herself, nobody on the ship had graduated in the upper two-thirds of their class. The crew members were smart, nobody that graduated from Starfleet was not, but they had all been discipline problems of one sort or another. She had barely graduated above the halfway point, and it had been by the skin of her teeth that she had managed to stay in Starfleet Academy at all.

"In that case, let's get this ship underway. Helm, engage thrusters, bring us out."

"Aye aye Captain."

The thrusters were deployed from behind their armor panels, and the menacing ship slowly swung out from the docking port of the station orbiting the planet. A series of careful adjustments, and the warship was clear of all orbital traffic that would be affected by the impulse engines.

"Captain, we are clear of local traffic, and the station confirms that we are go for impulse power."

"Very well then, ahead one quarter impulse. Let's take it easy until we are outside the moons' orbits, then go to full impulse to clear the gravity well."

"Yes Captain. One quarter impulse, bearing three hundred by zero."

The trip to the edge of the gravity well lasted only a few minutes, and Commander Verrin took the opportunity to look over her Captain's shoulder at the portable console in his lap. She could see a list of the crew's previous records in damage control and other related drills, and a separate list of Starfleet standards. She saw that practically all of the drill results were far below Starfleet standards, and winced. She then saw the third column, and saw that it was a series of dates. Those dates were all within the next month, and she realized that the Captain was already setting a series of drills to improve the crew's reaction times.

"Planning a busy month Captain?"

"This is a warship, and I don't want to come out of a possible fight in second place."

"Yes, Captain." Part of her had shaken when she had heard him talk. She had heard other captains talk in her career, but they had been so calm, so laid-back. Captain Morgan seemed to be decisive in his speech. He seemed to radiate confidence, both in his ship and his crew. Confidence that had drained from the crew as they had gotten to know each other; and realized that in effect, Starfleet had assembled a crew that would not be missed. Confidence that in spite of their being a new crew, on a new ship, being sent off to the edge of Federation space, that their ship's name would go down in the record books.

"Captain, we are beyond the orbits. With your permission, we will go to full impulse."

"Granted. Let's get into space, and see what's out there."

"Yes sir." The ship seemed to leap forward, and the inertial compensators kept the acceleration from turning the crew into goo on the rear bulkheads. The ship punched through the inner system, heading outwards from the star, as though eager to be free of the confining effect of its gravity.

"XO, put me through to the ship."

"Comm, get a channel set up for the entire crew to hear."

"Done Captain."

"Crew, this is your captain speaking. We were put together because we are considered not acceptable by Starfleet. They are sending us off to the edge of Federation space to be rid of us. They believe that we are not worth the effort of keeping around the main areas of the Federation. They also believe that there is nothing to fear from anything on the edge of the Federation, and that this warship and weaponry is a waste of resources.

"I don't believe that. I believe that each and every one of you has the potential to be a shining example for the rest of the Federation to follow. I believe that we can turn what Starfleet considers a bad crew into one of the shining examples of what Starfleet believes in.

"I also believe that there are beings both within Federation space and beyond that are not friendly. I believe that there are races that are just as warlike and dangerous to us as we humans were to each other several centuries ago.

"If we do encounter any hostile vessels, I do not want this ship to wind up in second place. Because of that, the next several months will be full of drills to improve your reaction times, and to get all of you used to working as a team.

"It will not be easy, but I know that you will do your best. That is all."

With that, the Captain motioned for the communication officer to cut the intercom, and he looked back at the crew arranged around him. Except for the helmsman, everyone was staring at him. The helmsman was still busy flying the ship, but he could tell that he wanted to turn around as well.

"Commander, here are the assignments for tomorrow's drill. I am going to start this ship off at basic General Quarters drills, and then add a few wrinkles into them."

"A few wrinkles Captain? Like what?"

"If I told you, that would spoil the surprise,? said Captain Morgan, with a hint of a smile on his face.

Commander Verrin saw the slight smile, and decided to turn in early that night, as she figured that it would be a long time before she had a decent night's sleep again. She was right.

*

The next morning, she got together with the department heads, and handed the officers their assignments from the captain. Each officer was to keep track of how long it took for their section to set their assigned area to General Quarters readiness, and to give those reports to the Captain as their section finished. This would allow the captain to see exactly where each section needed help, and to schedule additional drills in the section or sections that were lacking.

The Captain had scheduled the General Quarters drill for that afternoon for fourteen hundred, and the various departments spread the word among their enlisted personnel, so that they would be ready for the drill.

Engineering crews began hiding various components around the ship in various areas, effectively getting the necessary tools to where they would most likely be needed.

But Captain Morgan wasn't idle during this time either. He was walking around the ship, inspecting various compartments with a casual air. He had helped with the design of the ship, and had a good idea of where most of the hiding spaces were on the ship. He began taking notes of what equipment was where, and modifying his exercises accordingly.

*

At fourteen hundred hours, the drill began. "General Quarters, general quarters. All hands man your battle stations."

Everywhere, crew members stopped their current activities, and began heading towards their respective stations, and setting the systems in their areas to general quarters. As the minutes counted by, Captain Morgan had the numbers read out loud, along with each section as it reported battle readiness.

After all sections had reported battle readiness, Captain Morgan began performing the first set of drills, intending to simulate battle damage. He began with a set of simulated overloads on the forward shield generators, to simulate damage to the shields, and then began performing a series of breaches in the hull on an outer deck, corresponding to various hits on the ship itself.

But the impacts had also been designed to make the various crewmembers run around a little more than usual, due to several episodes of pre-staging critical parts near one generator, and needing those parts for another generator instead. Also, if a repair crew took too long repairing one section, he would simulate another hit in the area, and the crew currently repairing the section would be treated as casualties, requiring additional personnel and equipment to assist in repairing the original damaged area and getting the injured crew to a medical station.

He would also simulate additional damage in the area, reflecting the fact that if the armor was breached in that area, further damage could be done directly to the ship's interior, increasing the load on the area's damage control teams.

