The Captain's Logs

Posted on Wed Mar 6th, 2024 @ 2:24am by Captain Remy Johansen & Commander Maxun Spello

2,843 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Artifact or Artifiction
Location: Alien Vessel Serenity, Captain's Quarters
Timeline: MD 2, 1600 hours

After they left the deck containing the hibernation chambers, Maxun and Commander Johansen made their way up thirteen levels, in search of the vessel's Captain's quarters. "If I may, Ma'am?" He pressed the lift hold button, then turned to face her, thinking it best, now that they were alone, to give her some information about how his species might know of this one.

Remy stiffened and stepped back, startled by the fact that an officer she had known for only a few hours had just cornered her in a lift and stopped it's movement. She eyed the control console just beyond his right arm and watched him for sudden movements. "What is it, Lieutenant?" she asked.

Feeling her sudden unease, Maxun moved back, giving her room and presenting as non-threatening a stance as possible. "Forgive me for this, Ma'am. I just felt that you should know something about my species before we continue. And it I'd something that I will need your word that you will not divulge to anyone else." He then took a breath and waited for her reply.

"That's a difficult promise to make without knowing what I am about to be told," Remy told him candidly.

Letting out a breath, Maxun nodded in understanding. "That is fair, Captain." He paused for a few beats, then finally spoke. "I'm not sure if you know, my my species ate one of the oldest in this galaxy. We began exploring the stars when dinosaurs were still evolving on Earth. The Originators and Organians are the only species older than us. Now," he paused to take a breath. "Unlike the first two, my species went out across the galaxy, learning about the younger races, watching them develop. We have one rule, much like your Prime Directive, we don't reveal who and what we are to species that have not achieved warp power. And even then, we don't interfere. At least, we usually don't." He stopped, clearly feeling uncomfortable with revealing all of this to an outlander.

"That's not much of a secret any longer, Lieutenant. And Starfleet has certainly engaged in similar behavior," Remy responded.

Maxun nodded. "And I've seen both your people and mine, who have disregarded that law." He sighed before continuing. "Long before the Borg annihilated my home, there was rumor of a sect of fanatics who wanted to change how the younger races evolved. They believed that, if properly motivated, they could control the younger races, turn them against one another, for no other reason, than for their own enjoyment." He shook his head in disappointment. "Most of the fanatics were rounded up almost three thousand years ago, however, a few managed to escape." He paused. "I think one of them managed the work a split in the ancient Vulcans, driving the people who would become the Romulans out and got all of this rolling."

"So what's the secret?" Remy asked, getting impatient for him to get to the point.

Arching his right eyebrow, Maxun replied. "That was, Captain. If it got out that El Aurians started the bloodshed that has taken countless lives in this part of the galaxy, how do you think that will look for those of us in Starfleet, or even just minding their business, wherever they are?"

Remy crossed her arms and leaned against the wall of the lift. "You're presenting this to me as a theory, not fact. And even if your theory is correct, we've come far beyond judging an entire race for the actions of political agencies who happen to be of the same kind. And perhaps you forget - humans are short-lived. I can't even fathom passing judgment on actions from 3,000 years ago."

"Either way. And regardless of how these people got here. Why are you telling me this now? She asked.

Her reply caused Maxun to grin slightly. "Forgive me, Ma'am. Sometimes I forget how forgiving your species can be. And to answer your question, because there are some who claim that we created the Borg themselves. Over the years, I have heard people say that we deserved what we got because of it. If that is true, and a member of my species also caused this to happen, where another entire species was nearly wiped out," he shook his head sadly. "I don't know if my people could survive it."

"And who would be your executioners?" Remy stated. It was more of a challenge than a question. "We've known of the Romulan and Vulcan division for quite some time now. The Vulcans themselves speak of their own violent history claim they would be no different today if they didn't work to suppress their emotions."

"I wouldn't worry about what we find here. If something does arise... Well I know how to push buttons, and Dr. Jackson has quite a lot strings he can pull. I don't see either of us letting the El Aurians be some sort of martyr."

Nodding, Maxun replied. "Forgive me for saying, Ma'am, but for a species so young, Humans never cease to amaze me. Of all the species I have encountered, yours is my favorite." He dipped his head respectfully. "Thank you for listening, Ma'am." He then pressed the lift control to resume their journey.

Remy stifled something between a scoff and laugh, not knowing if she should feel insulted or flattered. "Are you sure you want to do this? If we are going to be waking these people out of stasis anyway, perhaps we don't need to go through any more logs."

Shaking his head, Maxun replied. "No Ma'am, I'm sure we still need to. We can't help these people if we don't have all of the facts, no matter how difficult they are to learn."

