Captains Log Stardate 3951.5

On a routine return trip to Earth following the Babel Conference we have been knocked out of warp by an unknown force. The ship has sustained significant damage. Lieutenant Commander Scott has initiated repairs. Mr Spock is scanning the entiry now...

A violent shudder rocked the Enterprise causing Kirk to punch the button on his commander's chair with urgency to cut short his update. He winced as he looked at the large main viewing screen which dominated on wall of the bridge. At the moment it displayed only a serene star field, but he knew whatever had damaged his ship was close.

As he watched the screen the intercom crackled into life. "Captain, that last hit knocked out both our warp engines and weapons systems and the shields will not take another hit ! Its bad down here Sir !"

"Thank you Mr Scott, give me an update as soon as you have one, we're sitting ducks here..."

"Aye, will do. Scott out" the response was brief, followed by silence.

Kirk frowned "Sound red alert Mr Sulu"

"Aye Captain". The immediate reply came from the helmsman.

The alarms sounded all over the USS Enterprise but in amongst all of the noise and flashing warning lights the bridge crew worked carefully, none of them betraying the sense of urgency that they all felt.

Kirk turned from the view screen, "Report Mr Spock".

Spock looked down and studied his instrument panel for a moment then replied "Initial scan is inconclusive captain, the entity is giving off fluctuating readings"

The captain turned back to the screen – appearing from the left side of screen, moving slowly but steadily, he could see a large translucent shape. It reminded him of a huge pulsating jelly fish. The shape seemed to grow larger as it moved directly in front of them, keeping pace with the starship; the edges glowed brightest with a myriad of swirling yellow hues.

"Best guess Mr. Spock ?" He implored.

"Captain, I hardly think this is an appropriate time for speculation..."

Kirk interrupted his first officer "now, Mr. Spock!"

Spock bristled for a second, stunned by the interruption, before he turned away from his screens to address Kirk.

"Very well captain.. the entity appears to be composed of an unknown gelatinous substance, generally round in shape and if I were to...guess, I would say that it is approximately 1324.7 miles in diameter. It is also growing rapidly and heading toward us. Without warp engines we cannot outrun it, without weapons we cannot fire on it and at its current density and speed we will not survive the impact. It will engulf us in two and a half minutes."

Despite the barage of information that portrayed a bleak scenario, Kirk could not help but smile at the Vulcan "1324.7 miles Mr. Spock? Next time...try to make your guess work more accurate. Options?"

Spock thought for a few seconds, "Well captain, my scan indicated there is a small hole in the object. It is changing in size, with the careful use of impulse engines we should be able to align ourselves so that we pass through this area as the entity reaches us..but Captain", Spock paused, "the stars beyond this hole do not appear to be in their correct positions. This needs to be investigated more fully."

"That's something we'll have to worry about later Mr Spock. We don't have the luxury of time. Mr Sulu, plot a course for that hole!"

Sulu carefully looked at his console, at the readings given to him by Spock and then moved his hands quickly over the navigation controls. As the rest of the crew felt the Enterprise lurch downwards the Lieutenant continuing to make minor adjustments as the entity rapidly approached.

The bridge crew shielded their eyes as the yellow edges became larger and brighter. Eventually the sun-like effect started to dim as the starship headed towards the center of the object. As the Enterprise started to pass through the hole Kirk opened his communication channel to broadcast to the entire Enterprise crew.

"All hands, brace for impact"

The bridge crew each instinctively grabbed their workstations for support, a motion that was mirrored by everyone throughout the starship. The crew waited, each person awaiting their fate, expecting at any given second that their faithful craft would come to a frightening, immediate, halt.

The impact never came.

Instead of a collision, as Kirk and the others watched, the air around them seemed to momentarily shimmer, their movements temporarily sluggish as time itself appeared to slow down. The disconcerting effect stopped as quickly as it started.

"Good work Mr. Sulu" Kirk exclaimed as soon as they were completely through the gap, "Spock, report"

"We sustained no damage Captain, although all systems remain offline" the Vulcan replied in his monotone voice.

"Mr Sulu, Cancel red alert and switch viewer to aft".

The warning alarms and lights stopped, the silence which replaced it, a welcome change. Through the rear viewer the gelatinous entity could been seen - the hole which they had just passed through was noticeably shrinking as they watched on. Kirk ordered the viewer to be switched forward and immediately they could see a blue and green planet ahead.

"Spock...is that..."

"Earth captain' finished Spock

"But that's impossible!", The Captain exclaimed, "we were light years away !"

"Never the less", continued Spock, nodding in agreement, "that is Earth."

"Move us into orbit Mr Sulu. Uhura, contact star fleet command"

The communication officer nodded, but after a moment she turned back around, a look of distress on her face.

Kirk frowned, "What is it Uhura?"

"Captain, star fleet command is not responding on any frequency, and I am picking up some strange signals on an old broadcasting range. It is on an old radio frequency, but it's the only thing I can hear. I must have intercepted a story or something sir..." Uhura froze.

"What is it Lieutenant?" Kirk implored again.

"Well sir...I don't understand. The broadcast keeps mentioning 'the undead'".