-Star Trek-

Alkaid

By Lavender

"Episode 01: Pilot, Part 1"

"Captains Log, Stardate 44981.13- Starship Alkaid nearing end of Cardassian Border patrol, Rigis Sector, Coordinates 0912-Mark-2315. Long range sensors still down, relying on short range sensors to compensate… No incidents yet, but…"

"Captain, preparing to rendezvous with the Zhukov."

"Stand by, Commander White." Captain Elroy stood from his chair and crossed the bridge to the rear— with long range sensors down, Commander Chandlers and Lieutenant Konnors were at the rear console, trying to diagnose the problem. "Any luck, men?" He asked.

Chandlers only sighed, "Level one diagnostic revealed nothing, and a manual override on the system didn't work."

"Just finishing up a level two diagnostic now, Captain," Konnors interjected, but his troubled look spoke volumes, "But I'm not promising anything…"

"Very well, Lieutenant." Captain Elroy pinched the bridge of his nose— he looked stressed— and gave the lieutenant a pat on the shoulder. "Did engineering report anything?"

"No— I don't believe so."

"Well, I suppose it's lucky for us we are due for maintenance after this mission then." The captain pushed his way between the two men, trying his hand at the console himself, but the display showed no progress towards a solution. "How about now," He called out, "Anything?"

"No, Captain," Commander White responded, "In fact, Short range sensors appear to be malfunctioning now."

"What?"

"Affirmative, Captain, short range sensors are having trouble getting a fix on our surroundings." Chandlers agreed, earning another sigh from the captain.

"Perhaps it's a problem with the main computer? I want you to run a level five diagnostic and report back to-"

"Captain! I'm detecting something off the port side!" Commander White warned, "I'm attempting to cut through the interference."

"Confirmed, I'm reading two objects, hard to get a fix, could just be asteroids…" Konnors replied, and the captain gave him a stern look.

"And if it's not, Konnors?" The captain gestured to Commander White, "Get me an accurate reading, I want to know exactly what we are dealing with, asteroids, space dust, Cardassians? I want to know."

"Affirmative," Commander White typed away at the tactical console, attempting to get an accurate reading. "It looks like… It looks like two… Cardassian Cruisers— they're firing rounds!"

"Raise shields, Commander, Red Alert!" He cried—

But it was too late— red lights flashed throughout the bridge as the rounds struck, sending a shock wave across the ship, and violently rocking the bridge. Sparks flew, and an explosion echoed from the rear of the room.

"Direct hit, port side, hull breach on deck six!" She turned to Captain Elroy for his orders— but he was lying on the ground at the rear of the ship, flanked by Konnors and Chandlers, blood on his face— the console had exploded, leaving all three men unconscious, maybe even dead—

Commander White leapt to her feet— as third in command, her duty was to assume command under such circumstances— and she crossed to the captain's chair in the direct center of the room, allowing another crew member to take her place at tactical.

"Raise shields, and I want you to return fire!"

"Yes, Commander!"

"Medical team to the bridge immediately!"

The ship shook violently again as more rounds hit, both ships firing directly on them— to her left, another explosion, sparks flying as pieces of the ship came flying out, a piece of metal hitting her face and cutting her cheek open— the Cardassians were determined to wipe them off the star chart.

"Shields raised! Already down to ninety percent!"

"Casualty reports coming in from all decks, one hundred and thirty four wounded, two confirmed dead!"

"Commander, they're firing more rounds!"

It was an all-out onslaught, she had never known the Cardassians to show mercy, but she wasn't going to let things turn out like Narendra III— they were outnumbered, but the battle wasn't over yet.

"Photon torpedoes! Dispersal Pattern Theta!" She was doing her best to think up a strategy on the spot, but the surprise attack had left her rattled— "And then follow it up with phasers!"

The ship was shaking violently around them, each round fired dropping the shields a little more a shaking free every loose bit in the ship— it was only a matter of time before their shields dropped, and then they were sitting ducks in the line of fire—

"Think, Lavender, think!" She mentally scolded herself, "What's the best way of beating Cardassians?"

"Direct hit to the Cardassians, their shields are holding!"