After one hour, Captain stopped the drill, and looked at his numbers. "Crew, this is the Captain speaking. First, I would like to congratulate section three for being the first section to be completely at general quarters after the drill had begun. Second, I appreciate the effort all of you put into the repairs, as I am sure some of you put more into them than others. Finally, I would like to point out, that today's drill was done without any of the environmental effects that would also occur given the damage inflicted. Tomorrow's drill will include the environmental effects. That is all."

After closing down the intercom Captain Morgan turned back to his XO and smiled saying, "I wonder if as much equipment will be pre-staged tomorrow."

With that, Captain Morgan went to his cabin, to begin looking over the records from the day's drill, and modifying his plans for the morrow.

Commander Verrin looked over the bridge crew, and saw that a few of them were looking at each other with grins. Looking at one of the grinning crew, she said, "What damage control section are you in?"

"Section three Sir," said the crew member with a big grin.

She turned back to the main viewer, and began thinking, 'He's getting the crew to compete among themselves for being the best. That's not normal procedure, and I hope he knows what he is doing.'

*

The next day was more of the same, with shield generators being hit, and armor being penetrated. However, this time the computer was also keeping track of which crew members were in the spaces affected by the hits, and would tell the person if they were in a chamber when it was exposed to vacuum, and how badly injured they were.

Also, if a section was hit by fire, the standard lighting would be disengaged, and the emergency lighting engaged, forcing the crew to perform their duties in a different light. Other hits on power nexii would simulate a hit to the gravity generators, and the crews would be forced to repair the areas in zero-g environments. Magnetic boots helped the crew from floating off, for those that thought of it in time, but having tools float off was a constant reminder of their situation.

That day, section six was first in setting their section for general quarters, and the faces that had been grinning the day before were replaced by new ones.

Commander Verrin thought, 'This competition seems to be working. Each section is trying harder to be ready first, in exchange for the captain's favor. Even though there is no real reward being offered, they are trying to succeed. The crew is actually putting forth the effort. I never thought it would work.'

*

The next three days were more drills, and each time a different section was able to finish before the others at getting their areas to general quarters. Each day of the drills, the rate of damage increased, requiring the crews to do their jobs faster than before, so that they would be ready for the next volley. By varying where the impacts occurred, the hull patching crews and repair crews could not pre-stage equipment effectively, resulting in he crews making sure that their gear was in the proper locations when they reported to their section.

At the end of the five days of drills, the Captain again addressed the crew, "Members of the crew. You've done well in the past five days. You've cut in half the amount of time needed to get to General Quarters from what you were at previously. Of the ten sections, Section two had the shortest time in getting to general quarters. You have done a good job. I'm sure that you've also learned what items are needed for various tasks, and are now capable of achieving them in various conditions. Also, I'm sure you've noticed that the tactical and security sections have been performing standard operations the entire time.

"Over the next week, the drills will swap. The tactical and security sections can look forward to various types of combat scenarios, against a variety of potential opponents. The rest of you should take the time to relax, as I am planning a special activity the week after. That is all."

Captain Morgan looked around at the bridge crew, watching as the appropriate duty crew returned to their stations on the bridge. They were looking at each other with some relief in their faces, as though they were relieved at the drills being over.

"Captain Morgan", said Commander Morgan, "the crew could use a break before the next set of drills."

"Commander, all of the drills done this week were at a specific time, with plenty of warning. I doubt that a real vessel would arrange their schedule with us before they attacked.

"But you are correct. I could use a mild break as well. After all, I only have eight potential scenarios designed. I plan on using these next two days to come up with some new ones."

Commander Verrin looked at the captain's back as he left the bridge. 'Only eight? How many does he plan on doing?'

*

The two days seemed to pass quickly for the crew, as some were dreading, and others anticipating what would be coming. The tactical and security sections were going over their manuals, hoping that what the Captain would pull would be in those books, somewhere.

When the day came to begin the drills again, Captain Morgan turned to Commander Verrin, and said, "Commander, you have the bridge. I'll be running the drills, and seeing how the sections perform."

Proceeding to the secondary bridge in the ship, Captain Morgan saw that the first tactical section was there, waiting for his arrival. He also saw the security chief standing there, and paused to talk to him. "Lieutenant Molson, you have the exercises ready?"

"The teams have been set up, and are ready to begin Captain."

"Very well then. Proceed."

Lieutenant Molson proceeded to the wall where an intercom was located, and said, "Sections ten through twenty on decks four through six are now off-limits to non-security crew for the duration of the security drill."

The security exercise had been selected to simulate various conditions, ranging from a single escapee that the security teams would have to recapture, to possible hostage situations, to full boarding attacks by hostile forces. The security teams had been split up into two groups, and one side would play the role of the opposing force (OPFOR). The defenders would try to use their training and knowledge of the ship to contain and/or neutralize the OPFOR.

Seeing that the security drill was well underway, Captain Morgan proceeded to his seat in the battle bridge, and commenced the series of drills for his tactical teams.

Those drills were composed of sensor tests, escorting freighters, covering several planets in a system against possible raiders, to engagements against larger vessels. The weapons in use by the forces were also varied, ranging from ion weapons to disable electronics, thermal weapons designed to heat the hull, various nuclear effects to disorient sensors and targeting, along with a healthy helping of different types of missile weapons.

The sensor tests and escort missions were fairly easy on the crews, as the ones who had lighter jobs would get a copy of the sensor sweeps, and attempt to find out what was possibly out there. When actual combat started though, the sensor crews were on their own, as the weapon crews and shield crews had to keep an eye on their stations to prevent any leaking in the defenses.

When the drills were finally complete, Captain Morgan turned to the tactical crew and said, "Well done. Now I trust that you won't tell the other sections about what you did today. After all, you wouldn't want them to have an easier job of the drills. Secure from tactical drills, and return to normal operations."

