Arrival at the Gate

Posted on 28 Nov 2021 @ 8:41pm by Captain Jonathan Reynolds & Commander Amelia Fox & Lieutenant Commander Aidan Datari & Lieutenant Cassandra Higgins-Stevens & Lieutenant JG Rosaline Belikov & Lieutenant C'Tora Kuroka & Ensign Adam Morgan & Lieutenant JG Harper Matthews

Mission: Picking up the pieces
Location: USS Andromeda, Main Bridge
Timeline: After haggling with an audience
2827 words - 5.7 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

C'Tora had just finished treating the injured on the bridge when he looked up and saw the ship vanish. His eye slits narrowed and he let out a short low growl. "A gate? did they send out a pulse or a code? "His ears flattened back and was getting more than slightly annoyed. "Someone please tell me that we can follow them and retrieve our people."

The gentle hiss of door parting announced the arrival of a turbolift and Cassie stepped out onto the bridge and she was followed by a Lieutenant Smith.

"Commander!" The Counsellor moved towards the First Officer. "Apologies. Lieutenant Smith and I were on our way to the bridge... What happened?"

Though he was technically the acting first officer now, with the captain gone and the first officer now the acting captain, Aidan had chosen to remain at the science station. "We were pursuing a ship, but it disappeared," Aidan explained simply, nodding towards the screen. "Right through that gate. Scans aren't turning up much except that it seems to be some kind of portal. I'm not sure if we can get through, all we can do is try."

C'Tora's Tail and whiskers dropped. " Please do what you can, My heart is on the other side of that gate and it's getting further away by the second. "

Stepping onto the bridge, Rose quickly made her way to one of the auxiliary stations where she brought up her intelligence feed and waited for orders.

Amelia had watched the ship disappear through the gate as it closed behind it. "All Stop. Do we know how they activated that gate?"

The Trill shook his head. "No ma'am," he answered, "They must've used some kind of trigger."

Cassie didn't really know what to do with herself now that she was on the bridge so she found a spot near the horseshoe-style console where it met the flooring and she couldn't help but realize how much of a bad design it was. Very low to the ground and could easily be a trip hazard for someone who was not paying attention to what was going on.

Emotions were high on the bridge, thinking that was an understatement if ever there was one. Harper looked at the viewscreen a little blankly as she noticed it disappear from view. Jon was on there and she couldn't help but feel a little lost at the man she'd really just met being taken from her life. Their 'romance' had been new, quick, and unexpected but still, it was fun and exciting, and the prospect of losing that and her Captain in one go was not something that made her feel all that great.

"Their trail just seems to stop Commander," Harper reported from her scans of the area. "There was a spike of something, a signal before it 'jumped' but I cannot seem to isolate it at the moment."

C'Tora looked at the view screen and asked. " What kind of spike? Electrical? Neutron? Tachyon? or perhaps mental? " He paused and thought a moment.

"Can we get the computer to analyze the spike and compare it to known energies or phenomena? Couldn't hurt to try."

"Stevens to Commander Fox. I'm so sorry about this but my daughter may be heading to the bridge. I'm in pursuit Maam."

Amelia frowned as she responded. “Why are you bringing your baby to the bridge? Wait a minute…”. She did a double-take. “Did you say you’re in pursuit of your daughter? How?”

The doors of the turbolift opened and a familiar ethereal-looking woman walked on the bridge. Everyone seemed to look at her and recognize her.

"It's been a long time since I have been near a gateway," she said.

"Methalina?" Cassie asked as she moved towards the young women, incredulity, and disbelief at the Captain's earlier assertions starting to give way to a tentative acceptance that he could very well have been right... not that she would admit it to him of course. "Commander, this is Lieutenant's Stevens and Lau's daughter... Methalina!"

Amelia’s mouth dropped open in astonishment at the woman she saw before her. She also recognized her as the woman of her dream. “It’s you. Who are you?”

C'Tora stood there in a state of shock briefly, blinking his eyes and trying to process the information. "Wait! What? How?" He continued to stare at her. "You're Xu and Oliver's baby?" As he pulled his medical tricorder to confirm what he had heard.

"That was..." she looked around her face suddenly clearly struggling. "The vessel..."

Oliver appeared on the next turbo lift.

"Dad," she looked at him. "It's happening again. So many memories. I want to stay with you. Experience this life. Be here for when mum wakes up but I have embraced them as dark as some of them are. I need to protect you all. They are rising again. I was and am a chosen guardian."

Oliver bit his lip. He had a feeling he was about to lose a lot more.