"That's it!" She smiled slyly— "Dispersal Pattern Theta, again, but aim for their shield generators!" She braced herself again as the ship rocked violently— if things worked out as she hoped they would, the calculated blasts would disrupt their shield generators for just enough time to get another shot in— it was worth a shot.

"Shields down to fifty percent, Commander!"

"Firing torpedoes!"

She braced herself again, watching hopefully at the screen— the torpedoes hit in four quick successions, shields fizzing with each blast before the last one finally knocked them out— now was their chance!

"Fire phasers, now!"

Phasers fired, another direct hit as the vessel violently exploded, sending debris and fire out in all directions, knocking into the other Cardassian vessel in the line of fire— and while it sustained damage, the cruiser kept firing off round after round at the Alkaid— one down, one to go.

"Shields dropping to fifteen percent, I don't think they can stand another hit!"

"Give them everything we got!" She yelled, pleading it would be enough—

There was another blast, knocking the shields completely offline and causing another explosion— more debris was knocked from the ship, sending plastic and metals out in all directions— it knocked the Commander to the ground, tearing up her arm in the process.

Blood poured from the wound, already drenching her fur a deep red— but it wasn't enough, and she crawled her way back into the seat— "Their shields are weak, one more blast should-"

"I'm detecting another vessel approaching, Commander!"

"Cardassian?" A wave of panic washed over her—

"Confirmed Cardassian!"

It seemed the worse was yet to come— indeed, another Cardassian Cruiser warped in next to the surviving one, unharmed and ready to defend its companion— Was this their end, would they be destroyed defending their territory? An honorable end, but—

"Prepare to enter warp one on my command, coordinates 0989-Mark-2379!"

"But Commander, those coordinates are-"

"Right on the Cardassians? Exactly."

It was practically suicide, yes, risking their ship in the process; but with no shields they were already dead— if they could just destroy both the cruisers and escape with their life, no matter how slim of a chance, it was worth it—

"Commander, both ships are firing at us— twelve seconds to impact, and with no shields-"

"Hold your position, Lieutenant!" She barked— they only had one chance at this—

"Eight Seconds!"

"Hold!" She ordered.

"Five seconds! Four, Three-"

"Now!" She called, and in what felt like an eternity, the ship entered warp— but that eternity lasted only a fraction of a second as they dropped from warp dead ahead of the two Cardassian ships, hovering in between the two as neither party moved an inch—

"Evasive pattern Omega, fire everything!"

The ship jolted as they abruptly turned, phasers and torpedoes sending everything they've got at the two ships— it must have been a sight to see from the outside, but tension hung in the air as everything around them went silent; torpedo and phaser fire went cold as they tried to put as much distance between them and the Cardassians before—

A deep boom rung out from all around them, sending a shock wave through space— one of the Cardassian ships had taken more damage than it could handle, sending a cascade failure to the other, being much too near, causing it to detonate as well—

Debris and metal flew out in all directions, blasting into the Alkaid and tearing into its outer plating, knocking everyone inside to the floor and dealing massive damage to the already broken ship— but as the warning lights flashed and warnings rung out, the crew began to pick themselves up off the floor—

Commander White drug herself from the floor and back into her chair, the wound on her arm stung terribly, and she was sure that she looked terrible— but they had survived, against all odds, they had made it—

"Status report…?" She groaned— everyone else on the bridge seemed to be okay, at least as far as she could tell—

"Reports coming in… Hull breaches on decks four through eight and nineteen through twenty one."

"Casualties?" She stammered out. A number she was dreading to hear, a battle of that magnitude surely put down more than she was willing to give up—

"Thirty-nine confirmed dead, and two hundred and sixty seven injured— that's all decks reporting in!"

"Count that as forty dead." Commander White turned her head to the back of the room where the medical team she had called for earlier was working— there was solemn look on the nurses face as he stood over the three wounded men— "Lieutenant Konnors is dead. Captain Elroy and Commander Chandlers are both in critical condition. I would like to take them both to-"

"Do as you must…" She waved him off before putting a hand over her heart— The loss of life was more than she could take, but such was the grim reality that came with the line of work— but she quickly turned to the rest of the crew, there wasn't time to mourn, not yet. "I want repair crews to seal those hull breaches immediately— and send out a distress call to the Zhukov, we're sitting ducks here and I don't want to be surprised by another attack!"