Calling up a schematic of the security drills, Captain Morgan began watching how the security teams were doing. He was watching the OPFOR maneuver unusually, when he realized what exactly was wrong. The OPFOR was only maneuvering two-dimensionally. They had three decks to work with, and they weren't using the freedom that offered.

Fortunately, the defenders were maneuvering three-dimensionally, and were surrounding the OPFOR, and simulating massive casualties on them. He wondered if the security forces were deliberately faking the fight, to make it easy on themselves, and called up a list of the security personnel, and which side they were on in the fight.

'That explains it,' he thought. 'Most of the people on the OPFOR side were heavily trained in ground combat, while those on the side of the defending were trained in starship security.' The ground forces were accustomed to only thinking in two dimensions, while the starship security was accustomed to thinking in three. 'Very well then. Tomorrow's drill will be a little different.'

He watched as the security force was able to finish out to the inevitable conclusion. The ground assault unit was surrounded and captured, but one unit had held out the longest. He called up the record of the ensign in charge of that unit, and what he saw made him smile. That ensign had repeatedly attempted to get off Starfleet Academy grounds, and had managed to succeed several times, and security had never been able to figure out how she had done it.

'That ensign has a creative mind. I think it's time she gets a chance to use it.'

*

The next morning, the drills began again. There was a new tactical team ready, and the security forces had been divided up into new groups. The ensign from the day before had been given command of a larger unit, and was using it effectively, as the officer in charge had assigned that ensign the job of making sure that the defenders were distracted by her unit while the real assault team went in. With no other limits on her authority, the ensign managed to cut through the opposition, constantly changing decks to keep the defenders guessing, and managed to get to the objective before the actual assault team did.

The tactical teams had some more fun, as they managed to survive for a few minutes longer than the first during the initial drills, but Captain Morgan had changed the last couple enough to throw them slightly. But they managed to recover in time, and were able to get a fairly good score in.

*

The third day of the drills saw the ensign effectively in charge of the OPFOR, but the defenders had an advantage of two to one in numbers. The ensign still managed to achieve the objective, and the senior security people were discussing with the ensign what the various tricks were that she had used.

The tactical sections were still doing well, and were learning how to coordinate their actions to better deal with an opponent.

*

The fourth day of the drills saw the ensign in charge of the OPFOR, but with the defenders having a three to one advantage in numbers. It took the ensign two minutes longer, but she was still able to succeed in achieving the objective. One slightly amusing part had occurred when the ensign had triggered a release of smoke from a conduit, and had gotten two defending teams to fire at each other for several minutes before the smoke finally cleared and the defenders had realized what was going on. There had been several red faces when they had figured out what had happened, but the ensign struck again, and never gave the defenders a chance to figure out her next move.

The tactical drill involved a sensor detection operation, with a combat scenario right as the sections were changing over. The teams had to learn to work together with new people, further showing them that acting as friends was not enough; they had to act as parts of a machine to get the job done.

*

The fifth day of the drills saw the ensign being placed completely in charge of the defenders, and having a five to one disadvantage. This time, she was defeated, but only by a single massive push that had overwhelmed her defensive line. The ensign had used several environmental effects to aid her, such as turning off the gravity in a corridor, and having the OPFOR flounder about in weightlessness while a couple crew members picked them off one by one.

Other options that the ensign had exploited were simply turning off the lights and ambushing the OPFOR, having containers full of super-glue placed strategically, or hurled like grenades, and detonated with hand lasers. However, even though all the defenders had been defeated, the OPFOR had "lost" roughly ninety percent of their forces. Captain Morgan took note of that, and also of the fact that the security department had half its normal complement of higher-ranking officers.

The tactical teams had enjoyed another changeover attack, and the crew members managed to change over smoothly, with far less confusion than last time. Captain Morgan had the tactical sections perform several such switch-overs, and the crew-members learned how to coordinate themselves so there was a minimum of confusion during the process.

*

When the week was over, Captain Morgan looked over the results of the personnel involved, and how they had managed to recover from any setbacks. He called in Commander Verrin, as he wanted to go over several of the people involved, and he wanted her insight into the men and women under his command.

Commander Verrin arrived, and he told her to come in.

"Commander, I would like to get your opinion of several people on this list. First, what is your opinion of the current damage control leaders?"

"They are well-qualified as damage control-leaders, but lieutenant Birgsby mainly lives and works on port side, and his damage control station is on starboard side. I'd like to move him a little closer so he is in a more familiar area."

"Good. Second, what about our engineering staff? I've noticed one person on this list who seems to do nothing but tinker with the laser systems."

"That one is engineman Bolton. He often tries to tinker with the spare laser systems, or systems that are being used as spare parts. He's been trying to shrink the laser systems to even smaller but just as deadly sizes. He works on it after his assignments are complete, and he's had a few innovations that we're thinking about using."

"Such as?"

"He's working on a better sort of energy lens, allowing the main lasers to be aimed up to ten degrees off-axis. But the lens would require three times the current power draw, so Starfleet command decided not to go with it. I've encouraged him, through the chief engineer, to keep working on it though."

"Good. Might be useful as a second aiming system. Third, there is one person in the security section who seems almost disgusted by the current Starfleet laser. Why?"

"That would be petty officer Davis. She wants to develop a rapid fire weapon for security people to have in case of large numbers of attackers. She's been trying to work on a hand energy weapon that fires rapidly, but is still having trouble. Namely, the energy coils aren't designed for rapid fire, and if used on rapid fire would rapidly overheat."

"Then she'll have to think. Finally, what do you think of Ensign Mallory?"

"She is a capable officer, and a smart person. She gets along with others fairly well and-"

"That's not what I am asking here," interrupted Captain Morgan. "How do you think she would react under pressure? Is she ready to be onboard a starship, several hundred light-years away from Starfleet headquarters, knowing that at any time she could be called upon to die to protect people she may never even meet?"

Commander Verrin reeled in her mind. This was not the normal sort of question a captain would ask, unless the captain had serious doubts about a person's fitness to be out in space.