"You need my memories to pass through that," she pointed on the screen the alien gateway getting bigger. "And I need you to find my people. Help keep them safe. I have to... there are things I need to do to prepare. Treaties need reminding and calling back in. Allies need-finding again.

Uncle Jon ..." she said suddenly her mouth wide open. "They have him. Others too."

Ethan had gone to one of the auxiliary stations, communications area, and turned to look at the newly arrived woman, standing up as he stared at her. "I saw you in my dreams!" he exclaimed. Also feeling chills run up and down his body, his skin prickling up with goosebumps.

The turbo lift door opened once more with the red-headed Riley Ames stepping out onto the bridge. "What is going on? I am not finding Lieutenant Hawkins around. Has anyone seen him?"

C'Tora pointed to the viewscreen and at the gate. "Lieutenant Hawkins and three other personnel from this ship were abducted by the traders and are on the other side of that gate." He stated to Riley. There was a low growl in his voice and his tail swished back and forth with annoyance. "Captain, permission to gather a squad of security to stand by in the transporter room. We're going to have to check our people or treat their injuries and I'm ready to go."

"Good idea Doctor, who knows what we're going to find on the other side, but standby for my orders, understood?" Amelia replied.

C'Tora had to fight back a laugh and almost choked on it. " Of course I'm going to standby for your orders, since I'm not fond of being court martialed, That and I'm going to be with a security squad who'd be more then happy to tackle and shackle me if I were foolish enough to try to leave the ship without authorization. I'll meet them in the transporter room after fetching a few more pieces of gear. " With that said he spun about and head for the turbolift.

Amelia turned her attention back to the mysterious young woman and weighed her options for a moment. "Well, since you're the only way we have at the moment to get our people back, I don't think we have any options. I'm willing to take a leap of faith here. What do you need?"

Cassie stood her ground, still feeling a little uncomfortable with the idea that this girl come woman was actually a goddess-like being... In the same breath though she couldn't explain the girl's rapid growth and she certainly didn't have any other ideas. Instead, she found the seat next to the Captain's chair that Captain Reynolds had told her about and dropped down into it having a feeling things were about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Methalina looked confused. Her eyes fixed on Oliver. She looked frightened. "Father..."

He walked forward and hugged her. Not knowing what else to do.

"So much information. It's going to take me a minute .... There are some other things I need to .... before ...."

Pulling out of the hug she looked at Harper and Cassie. "We need to talk," she said suddenly firmly. In a flash, Methalina and Harper disappeared. They appeared in Jon's ready room.

"You need to find the alliance records and rouse your people," she told her firmly.

The quick flash of moment from bridge to ready room gave Harper pause as she blinked a few times to get her bearings. What Methalina said was confusing to her to say the least, she just didn't understand. That and to see the woman who'd zapped her brain the night before was rather disconcerting.

"My people?" Harper asked. "I don't understand. Humans have only been capable of real spaceflight a couple of hundred years. You must be confusing me for someone, surely Commander Fox would be better? She's Human and higher rank than me..."

"You don't know do you?" the woman said confused. "You're not human. I'm not looking for humans. There safe back in the what you call the alpha quadrant. There are very few of you here. You need to find your people. They were in the original alliance, original war. The monsters awaken again. All allies need rousing once more."

"What?" Harper scoffed. "I am Human... I have Human parents, brothers... all my life, my medical records say I am Human." she protested as her mind spun. "Wait... how long ago was this alliance?" Harper asked, coming to more of her right mind.

"A very long time ago," Methalina looked at her as if she had a further head. "You are not human. People are keeping things from you."

Harper went to open her mouth but before she could a light enveloped her and she was zapped back to the bridge. She tried to get her bearings a bit but then suddenly Cassandra disappeared.

"I need to thank you and to ask you to look after my father," the young woman told her suddenly.

The sensation of being sat on the bridge in what was now her chair and suddenly being thrust into another room into a standing position was enough to turn Cassie's stomach but it did clear one thing up. Methanlina was certainly more than any form of sentient life within the galaxy except maybe the Q.

"That goes without saying, my sweet girl. What about your mother... Do you know if she will wake up?" Cassie had stepped forward and taken Methalina's hands in her own knowing that Xu would be beyond proud of what her daughter was doing, achieving despite the accelerated growth.

"She has free will. If and when she chooses too," Methalina answered looking down at their hands. "Hopefully. Hopefully I will get to speak with her like this one day. But you were also like a mother in her stead though. You fed me, cared for me when Daddy was in shock. I thank you."

"I did what anyone else would have done!" and no sooner had Cassie said so than she had once again appeared back on the bridge.