"Yes, Commander!" A chorus of voices rang out— and while they could never fully heal from the loss, they would make It through— no one had died in vain.

"Excellent… and resume our rendezvous with the Zhukov while we're at it, I want to minimize our time out here alone." She took a seat in her chair, wincing at the pain in her arm— it was going to be a long journey home."

"Course laid in, Sir."

"Let's Jolt." She threw her hand forward as she gave the signal, and the Alkaid took off towards its destination.

The battle was over.

-Six Months Later-

What was originally supposed to be a couple weeks' worth of repairs on the Alkaid had turned into a bit of an extended vacation for the crew— The Battle of Alkaid, as it was now called, had changed a lot, extending two weeks into six months of complete overhauls and repairs. Crews were swapped around, lives were changed—

Commander Chandlers had passed away in the wake of the battle, leaving the official casualty count at forty-one, while Captain Elroy had broken his spine, forcing him an early retirement from Starfleet— and impressed with her performance, Captain White had earned a promotion, and was to take command of the Alkaid in the absence of Tobias Elroy— And after six months of absence, Lavender was ready to begin her new mission—

The Alkaid was docked at Spacedock Earth, awaiting orders to be released— the crew had checked all the systems, then rechecked them again. Everything was running smoothly, and they were ready for warp.

"U.S.S. Alkaid, you are permitted to leave Spacedock." A voice rang over the comms system, and Lavender eagerly smiled.

"You heard them, take us out Mr. Grimm. Thrusters only."

"Aye, Sir. Thrusters online." Replied the Lieutenant, "Preparing for departure."

The ship inched forward, slowly at first, towards the large pair of doors on the outer wall of the Spacedock; Beyond, the infinite cosmos, where the future of exploration lay in wait.

"One thousand meters… nine hundred…"

The large doors opened with an audible hiss, sliding apart as the Alkaid drew near.

"Eight hundred… seven hundred…"

Lieutenant Grimm continued to count down how far away they were— some thing Lavender found a little annoying, but— until they had reached the doors themselves and were passing through, the infinite expanse of space visible to them as they went through. They could see Earth, a massive sphere far below them, and the moon far above, the lights of the lunar colonies twinkling in the distance.

"Clearing Spacedock…" Grimm drawled on.

"Excellent…" She chimed, "Now why don't we take her for a test run! Set a course for the Kuiper Research Station, Warp four!"

"Setting course."

"Warp engines are ready, Captain."

"Let's Warp," She called, "To new discoveries!" She threw her hand forward, giving the signal to Lt. Grimm at the helm.

"Arrival time set for three minutes, Captain."

"Excellent!" She stood up and crossed the bridge, stopping at the door to her ready room, "Lieutenant Commander K'Lynn, you have the bridge. I'll be in my ready room."

"Aye, Captain."

Lavender passed through the doors, which hissed closed behind her, and sighed with content— it was great to be back.

She was pleased to find that the ready room had been completed to her specifications, the spacious room already felt so home-like. On one wall, a painted scene of the New York Sky-Line, a view she rarely got to see since leaving her childhood home for the academy; and to her left, a mounted portrait of her parents— how she missed them— hung in view of her desk.

It was exactly how she had wanted it, save for the bland beige color the room had been painted in, but that was change that could be arranged later— for now, she ventured over to the replicator on the far side of the room—

"Water, cold."

And then she took a seat at her desk. In all the excitement of the day, she hadn't had time to catch up on the messages she had received; friends and family congratulating her on her promotion, and even a message from Admiral May, an old friend of her father's. She absentmindedly read the first few words of the message before a ring of the door chime interrupted her from her thoughts—

"Oh, uh… Come in." She called out— "Captains shouldn't stutter." She scolded herself.

The door hissed open, and Doctor White strode in. Chief medical officer and an extremely competent doctor, he had graduated as valedictorian of his class— he was one of the best— he also happened to be her twin brother, so chances are it wasn't important.