"She can think on her feet, and is not afraid of a challenge. She is also willing to stand up for someone else, no matter who it is. In her record it says that she assaulted four other classmates at the Academy. I asked her about it, and she told me the whole story. It turns out that she was getting dressed in the fitness center there, and there was another woman taking a shower at the same time. She heard the door open, and saw four men come in, wearing Academy uniforms. She asked them what they were doing in the women's locker room, figuring it was some sort of dare, but one of them told her to stay out of their business. Two of them went into the shower room, and the other two stood outside, to prevent anyone from entering. When she heard the cadet in the showers scream, she knew what was happening.

"She then went to the two men outside the showers and tried to push through them, but they shoved her back. She then attacked the two men. Both of them out massed her, but she was unafraid. She managed to beat both of them up, and went into the shower. When she saw what the two men were doing to the woman, she was infuriated. She admitted to me that she attacked them, and knocked both of them out.

"She then managed to get back to the sickbay, but the doctors were not able to find any physical evidence. Also, since the four men were recommended by captains, and one was the son of a high-ranking Federation official, nothing was ever done against them.

"So no matter what you are thinking about doing to her, I will make sure that she stays an ensign on this ship!"

Captain Morgan had stayed silent the entire time, and his expression had not changed. But at Commander Verrin's final comment, he said, "I'll need your signature on here please," as he pushed over a datapad.

Commander Verrin nearly exploded when she heard him talk so calmly, but then gasped in shock as she read the first line. 'Ensign Mallory is to be-'

"Promoted? What do you mean promoted?"

"I want people on board who believe in doing the right thing, and that the doing is the only reward. We are going to be out here for several months, if not a year, and I don't want people who imagined flashy adventures as their life in Starfleet. Also, she did remarkably well in defending the ship, from people who knew their way around the ship. She was outnumbered five to one, and she still took down four and a half times her number. That is someone I want on this ship, and her skills make her one I want higher in command. The promotion will be done after the drills conclude, along with other promotions for completing appropriate evaluations, and recommendations of their superiors.

"Most importantly though, are any of those four men on board this ship?"

"No Captain. They were kept close to Starfleet headquarters, at the request of their recommending officers."

"I see. If any of those four men are on a ship we meet, I want you to tell me. Also, I read your file, and although your marks are extremely high, you have several discipline notices here. But there is no information about what exactly you did. Would you mind telling me what happened?"

"Um, Captain, I'd rather not talk about that yet. It's more of a personal matter, and I'd like to wait before I tell you that."

"I see. But I will need to know eventually. In the meantime, do you have any other information that I should know about?"

"No Captain."

"Very well then. Arrange the damage control leaders as you see fit. Also, don't forget to sign here," said Captain Morgan, indicating Ensign Mallory's promotion to Lieutenant (jg).

Commander signed the paper, and left the Captain's office, her thoughts in a whirl. 'He is not some idle dreamer,' she thought. 'He wants to get things done, with people that he can rely on. Also, I better tell Ensign Mallory about her upcoming promotion. She is going to be shocked!'

*

The next week, the two sets of drills mixed together. The tactical sections would perform scanner sweeps, and look for unknown vessels. When a simulated ship was detected, the tactical teams would engage it, with Captain Morgan letting Commander Verrin take a few combats, and Captain Morgan a few himself. That way, both of them got a chance to exercise their tactical skills, and the tactical teams learned to trust their judgment.

If damage was scored by a false target, the damage control teams would have to repair the item, and the faster they got the shields restored, and weapons back on-line, the better chances the ship would have of fighting off the enemy vessel.

The final day of drills was a mass attack, with boarding pods being simulated by the enemy, and boarding attacks conducted. Ensign Mallory was heading the defenders, and was able to handle all of the attackers, even though she had been outnumbered by ten to one. Her key ability to win had been the fact that the OPFOR had been coming in from different areas, and were uncoordinated in their attacks.

At the end of that day, Captain Morgan addressed the crew. "Attention all personnel. I am very proud of all of you. You have managed to get this ship's response time to an attack to shorter than what Starfleet deems acceptable for responding to an unprovoked attack. You also held off a force that would have overwhelmed any other Starfleet vessel, and managed to deliver large amounts of casualties at the same time.

"We will be arriving at our destination, Starbase 121 in two weeks. There will be no more drills during that time, because all of you did such a good job. At least, none called by me. There we will put in, get fresh supplies, and get an overall view of what the sector is like. We will be there for four days, so there will be time for shore leave.

"Enjoy your time off, but remember that we are here to protect people, and it is they who we are ultimately protecting." Finished with his speech, Captain Morgan closed the circuit, and settled comfortably in his chair.

The stars were still heading past his ship on the view screen, and Captain Morgan watched them go by, enjoying the view that he cherished so much.

Two weeks later, the Excellon arrived at Starbase 121. The Starbase was actually a supply depot and communications center on the planet's surface, with a medium sized repair center and construction center there as well. It could repair starships, and build small craft, like shuttles and small warp-capable ships, but large replacement work would tax its abilities, and actually building a ship there was all but impossible.

The planet was a class 'M', which meant that it was Earth-like in its conditions. That made maintenance of the starbase easier, as the personnel didn't have to wear bulky environmental gear to fix components, and buildings didn't have to have extensive protective systems. A flat area served as a spaceport for craft that landed there, and walking to and from buildings was very easy.

The town that had grown up around the starbase was a farming and mining town, with its more dangerous areas near the spaceport, as sneaking a ride onto a passing ship was easier than one would expect. Trips on civilian craft were fairly dangerous, and anyone who wanted to sign on was accepted, no questions asked. The starbase security personnel thus had a fairly easy time. If they knew someone in the town was suspected of a crime, they merely put up notices for that person, and within a few weeks, that person would be gone.

When the Excellon arrived, and began sending down its shuttles with crew members, there was a different stir there. Captain Morgan had asked the base commander for a list of general rules of conduct appropriate locally and a list of off-limits areas for the crew. He had also asked for a current situation report (SITREP) of the sector, and the base commander had requested that he come down to discuss it.

