They came upon

another strange region

two stellar objects

impossibly close

a pulsar which

emits cosmic radiation

that would likely kill

one sixth of the boat

and beside it

almost overlapping

a black hole which

disappeared, reappeared

between them

like the dust rings of Saturn

a river of rock

churning, grinding to shear

The wisest thing

would be flying around it

the dangers were great

the objects too close

but the Enterprise crew

would have none of it

enchanted by

this celestial host

Such a monstrous pulsar!

huge and consistent

regular in its beam

of deadly cosmic rays

Such a strange black hole!

that existed, then didn't

sucking up space-time

then spitting out again

The dust in between

sometimes orbited Skylla

only to be swallowed

when Charybdis arrived

then Charybdis threw up

in a roaring explosion

the dust and gas

it had digested inside

no one had ever

seen anything like it

they watched from afar

not believing their eyes

but sensors they showed

this truly existed

the question was

do they dare venture in?

do they risk life and crew

ship, science, and mission

for one moment

facing these stellar twins?

Logic said no

their duty was only

observe as far as

safe practice allowed

Spirit said yes

their mission had lately

been sorrow, forgetting

the thrill of profound

Word strangely agreed

with Spirit's assessment

because to be living

one must feel alive

Heart pointed out

that living, thrill seeking

are two different things

to live is to strive

Wind thought their mission

was exploration and wonder

was breaking limits and seeking

new thresholds in tests

Warp said they too often

broke ship and each other

pushing beyond physics

in that process

Rose and Thorn disagreed

Rose thought of potential

no one had ever touched matter

that had touched a black hole

Thorn thought of the limits

of absolutes, of shattered

memories ejecting core

and ship punched through with toll

Kolokol voiced that he

would like to explore them

but with this kind of sand pressure

it was suicide to try

then Ethics, with soft voice

clear conscience and feeling

said it was their duty

to explore and to fly

For ethics not only

provides rules and safe borders

but finds the right boundaries

to allow every life

to flourish, prosper, and multiply fully

without inflicting

such a terrible cost

minimizing any

pain and suffering

that beings will pay

in the process of loss

It was risky and dangerous

but with proper precautions

with protocols in place

and staff fully briefed

the Enterprise could manage

to take close range readings

and witness the monsters

without causing grief

it would cost careful timing

some preparation and planning

nothing so reckless

as blind flying the breach

but with commitment and daring

to exploration and science

they could discover

recover, find wonder, and reach.

The next seven days

they committed their sensors

to making huge stellar maps

and timing the two stars

they discovered the period

of cosmic radiation

and found the frequency

of the chasm's occurrence

they sent probes and robots

to explore the dust region

one of their probes

was swallowed in space

when it reappeared

five hundred years later

it contained readings

of the time below place

they rigged up a shuttle

as remote controlled leader

which successfully navigated

their test run through sand

all of this data

would have been enough to

secure their place

in fame's grasping hand

but they weren't after fame

and they weren't after glory

they were searching for something

inside themselves

when the captain ordered

a flight between monsters

they felt prepared

they felt overwhelmed

no one had ever

done what they were doing

no one had seen

what they would see

no person alive

had ever encountered

such impersonal forces

in such proximity

so they flew

they succeeded

it was not smooth sailing

like climbing

a volcano

at midnight

with roaring thunderstorm

there were some close calls

between Skylla

Charybdis

the forces rip pulling

their ship

helm to stern

but there were no deaths

no injuries

no major losses

just laughter to have

safely soundly emerged

the few ship damages

were repaired in short order

the Enterprise flew

away

leaving

in ether

the monsters' wide spectrums

indescribable, obscene

the kind that left mortals

gasping prayers to vespers

the kind made life

taste of lemon citrine.

Heart, Word, Warp, Ethics,

Spirit, Rose, Thorn, Wind

and Kolokol

witnessed

flew

to their fates unforeseen.