"Ola, Pepsi Cola!" He called out, joining her at the table with his own drink in hand, probably a soda.

"Yes? What is it, Florentine?"

"Do I always need to have a reason to visit you," He asked, hands already wandering over the different objects on her desk, playing with the mementos she had kept from over the years. "Can't a brother come say hi?"

"I mean, you can, but… you usually are hear to be a bother, so forgive my abruptness."

"A bother?"

"Yes. A Bother. An annoyance, a trouble-"

"Oh, Lavender, you crack me up," he teased, pressing a finger to her nose, "Boop."

Lavender just stared at him, unamused, before cracking alight smile at his playfulness— for a moment, the two foxes were lost in the joy for a moment before a call over the comms system interrupted them—

"We've arrived at the Kuiper Station, Captain, you're needed on the bridge."

"And now look, you've wasted my valuable time, dear brother." She joked, getting up from the seat and striding to the door.

"Ah, yes, the time you were using to catch up on your romance novels." He followed behind her, keeping a level pace as they both strode onto the bridge.

"Emails, actually."

"Yeah, yeah."

Lavender took her place at the Captain's Chair, Florentine siting beside her in one of the two seats on either side.

"On screen."

The screen lit up, showing an image of Neptune— it was massive, taking up almost the entire screen, several times larger than Earth— and above it, in synchronous orbit, was a space station, the Kuiper Research Station. Resembling a snowflake of sorts, several small discs circled a large, central orb, connected by tubes running between the two. All of it was encircled by a large ring, connected to each of the discs— the docking ring.

All in all, it appeared much smaller than Spacedock Earth, and its proportions wasn't helped by the sheer size of Neptune in the background.

"Fascinating, I've heard good things about this place, apparently, they've made some amazing discoveries about our solar system!" Florentine expressed, leaning forward in his chair to get a better look.

"Well, let's just hope they've got what we need."

Though Florentine was right, it was one of the leading research stations in the sector, with a lot of Earth's best scientists having worked there at some point or another in its over one hundred years of operation— to say it was fascinating was an understatement, it was more like an amazing piece of history for the Sol System.

"They're hailing us, Captain."

"Put em' on."

The screen changed to a view of the inside, an office of sorts, painted in a bland, pale orange color— in the center of the screen, an old looking Caitian, drooping whiskers and greying fur, with a pair of prominent blue eyes— Commander Zoltar, commanding officer of the Kuiper Research Station.

"Greetings, Captain."

Lavender had read up on him earlier— a Caitian of older age, he had several years of dedicated service to Starfleet, most of which was spent working at the Kuiper station itself. Once the lead scientist, he had taken up command after a back injury, leaving the scientific work to the younger officers—

"Hello Commander! We were just admiring the station!" She admitted, earning a small smile from the man. "It really is all its cracked up to be!"

"I'm glad to hear that, Captain. Would you like to come aboard?"

"Of course!" It was why they were there, after all, "I'm eager to meet the new officers joining us from your station, my first officer included!"

"He's an eager young man, I'm sure he'll fit in nicely."

The communication ended, and Lavender stood from her chair. "Alright! Florentine, Spears, Ryker- you're with me." Lavender gestured to the three officers in question before striding over the turbolift. "You have the bridge, K'Lynn."

"Aye."

The four of them had beamed down to the station promptly—

It was certainly a sight to behold; and while equipped with the latest in technological advances that Starfleet had to offer, it still bore its original interior design from the early twenty third century— brighter colors and lights, harsher angles, it still held those classic designs.

They found themselves standing in the transporter room with no one else around— and that was a bit strange, there was always a transporter chief around— standing around awkwardly, they waited for someone, anyone, to come.

Eventually, the door opened with a hiss, and Commander Zultar strode in, flanked by another younger looking Caitian. "Ah, Captain White! Welcome!" He extended his hand to her.

Lavender stepped down from the transporter pad and grabbed his hand firmly. "Great to be aboard!" She gestured to her fellow officers, "Let me introduce my crew, this is Doctor White…"

Florentine gave a small wave— at least he was behaving himself.