When the Captain arrived on-planet, he told Commander Verrin to take care of the parts and supplies that were needed while he met with the base commander. Heading towards the room, Captain Morgan saw several areas that were in need of repair on the base, and sighed mentally. 'They are Starfleet officers, and they can't get their people to repair a simple panel?'

Finally arriving in the room, Captain Morgan saw the base commander lounging back in his chair, with his uniform top lying in a chair, and just wearing the undershirt. 'That explains a lot.' "Commander Wilson, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes Captain. We've been getting lots of complaints about cargo not being delivered to the outlying colonies, but we've been sending the shuttles and ships on schedule. Also, those shuttles and starships have not returned from their missions either so I have been figuring that several colonies are trying to get their own shuttles and ships for their own purposes.

"According to Starfleet regulations, planets require a minimum amount of people living there to be allowed a shuttle. A higher amount of population is necessary for that planet to be allowed a ship. Only a couple of the systems out here have enough population to be allowed a shuttle, yet twenty shuttles and eight ships have gone missing. If those colonies don't return those vessels, supplies to other colonies will suffer as a result.

"Essentially I would like your help to go to those colonies, and search them for the missing shuttles and spaceships. If they return them, fine. If not, do whatever you feel is necessary.

"Here's an updated map of the various colonies out here, and one manned sensor platform. I'll let you set your route, and hope to hear from you in a month. In the meantime, feel free to take advantage of the nearby town. I'm sure that there will be no problems that will involve your people."

"Thank you commander. I'm sure that we will be able to handle this problem easily. Good to see you."

"And you captain. One question, do you have an antimatter production facility out here?"

"Captain, we're not that capable. What we mainly do here for fuel purposes is use shuttles with small drones to mine the hydrogen from the sun and a local gas giant for processing into deuterium to refuel the freighters and shuttles. We might be able to build an anti-matter production facility, but for the safety of this base I'd recommend that it be built in orbit, and any antimatter produced there be stored in long-duration pods, also in orbit. It'd also take six months to build the base, even if we stopped production of shuttles here. And that figure is just to build a small antimatter station. It might keep a ship like yours fueled, but that'd be it."

"Ah well. I was hoping to be able to refuel here as well, in case our mission gets too long. After all, if we left, more ships and shuttles might get stolen. If you don't mind Commander, I'll be heading back to my ship."

"One thing Captain. Since none of the regular flights have managed to make it, would you be willing to carry a few components to the various colonies? As far as anything else is concerned, it will not be a problem Captain. I'll be here anytime you need anything, or my staff will be able to help."

"Normally I'd complain about turning my ship into a freighter, but I will carry a few of the components you request."

"It shouldn't be a problem captain. The total size of all the components for the colonies is two cargo pallets worth. I took all of the components they requested, and organized according to the most important on each list."

"Then it won't be a problem. This problem should be taken care of in a few months, if that long. By your leave Commander?"

"Glad to have you here Captain. If there's anything else you need, feel free to ask."

Captain Morgan left the room, his mind spinning. 'What would the scattered colonies want with the shuttles and cargo ships? If the shuttles weren't returned, they wouldn't get any equipment that they needed beyond that of simply stripping the shuttle. What is going on?'

*

Ensign Baker was overseeing the cargo transfer from a storage warehouse on one side of the base into the shuttle, when she noticed something odd. The civilian crew that was there seemed sort of nervous. Walking over to one of them, she asked about the local shipping runs, curious about different astronomical phenomena.

"Ma'am, I don't know much about astronomical stuff, but what I do know is that several ships around here have disappeared. It doesn't seem like the colonies are doing it, as they are real happy to see our ship pop in. It might be some sort of astronomical phenomenon that's localized to our area. If you can find out what it is and how to avoid it, there are several crews around here who would appreciate it."

Ensign Baker thanked him and walked away. 'A totally new astronomical phenomenon. I could be the first to discover it!'

The rest of the shuttle crew didn't know why she wore a grin the entire ride back to the ship.



Captain Morgan got back to the ship, where he saw that the shuttle bay was organized confusion, as cargo pallets were transferred, and people moving around in a purpose. He edged around the side, not getting in the way of his crew as they kept loading more goods on board the ship. He saw the two cargo pallets on one side, and walked over towards them. 'I wonder what sort of cargo the colonies have been requesting.' He looked at one of the containers in the pallet, and gasped in shock. 'Water purification system, radiation filters, oxygen generators, hypergrowth seed stock? These are components that are vital a colony's survival and they are not getting through? Something is seriously wrong here.'

He headed back to his quarters, and called the commander's office. "Commander Wilson, I was wondering if you could give me any data on the shuttle and ship flights that have disappeared."

"Not a problem. I can send you a copy of all our shipping records for the past three months if you wish, with flags showing which ones disappeared if you wish. It would include cargo manifests, crew records, location and time of departure, and location and times of destinations for them."

"That'd be great. If we can find a common factor to all of them, this problem should be wrapped up in no time."

"I'll get the file together and sent to you right now Captain. Is there anything else?"

"Not much. How about activities for recreational purposes, such as a friendly competition between our people?"

"Be glad to Captain. I'll have some of my staff put together a list of various activities and games that we can do, and we'll send the list to you. Be fun to get some new people to play against."

"Should be fun Commander. Thank you for the information."

"Glad to help Captain. Starbase 121 out."

*

During the three days that the crew of the Excellon was there, the crews of the Starbase and the warship enjoyed a few games of volleyball, baseball, basketball, and others. A module freighter had stopped in, and was busy transferring some of its cargo to the starbase before moving on to the other colonies on its delivery schedule.

A module freighter was little more than engines, crew quarters, and a great big airlock/docking clamp. The actual freighter itself had been designed around the docking and towing structure at the back. The warp engines were on wings on either side to be outside the width of the modules, and the impulse engines were on wings as well, but one on top and one on the bottom of the ship. The wings were designed to provide fuel and support to the engines and ship, and were not actually lifting surfaces in themselves. Shuttles were used to handle all ship to ground transportation.