Amelia watched as people disappeared and reappeared on the bridge. Methalina was definitely powerful, and certainly more than human. It seemed they had little choice but to accept her help.

Aidan abandoned his station and walked over to Oliver, gently placing a cool hand on his arm in a sign of silent support. He knew like no other what it was like to lose a loved one, and he felt this man was about to lose a great deal. "It'll be alright, somehow," he whispered softly.

"It all happened so fast," Oliver said sadly. "And Xu didn't even get to .. hold her. Even speak. She might not even awaken again. How do I process and live with all this?" he turned and asked the Trill. "Also my best friends missing."

"I don't know," Aidan answered honestly, "all I can do is draw from my own experiences, and offer you the support I can. But I do know how you feel, and I can tell you that in time, you'll be alright. Loss hurts, big time, but it'll make you stronger."

Oliver nodded. "Thank you, Commander."

There was a further flash and Cassie was back in her seat. Methalina locked eyes with the woman in the centre chair. "The knowledge you need is in the computer now. It might take you a while to catch up. Get your people back. Seek out allies, new and the ancients. We will prepare in our reality too. When its time ...." her eyes moved to Oliver. "We will meet again."

And then she was gone.

Amelia looked in shock at the empty space where Methalina had stood for a moment. She stood and went over to Oliver, Putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry Lieutenant. Let’s not waste the knowledge she’s given us.”

She turned to Aidan. “Using the new information in the computer, work out how to activate the gate and prepare to follow the other ship in there.”

"Of course," the Trill replied as he gave Oliver's arm a final squeeze before moving back to his station. "Want to help me?" he asked of the stricken man as he reactivated his console and started to study the new data. "I could use some specialist help here," he added, a little louder.

Ethan looked around seeing the shock and dismay evident on their faces, he then turned to look towards rose who had arrived as well. "I suggest that if there is a possible way to go after the ones who stole our people, then we go after them. She said she had put in the computer what we need to get ourselves moving? Then let's get going." sure he's not in a command position but he was hoping that his voice would snap people out of their shock.

Riley who had been trying to figure out just what was going on, raised his eyebrows at this. "We are missing people? We're dealing with a goddess? What the heck is going on? I just came up here to find out if there were any answers that could be had."

Ethan looked at Riley, "The Captain, Lieutenant Hawkins, Ensign M'tara Kuroka and..." he looked at his PaDD to see who else wasn't there, "And Ensign Morgan, they are no longer on the ship."

Ensign Riley Ames shook his head, "Okay, if anyone needs me I will be in engineering. Unless you need me on the bridge." looking towards Amelia, then the others.

"Carry on Ensign. We'll call you if you're needed" Amelia said as she sat back in the Captain's chair.
She took some deep breaths as she gripped the armrests for a moment. The outer ring of the gate suddenly started rotating. There were many strange symbols that looked to be engraved on the surface. Every now than then it stopped and the symbol at the top glowed for a moment before it started rotating again. After it did this seven times, there was an immense flash of light as the gateway activated, becoming a swirling vortex.

Amelia managed a smile "Good work Commander." She said to Aidan, then added "All hands! Secure primary systems and prepare to enter the gateway. Helm! Take us in, manoeuvring thrusters only."

"Aye sir," came the voice of a scared but confident little ensign that had taken Morgan's position at the helm and the ship started to move slowly towards its destination.

C'Tora tapped his combadge. Captain, I and the security squad are in transporter room number three, We are standing by and await your order.

In the confusion of being zapped away, Harper had missed the creation of a security team, this was only brought to her attention by Dr Kuroka down in a transporter room. 'Doctor, this is Ensign Matthews, I am on my way down to join you.' she said as she signalled someone to take over her station. The news she had gotten from Methalina had not sunk in yet, she needed this distraction.

"I'll go to the transporter room. Someone needs to calm down the doc," Oliver stated. "I know I'm not a command officer but no way would a security team be sent into a complete unknown through an alien gateway until we have some known facts."

A bright light filled the viewscreen as the ship disappeared through the gateway.


OFF:

Commander Amelia Fox
XO
USS Andromeda

Lieutenant JG Cassandra Higgins
Ships Counsellor - USS Andromeda

Lieutenant JG C'tora Kuroka
Chief Medical Officer
USS Andromeda

Ensign Harper Matthews
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Andromeda

Ensign Adam Morgan
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Andromeda

Lt. Commander Aidan Datari
Chief Science Officer

Lieutenant JG Ethan Smith
Assistant Intelligence Officer

Lieutenant Michael Hawkins
Chief Engineer

Lieutenant Oliver Stevens
Transporter chief