"And Lieutenant Spears…" She gestured to her left, and the golden retriever stepped forwards, hands behind his back, posture stiff—

"Greetings." The Lieutenant, while born on Klaria, was part Vulcan, something which certainly showed in his body language and voice— he stepped back behind Lavender.

"And finally, we have-"

"Bonnibel Ryker!" She interrupted, "Oh, uh… Lieutenant Bonnibel Ryker!" She enthusiastically thrust her paw forwards, and the old Caitian obliged— Bonnibel, like the others on the away team, was a Klarian, a rabbit like on, with tall ears and a round face— "Let me just say, it is an honor to be here!" She rambled, "I've heard so much about the Kuiper Station!"

"Well, Lieutenant Ryker, I'm glad you are enjoying yourself!" The Commander indulged further into the Lieutenant's excitement, earning a wide smile from her. "Shall we move over to the crew quarters then?"

"That would be excellent, please." Lavender encouraged, eager to move on and meet the final members of her crew— especially her new first officer.

Lavender had read over the record of her first officer several times, trying to get a better read on the man before their first meeting. Commander Autumn Arista, most recently the chief science officer on board the Kuiper Station, he had recently taken an interest in transferring to command— his service record was impressive, sure, but she worried a little bit in regard to his lack of experience in command. He'd spent his entire career as a science officer, was he truly ready for the responsibility and pressure of first officer, or would he crumble? Despite all the tests and simulations, it was hard to tell if someone could truly handle it. After all—

—After all?

There were several stories of promising young officers taking their place as first officer or Captain: honor students, real go getters. They would pass every single test with ease, breeze through the simulations, rise through the ranks. But real life was never like the simulations, and those officers who should have succeeded, didn't. Some people just weren't fit for the responsibility— And that was what she feared with him.

Well, she would find out soon enough— when they reached his quarters. Lavender prided herself in her ability to get along with others, not just through work, but through empathy and compassion. She was eager to get to know and like Commander Arista.

The crew quarters— they were reaching them now. Commander Zultar had been rambling on for some time now to the other officers, Lt. Ryker especially showing interest, while Lavender herself had been lost in deep thought. The Commander had been especially adamant about all the accomplishments the station had achieved, and he seemed especially proud of them.

"And, of course, the Kuiper Station has given rise to some of this sector's greatest scientists!" He boasted. "And our labs are some of the most advanced!"

"Amazing!" Bonnibel replied, and Lavender smiled at her childish wonder— she'd known the rabbit for years, having met her before either of them had ever entered Starfleet— she hadn't changed, in that regard. "Would you mind if we took a tour of the labs? I would really like to see your Astro-sciences department, and-"

"Ah, I'm sorry, my dear…" Zultar interrupted, "But the labs are currently under decontamination. We recently had a chemical leak and had to shut it all down."

"Oh… that's a shame." Lt. Ryker trailed off, but the comment only left Lavender with a puzzled look—

The station hadn't reported a chemical leak, she'd gone over the data earlier in the morning when she was given the mission briefing. It seemed strange that such a prestigious science station would hesitate to report it— but then again, the Commander seemed to be a proud man, especially considering the station, and conveniently forgetting to log that an accident had happened seemed just the thing he would do.

Or perhaps it was such a small mishap it didn't even warrant a mention—

"Anyhow, we've arrived!" He announced, stopping them outside a door. A small silver plaque on the door read "Autumn Arista." This was it— Commander Zultar sounded the chime, and after a few moments the door opened with a hiss.

The room was barren, empty, and plain, stripped of all indication that anyone lived inside besides the bed and other furniture— this Autumn fellow was clearly organized, at least, already packing all his stuff to be beamed to the ship— or maybe the room had always looked like this, maybe this Autumn fellow was the kind to put little effort into the decorative side of things—

And speaking of Autumn Arista, the man sat on the bed, anxiously tapping his feet on the floor as the group filed into the room— he was a handsome man, she would give him that, bright red hair, just like hers, and neat, golden fur. He was feline like in features, not a Caitian like Commander Zultar, but a Klarian feline, and he had the deepest, ocean blue eyes she had ever seen. He looked nervous, staring up at them.