The modules were one hundred meters long, and twenty meters wide, with a three meter wide airlock on both ends to allow the freighter crew to check on the cargo during their trip. Due to the modules changing the size of the warp field necessary to propel the ship, traveling with one module allowed a top speed of warp 3, and traveling with two to three modules brought it down to warp two, and traveling with four to six modules reduced the speed to warp one. However, having the sixth module there added a great deal of stress to the warp engines, and caused the fuel requirement to double. Each module also had a small power plant on board to provide extra power to the no board cargo if any was needed.

There were many types of modules in service, ranging from simple cargo modules, to passenger modules, to one module that was little more than a small shipyard. Due to the design of the main crew section of a module freighter, it could be built in sections, and two could be transported inside a module to a destination. This allowed damaged ships to be simply disassembled and stuffed inside a cargo module, to be transported back to a shipyard to be repaired. Some freighters were roving mining stations, with several cargo modules, and a single module that sent drones to planets to mine them of different minerals. As the ore was processed in the second module (a smelting module), the refined ore would be loaded into a cargo module to be picked up by the next freighter shipment.

Some modules were designed with multiple airlocks on the sides, and could be put together to form a space station. Another type was designed to haul antimatter, in pods. The pods were arranged around the outside of the cylindrical pod, and were similar in design to those used on warships. If any power was lost to the anti-matter containment, the pod would be automatically jettisoned, and if the pod exploded, the freighter would not be harmed. A small fusion reactor was kept running on the module to provide power to the containment fields. There was also a little room for cargo within that module as well, allowing a single module like that to completely refuel a ship and partially resupply it as well.

Other people were experimenting with self-expanding hydroponics gardens for pods, designed to allow a ship to park itself close to a star, extend the gardens, and wait for the crops to grow. More experiments were done, such as equipping the outside of the modules with solar panels to allow the ships to have a form of reserve power, but that project was scrapped as only ships close to a star would be able to generate enough electricity to be useful.

Cargo modules were the most plentifully produced by the Federation, as almost any other module could be made by simply retrofitting the cargo module. Passenger modules could be made by installing seats for short range trips, and quarters for long-range trips. Shipyard modules could be made by taking off one end, installing the shipyard in its folded configuration, and reattaching that end with giant hinges that would open up to allow the shipyard to deploy. Command centers could be built by installing the necessary sensors on the outside, and the computers on the inside. Since they all used the same type of docking interface, any module could be carried by any freighter. If an entire string of modules had to be dropped at a starbase, the freighter could simply disconnect the desired modules, and continue on its trip. In short, the module system was among the easiest methods of hauling cargo around the Federation.

As a result, module freighters were easy to recognize by many people who had access to space. As the captain watched, he recognized the signs of how bad the starbase was doing. In normal circumstances, the module would have been simply dropped off, and the starbase's shuttles would have done the job of removing the cargo. Without those shuttles, the freighter itself had to do the job, and the freighter captain must be beside himself, waiting for the transfer to be complete so he could continue the cargo run.

Fortunately, one of the shuttles from the base had a full load of deuterium, and was busy transferring it to the freighter's fuel tanks. Fusion was a good and reliable source of power, and many freighters used it because it did not produce any radioactive by-products, and the basic fuel was easy to obtain, being simple hydrogen. Practically every starbase had a deuterium processing plant, where raw hydrogen was converted into deuterium, making a fuel that was just as safe, yet far more potent in terms of power production. A few grams of tritium were also loaded, in case the freighter had to shut down its fusion plant, and needed to restart it later.

Captain Morgan noticed that his screen was blinking at the bottom, indicating that someone wanted to talk to him. Pressing the button, Captain Morgan activated the comm link.

"Yes?"

"Captain, the captain of the freighter would like to talk to you."

"All right. Put him through to my screen."

The connection was made, and the two captains were able to communicate.

"Captain Morgan? This is Captain Walstein of the freighter Amemnon. I'd like to discuss a little favor I'd like from you."

"What type of favor is it?"

"Essentially, we are proceeding to the planet Ritzak five next, and given the number of disappearing ships, I was wondering if you would be willing to, well, scout out the route ahead of us to make sure that it is safe. From the way things are going, we'll be leaving in two to three days, and I can delay that long with no trouble. According to the records I've managed to assemble, there have been three disappearances along that route, and I'd like to know that it is safe to travel. Would that be okay with you?"

"I don't see what the problem will be. We'll be heading to that planet first anyway, so you are free to follow us if you wish. Is there anything else?"

"That's it. My entire crew has been worried stiff the entire time and now I can tell them there is nothing to worry about now. Thank you very much for your help Captain."

"Part of the job Captain."

They cut communications links, and Captain Morgan turned to the three-dimensional chart, showing the locations of all the colonies in the area. He set up one route showing from Starbase 121 to the Ritzak system, and began to plot additional routes from there. He compared it with a list of which systems had the most missing ships reports, and he finally had his patrol route selected.

The next couple of days went smoothly, as there were no incidents reported, and the competitive games between his crew and the starbase's crew were fun to go to and watch. His crew didn't have a large amount of space to play in, so the baseball game was lost by his team, but the volleyball and basketball games were a lot more competitive. Still though, everybody had fun, and a few people from the town showed up to watch too.

When it was time to leave, Captain Morgan was on board the ship, watching the final shuttle come aboard. He saw the freighter also collecting its last shuttles, and smiled. Once his shuttles had started coming aboard, the module freighter's captain had managed to get his crew moving fairly quickly, and was getting ready to leave as well.

The same procedure to leave was followed again, and Captain Morgan felt the faint vibrations that signaled the impulse engines coming up to full power. They reached the edge of the system, and the Excellon seemed to stretch as the mighty ship went to warp. Proceeding up to warp three, the Excellon aligned itself to arrive at Ritzak. Since this was a regular travel, the ship was traveling at warp three, instead of the warp five it was capable of.

Captain Morgan knew that there were theoretical studies being done to allow higher warp speeds, but they were still in the future. In the meantime, he would use what he had, and what he had were the best sensors and scanners, and a well-trained and drilled crew to use them.

On the way there, Captain Morgan briefed his senior staff on what had been happening so far in this sector.

"As far as we know, three ships and twenty shuttles have vanished in this area. Starbase 121 believes that the colonies in this area are stockpiling the vessels, and we are to find out who is doing this, where they are being stockpiled, and why. We also have critical equipment that each colony needs, and we are to give them that equipment after they give us the information we need, or we determine that they are not part of the thefts. Are there any questions?"

There were none, and the department heads went to meet with their personnel, to brief them on their mission. The sensor crew was put through several drills, attempting to get as much data as possible from what was handed to them. A single General Quarters drill had been held, and the crew had performed splendidly during it.

A week and a half after leaving, the Excellon arrived at Ritzak five. There had been nothing much to observe on the way there, merely a couple nebulas, and an asteroid. There had also been a subspace distortion that had appeared behind them, but it had not lasted for more than four minutes before dissipating naturally. The scanner crew had looked over the planet, and presented their report to the captain. Ritzak five was a mineral rich planet, with extensive duranium deposits. However, the massive amounts of duranium there resulted in high radiation counts, so a radiation filter was needed to keep the people there from developing radiation sickness.

Even with current radiation treatments, the filter was still necessary to prevent high levels of radiation from building up in the colony. Current radiation treatments were mainly composed of a series of time-released compounds that bonded to duranium particles, and then being excreted normally by the body. Since there was no way for a chemical reaction to affect radiation, the compounds had been designed to bond with duranium atoms, and then be filtered out through the kidneys. To prevent a high amount of radiation from building up in the kidneys, the time-release system was used to slowly release the necessary compounds. The other system associated with this was to drink lots of fluids.

As the ship settled into its orbit, the scanner crews reported higher than usual radiation levels within the colony, and the communication teams received a transmission from the colony also.

"Federation vessel in orbit, please respond. We need medical assistance, please. There are many of us sick from radiation poisoning, and our last radiation filter broke down three months ago. We have been trying to keep people healthy with radiation treatments, but the amount of radiation is still increasing. We need medical help to get some of our most sick out of here. Federation vessel, can you hear us?"

Captain Morgan looked at his scanner crew and asked, "Scan their colony. Find out how much radiation is there, and how long it has been building up. Also, see if there are any signs of shuttlecraft or ships with warp capability down there."

Turning to his communications crew he told them to open a channel to the colony. "Ritzak five colony, this is Captain Morgan of the Excellon. We will assist with the radiation treatments, and we will send a shuttle over now. Also, I would like to speak with your administrator myself, so make sure they're on board also."

"Gladly Captain. We'll gladly be ready for your shuttle. Landing area one will be illuminated for your shuttle to use. I'll be standing by for when you arrive, and the most heavily irradiated will be waiting there as well."

"Very well then. Excellon out."

Pressing a button on his chair, he told the medical staff, "Doc, we've got people below who are suffering from radiation sickness. I need you to get radiation treatments ready for them, and get them to the shuttle bay now."

"We're getting ready now Captain."

Turning back to his scanner crew, the Captain asked for their report.

"Captain, we've scanned the base, and it appears that the radiation has been steadily building up over three months. There appear to be no signs of any warp capable vessels anywhere on the planet. The only craft there that seem even capable of flight are three atmospheric flyers, and one space capable shuttle, but that shuttle has no warp drive that we can detect."

"Very well then. Commander Verrin, please tell the cargo bay personnel to get out the radiation filter for Ritzak five. Bring it and an engineering team down there with the shuttle crew, and install it. In the meantime, try to look around, and see if anyone knows anything about the missing ships and shuttles."

A single shuttle left the Excellon's boat bay, bringing the needed supplies to Ritzak five. In it were most of the medical staff with the radiation treatments, an engineering team with the filter, and Commander Verrin with an inquisitive mind. They arrived at the landing pad, and waited for the airlock to be extended to meet their shuttle. When the airlock was fully extended, the engineering team got out first, and asked the nearest person where the radiation filter should go.

While that was taken care of, the medical team got out next, and began taking onboard the critically poisoned people. Commander Verrin managed to get out by moving with the flow of traffic, and quickly met with the colony administrator.

"Commander, I'm administrator Waldeck. I assume you are here to meet with my staff?"

"That is correct. We had a radiation filter that was also being brought here as well, and our engineering crews should be installing it as we speak. Our sickbay will help treat your people, and all the people should be finished loading in a few minutes. Do you have someone I can use as a guide around here?"

"Certainly. This is lieutenant Meran, of Starfleet security. He is in charge of security here, and has already been briefed to assist you in any way you see fit."

"Thank you Mr. Waldeck. Just edge in behind a returning medic, and you should be able to get on board the shuttle without much trouble."

"Thank you Commander. I'll be on my way now."

Three minutes later the shuttle was full of the sick people, and was heading back to the Excellon in orbit. As the shuttle left the planet, the second shuttle arrived, loaded with more medics and medicines to help the people there.

Captain Morgan met with Mr. Waldeck, and brought him into the private discussion room on board the ship. A medic had given Mr. Waldeck a radiation treatment once he got on board the Excellon, after a Geiger counter had noticed his passage. There were glasses of water set out for both of them on the table, along with a pitcher with water and ice in it.

"Mr. Waldeck, how many radiation filters do you normally carry for a colony of this size?"

"We normally have two. One filter running and one as a replacement. When the one running died, we sent out a request for another one, and simply kept on going. When the second died three months ago, we sent out a mayday to Starbase 121, and I pleaded with him to send us a new one."

"You mean you hadn't received a replacement filter by that time?"