"Wow… You're tall…" He mumbled, sheepishly staring her down before his cheeks went red— "Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Autumn Arista, and you must be Captain White?"

"Yes, I'm Captain Lavender Kathryn White." She held out her hand for him to shake, and he meekly took it— "These are my… well, our officers. Doctor White, Chief Medical Officer. Lieutenant Spears, Chief of Security, and Lieutenant Ryker."

"It's nice to meet you all…"

"Yes, quite." Lavender remarked. "And perhaps you would like to have your stuff beamed over to the ship?"

He nodded, smiling shyly at her as picked up his stuff.

It was hard to get a proper read on him. He was shy, for sure, or perhaps just nervous, but he seemed to be blocking himself off, trying to maintain a distance. It made him come across as cold, isolated. She wondered if the guy had a hard time making friends, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions— he could just be intimidated by her rank.

"Well," She clapped her hands together, and Commander Arista winced at the motion, "I suppose we will walk your stuff over to the transporter room then." She grabbed one of his bags.

"Oh, you don't…. you don't have to do that. I can get them…"

"Nonsense. I wouldn't want to carry all that by myself, so why should I make you?"

"Ah. Okay."

Following the rest of the crew out, Lavender hesitated for just a moment— she could distinctly feel eyes on her— and looked around the room. Across the way, stood a lone officer, shift eyed, staring directly at her; but his eyes fell when they met hers. Strange—

—to strange.

She was used to getting odd looks, she was on the taller side after all, and people tended to single out someone who towered over everyone else. But this shifty eyed stranger was something else, his eyes showed something more than a general curiosity.

Weird.

Lieutenant Ryker and the remaining science personnel that had transferred to the Alkaid had beamed aboard the ship with the commander's belongings, leaving herself, Spears, Florentine, and Commander Arista on the station.

Lavender had opted to prolong their stay a little longer. Not only to finalize any last-minute details regarding the personnel transfers, but also to get a read on the situation— while the walk back to the transporter room had been uneventful, it was then that she began to notice just how many shifty eyed strangers were on board this station. She'd caught at least four others staring at her from the corner of their eyes, acting shady, like they were trying not to get caught.

No one else had noticed it, or if they did, they hadn't said anything— it was all beginning to add up in a strange sort of way; the lack of personnel in the transporter room, the unlogged chemical leak, and the shift eyed strangers. All seemingly unrelated events, yet all confusing.

"So… is anyone else getting a strange feeling here, or is it just me?" She abruptly stated, earning a confused glance from her brother and Commander Arista.

Spears, however, didn't skip a beat— "Indeed, Captain. I was thinking the same thing."

"So, you noticed it to? How Commander Zultar didn't log the Chemical leak that closed down the lab?"

"Affirmative. Commander Zultar was quick to change the subject."

"And those shifty eyed officers staring at us?"

"Hold on, now you lost me, "Florentine interjected, "People have been staring at us?"

"Yes…" Lavender turned to Commander Arista, grabbing him by the shoulders and stopping the group in the hall where they stood. "Commander, what is your take on this?"

"I… I… uhm…" He stammered, "I wasn't aware there was any chemical leak. Commander Zultar confirmed some restricted testing was going on in the biochemical labs, but… but that's nothing new!" he defended.

Lavender wasn't someone who typically put doubt in other senior line officers, she typically felt confident in their judgement, but… these strange happenings were too odd to chalk up to coincidence or happenstance, and Commander Arista's statement all but put enough doubt in her mind to question if what Commander Zultar said had any truth to it— was there really a chemical leak in the labs or not? And what if—

—And what if what?

What if it was a lie? What in those labs was so secretive that he felt the need to lie, and did it have anything to do with the odd looks they were getting? She'd learned from experience that, whenever someone felt the need to blatantly lie, whatever they were doing was either secretive government work or something illegal—

And was she willing to leave it at that? No…

"Whatever you are, uh… thinking, Captain, I assure you that Commander Zultar had a good reason! I've known him for years now, and-"

"Commander, I'm not accusing him of anything, I simply just want to know the truth."

"I…? Right." He affirmed.

"So then, Commander, how's about we pay Mr. Zultar a visit?" She turned away from him, staring down at the floor a moment, lost in thought— What if was all a big misunderstanding? But then again, what if it wasn't— "And Spears, Doctor…" She leaned in to whisper to the two, making sure that Commander Arista didn't hear. "I want you to keep a low profile, blend in, a find out what is in that lab."

"Sure thing, sis."

"Affirmative, Captain."

"Good. Then we'll meet you back on the ship." She gave the two a wink, and strode off towards the administrative office with Commander Arista in tow—

Lavender had some doubts in him, he was obviously still loyal to Commander Zultar; and until any proof came to light to confirm her suspicions, she was happy to keep the feline at an arms distance to her intentions— after all, he seemed a sensible officer. If anything proved her right, he would most likely back her in a heartbeat, but—

—but until then she would see.

After returning to the ship to grab phasers and tricorders, as well as informing Lieutenant Commander K'Lynn of the mission status, Florentine and Spears were venturing deeper into the heart of research station—

Things were feeling pretty tense already, at least to Florentine— he had no idea how Spears felt, if he even felt— the halls were dark, abandoned, empty. It was already beginning to seem like maybe Commander Arista was right, and this all was just a big misunderstanding.

And sure, maybe it was strange that people were watching them and that this supposed chemical leak had never been logged down, but that didn't automatically mean something was afoot— right?

"It is quiet… too quiet." Spears remarked— maybe to him, maybe to himself, it was hard to tell, especially with that emotionless tone of his.

"Well, yeah. Obviously." He cautioned, "No one is around to make noise."

"It was simply a remark on our present situation, Doctor. I'm well aware that no one is around."

"Yeah, I get that, but… what are we even doing?"

"We are attempting to gather evidence to-"

"That was rhetorical!"

Florentine shuddered, maybe from nervousness or maybe from the cold— it was getting rather cold, noticeably colder than the rest of the station, maybe ten degrees or so— sneaking around like this was irrational, based solely on some strange coincidences? He was a doctor, for goodness' sake, not a spy!

They reached a door at the end of the hall, sealed shut by the looks of it— there was an electronic sign above it, flashing in red with bold letters that read "EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS"— and below it another sign that read, "Authorized Personnel Only".

"So, Commander Zultar did indeed lie. There is an experiment happening here."

"So what?" Florentine commented, "That doesn't mean anything."

"Perhaps not. Logically, we cannot say otherwise, either, until we get the proof to prove or disprove ourselves."

"Logically…"

Spears stepped towards the door, tricorder in one hand, the other typing away on the panel next to the door— they really were going through with this, weren't they— and Florentine stepped in beside him, a hand already gripping at the phaser on his waist.

There was a long, tense moment where nothing happened, neither of them making a sound save for their own breathing— Florentine could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears like a drum, he never had been good with dark places or sneaking in— before the door suddenly opened with a swish.

Florentine jumped back in fear, phaser raised at the empty corridor before he took notice that no one was there and sighed in relief. "A little warning, next time?"

"I was just looking to make you jump, Doctor."

"Har har. You know, it's funny when I mess with Lavender because we're siblings. It's not funny when you do it because you lack a sense of humor."

"Untrue, Doctor, I know several jokes." Spears commented, cautiously peering around the door frame.

"Right, and maybe you should start a comedy routine." Florentine followed him through the door, glancing around the frame as well— "I can see it now, "David Spears' standup comedy night", a real hit."

"Quiet, Doctor."

"You be quiet."

It was getting colder with each step; despite having fur, Florentine was already beginning to shiver— it seemed to have dropped ten whole degrees since they had left the outer discs. Not to terrible of a drop, but definitely a noticeable change— he just felt happy that his teeth weren't chattering.

They passed through several dark rooms, filled with scientific equipment and blank monitors. Despite the ominous red sign outside the door, it seemed that nothing was going on, it seemed like everything was at a standstill— the mystery seemed to get stranger and stranger.

"If there is an experiment, then why is nobody here?" He pondered out loud— or maybe he was expecting some sort of explanation from Spears— looking across the clean, untouched surfaces. "In fact, it doesn't look like anyone has even been in this part of the lab for awhile."