"That's correct. We haven't received anything from Starbase 121 for the past six months. They keep saying they'll send us something, but they never do. The commander there says he is sending us supplies, but so far we haven't received anything."

"That's odd. According to these records," said Captain Morgan as he held out a datapad with a list of all the shipments that had gone to Ritzak five, "you've been sent five radiation filters, eight cartons of radiation vaccines, and several crates of food and other spare parts."

"That's not true! We have been sitting here the entire time, eating food from the hydroponics, even though it is getting full of radiation, because none of that has arrived here. If we had received any of those supplies, we would not have anywhere near the current amount of injured people we currently do."

"Then can you tell me what you do know?"

"All I know is that we send requests for supplies to starbase 121, they tell us they are going to send supplies, and nothing happens. I can give you a complete copy of our communications records if that would prove anything."

"That probably would help. In the meantime, the freighter Amemnon will be arriving in a week, with more supplies that you need. Is there anything else you would like to talk about?"

"Nothing I can think of Captain. With the radiation filter here, we can start to reduce the radiation inside the base, and control any further access as well. If you don't mind, I'd like to catch the next shuttle back to the colony, and see how things are going. With your permission Captain?"

"Go right ahead Mr. Waldeck. We need to be getting to our next colony in the area, and seeing how it is doing also. We'll finish up here and head on out to the next one."

"Okay Captain. I'll send you a message when the Amemnon arrives, so you can know that we're getting back on our feet." With that, Mr. Waldeck slowly began making his way back to the shuttle bay, to get on board shuttle headed back to the planet.

Captain Morgan watched him leave, and wondered what was going on. 'Starbase 121 says they are sending supplies, but Ritzak five says they aren't. Something weird is going on out here.'

*

After six hours of shuttle flights and medical care, the colony was getting back on its feet. The radiation filter was doing an excellent job, and radiation levels were falling steadily. There would still be a few pockets of radiation that would take longer than others to decrease, but on the whole, the filter was removing the radioactive components from the air, water, and hydroponics systems. The whole colony was currently running the ventilators full blast, to try to cycle more air around, to prevent any final pockets of radiation from "hiding". As each new pocket of irradiated air was found, the radiation level would rise, then fall as the filter worked on the air.

After the Excellon left the system, Captain Morgan called in his senior staff. "Did any of you see anything that led you to believe that they had hidden anything there?"

The ship's chief engineer, or Cheng, spoke up first. "Captain, my teams went over the entire area. The radiation was deep in the walls. The rough time estimate for that to have happened is twelve weeks, give or take a week. There is no physical way to do that that I can even conceive of. There were no welds observed, and the walls were entirely one piece, so there is no way to have irradiated several layers at once, and then welded the layers together.

Those were also main structural beams we scanned, so the only way for them to have been falsified is to disassemble the main reactor area in the first place. If they did that, they would all have to live in space suits the entire time. If they falsified that, then they were willing to undergo a lot of strain and hardship."

The ship's doctor spoke up next. "Captain, we're still going over the blood samples taken down there, but all of the samples we have taken so far have showed slight signs of radiation damage. Mostly in the cell walls, but a few samples have also shown signs of genetic damage as well. Again, the chief engineer's time estimate is what I'd say. There was no heavy radiation count detected, so there is no way they could have done all of this at the last minute. If they are faking, then they have been exposing themselves to the radiation for the past three months in order for it to seem real."

The ship's operations officer spoke up next. "Captain, while my people were down there, we looked around the supply center. There was nothing there fresher than six months, and several of my people even took the chance to look around the mines, indicating an interest in the activity. We could find no sign of anything newer here than six months, which is the same figure that Mr. Waldeck gave us as being the last supplies that were received. If they are faking it, then they are doing a very good job."

The ship's tactical commander spoke up. "Captain, I had a couple of my people look around the armory, on an inspection. They are using our current sidearm, but are missing the current update, which was a safety recall. The recall was made due to the beam emitter often shattering when used at anything higher than setting five. The replacement emitter cannot be manufactured locally, and none of their weapons had that upgrade. If they are faking, then they are deliberately weakening themselves to anyone that tries to sabotage the installation.

The other officers gathered there agreed with the department heads' observations, and waited for Commander Verrin to present her findings. "Captain, I talked with several of the senior people here, and looked around while doing so. Everything they told me fit in with the story so far, and there were no gaps or holes that I could find. All the damage so far is genuine, and everything fits. I tried to poke holes in their stories, but there were none I could find."

Captain Morgan paused for a moment, digesting their statements and deciding what to do. "Very well then. I spoke with Mr. Waldeck, and he says that they have been sending requests for replacement parts to Starbase 121 for several months, and the starbase hasn't sent anything. Since we know the starbase has been sending supplies, then that means that the shuttles are simply not reaching here. If we can search out the colony that is holding the shuttles, we can find out what is going on faster, and return all of the supplies to the colonies that need them. We will set a course to our next colony, Sherrizin 12.

"If there is nothing else, you are dismissed."

*

Elsewhere on the ship, Ensign Baker was happy. She had managed to get a copy of the colony's sensor records, and was looking forward to integrating the data with the freighter's sensor data she already had. She watched as the computer began accepting the new data, and building a time-lapse three-dimensional map of the area around the colony. The colony's sensors weren't that powerful, so she was extremely limited in the area and definition she could view.

Within two light-years, there was excellent detail. The system's Oort cloud was visible as a sphere around the system, and a few larger asteroids were visible as well. From two to five light-years out, the data grew spottier. A couple nebulas, and the three neighboring systems were visible, but not much else. From five light-years on out, details were barely visible. She could see other systems, but not much else. She could even get reads on vectors to various items that were not immediately visible on the sensors. Working at it, she managed to get vector lines added to the data, to signify something happening that was not immediately visible on the hologram.

Her data was starting to add up, and she began to add in the ship's sensor data, hoping to see the results when she got back from supper. The results wouldn't take that long, but she was hungry.