"Evidence of a chemical leak, Doctor?"

"Maybe…" But it didn't feel convincing enough to say either way, "All the surfaces look like they were extensively cleaned, but…"

"But?"

"Well… lets take a look into the labs systems. They would tell us if any lockdown procedures were put in place."

"Excellent idea."

The two stopped next to one of the monitors, watching as the screen lit up the LCARS display— Florentine sifted through the systems, slowly, carefully, making sure not to miss anything— but there was nothing, nothing but—

"That's strange…" He hesitated, giving Spears enough of a reason to peer over his shoulder. "That's really strange."

"What, Doctor?"

"Well… there is no mention of a chemical leak anywhere, nor of a decontamination. So Commander Zultar did lie… However…" He paused.

"However?"

"All the labs were shut down approximately two weeks ago, save for lab twenty-eight B. Several personnel were transferred to that lab for some sort of classified experiment." He punched in a few commands, bringing up a list of personnel—

There were twenty or so personnel of several different ranks, ranging from Starfleet medical doctors to a newly assigned ensign. From what he could directly see, they all had nothing in common, nothing except—

—No, that was too strange… Nothing except a small note at the bottom of their recent physical; in bold letters under each and every file, the words "Aggressive behavior during physical." And sure, it was nothing surprising, there were several Starfleet personnel who avoided a physical like the plague— but every single one being transferred to a classified project?

"And… thinking about it, doesn't it seem strange that Commander Arista was never transferred to this project?"

"Hmm. Strange indeed."

"I mean, he was the chief science officer here for a year or so. It would make sense for him to be put on a project, even if he was being transferred." Florentine once again looked over the files, trying to see if he had missed any names. "And see here, all the personnel files state that the subject had aggressive behaviors during the physical. Doesn't that seem strange to you? Certainly strange enough for it to be noted under every file."

"Aggressive behaviors? Doctor, that's hardly something-"

"Something of note? I know. But it's the fact that none of these officers seemed to ever display that kind of behavior before, at least during a physical? So, twenty-two officers just suddenly started acting aggressive, and then one week later are all transferred to a classified project while everything else is put on hold?"

"Strange. Perhaps we should investigate further into lab twenty-eight B."

"Yes, I think we should."

Now he was beginning to see what his sister was saying, something strange was definitely going on— a cold chill began creeping up his spine, the same cold chill when a predator is stalking its prey from the shadows, the same chill when a dangerous pair of eyes was watching— and the two left the room, making sure to shut down the system as they went, but…

Florentine was watching his back, eyes darting around the space before they ventured down the hall— and just as they were passing through the door, he swore he could see something moving in the shadows.

Things just got a whole lot creepier…

Meanwhile, on the Alkaid…

K'Lynn sat idly in the Captain's Chair, mind numbingly bored— nothing had happened since Doctor White and Lieutenant Spears had returned to the ship, and their mission status seemed to be coming up empty handed. After all, no one had updated her on their status yet, wasn't that something they were supposed to do?

"Status, Grimm?"

"No word from either party, sir."

"Tch."

Either they were so caught up in this investigation, or it they were coming up empty handed. Either way it was incredibly boring. And—

"Commander, I'm detecting some strange readings emanating from the station." Lieutenant Ryker piped up from one of the rear consoles— she'd asked her and Lieutenant Olivera to monitor for any suspicious— was something finally happening?

"I need more than that, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir… it appears to be some sort of chemical, unlike anything I've ever seen before."

"Let me see, Ryker." Olivera piped up from beside her, and he to stood over the console as well— after a moment, he chimed in again. "I can't seem to identify it, Commander."

"Yellow alert, and standby to raise shields."

"Yes, Commander!"

"Where are you detecting this chemical?"

"Uh… it appears to be in the lab section of the station, Commander, right where the Doctor and Spears said they would be…" Lt. Ryker replied.

"Alright, I want you to figure out what this chemical is and if it is dangerous. We may have a problem on our hands." K'Lynn then turned back to look at the viewscreen— the picture of the station in the distance hung idly by— "Contact the away teams, immediately."

To Be Continued…