The lift doors opened to a hallway had appeared by the ship's specs to be where senior staff, including command were housed. Remy looked at her PADD. "I think it's at the end of this section, at the corner where the corridor intersects with the next one down."

Maxun nodded, then took the lead, in case there was any danger. When they reached the desired door, he looked at the control mechanism. "Looks similar to what we have on our ships, a simple bio lock mechanism. I think I can bypass it." He then pulled out a set of tools and pried the cover off. After looking at the innards, he started to work the various wires. "I think...." There was an audible click, and the door slid open some.

After he put his tools away, Maxun stepped up to the door and he grabbed it with both hands and pulled. At first, it didn't budge. He then planted his foot on the opposite side of the door frame and tried again. This time, the door shifted open several more inches, before stopping again, but there was now enough room for them to slip inside.

"Remind me to contact security about upgrading our locks when we get back," Remy commented dryly as she stepped through the open door and took a looked around.

Maxun chuckled softly. "It's part of my training, Ma'am." He then followed her inside, and looked around. "Looks cozy," he remarked quietly.

Remy stepped carefully through, not wanting to disturb any personal effects. She noticed two computer terminals. One was at a desk with several drawers. Remy walked over to it and opened one of the drawers and found disintegrated pieces of what looked like paper. A notebook of some kind. "Maybe she liked to write things down. Probably shouldn't touch that. Science may be able to put it back together. Do you want to try the computer?"

Stepping over to look, he nodded. "A ship this old, they might still have been using some form of paper at times." Then, looking at the computer, he nodded. "It is why we came up her, isn't it, Ma'am?" He smiled softly, then moved to sit down at the console. After putting on the helmet, he nodded to Remy. "I'm ready, Ma'am. Choose a crystal, and let's see what the Captain had to say."

Remy looked at him sideways before she hesitantly picked a data crystal and put it into the receiver. The same olive skinned woman they had seen in the holograms appeared, this time she did not appear to be in uniform, but was clad in a purple tunic and light gray pants. She was sitting, in a room, likely the one that Remy and Maxun were in.

"We've been at space for only three weeks now. It doesn't appear that the invaders have ventured much further than Bhiton and Tanahr, but Janar has began preparations for evacuations as well, not only so that they may join us - but they fear that the inevitable is near. I still have nightmares about the people we left behind. They wake me up at night... I haven't been sleeping."

Unlike before, when he was observing things through the soldier's eyes, this time, Maxun was watching the recording from the third person perspective. He looked around the cabin, as the captain continued to speak. While he couldn't interact with anything, he was able to see the Captain's cabin, as it had looked 2500 years ago. "Captain," he said aloud to Remy. "This file is different. I'm not seeing things from the Captain's point of view, but instead, I'm in her cabin, like an observer."

"And you can still talk to me?" Remy asked. "I can hear her recording, but I am apparently not seeing what you are seeing."

"I think my mind is protecting itself," he replied. "I don't feel what she was feeling, it's like I'm just a ghost in the recording." While Maxun didn't move in the seat, in the recording, he was able to move about and see things in the cabin, and even see the position of the stars through the viewports. "Hold on a second....I can see the stars....I'm looking for anything familiar...maybe we could figure out better where they came from."

"It's been almost two months now. We once thought of the Galaxy as a safe place to explore and trade, but we are finding there are more threats out here than the ones that invaded our land. Perhaps we were naive - No not perhaps. We were foolish to not have developed weapons or shields earlier. A way to protect ourselves. We're afraid to stay in one place for too long. There's some dissention on the ship. People wondering if we ever should have left..."

As the recording continued, Maxun studied the starfield, as he calculated astral positioning that might have been, 2500 years prior. "Now...mind you the time difference, Ma'am...but...I think...when this recording was made...they were near...uhhh...Unroth? Possibly even Cheron?"

Remy took a moment to orient herself. "Okay, and this is still just a few months into their journey. I don't know how good our records even are of when Romulans went where that long ago."

I'm tired and I'm lonely. I never thought it would be this long. We've entered into some kind of void. There are no stars. The crew has started to go .... Well the medical officers and counselors are concerned. There's talk of voluntary stasis to save research - and to protect the crew's sanity... I don't know what to do...

Maxun continued around the recorded image of the Captain's quarters. He saw a screen that showed the number of crew in hibernation. "Looks like, by this point, only a quarter of the crew were out of cryostasis. Presumably, they had a rotating work detail going, to ensure everything kept working." He then pondered aloud, "But then...what happened to the last detail that was awake? What prevented them from waking everyone else up?"

"Should we try another crystal?" Remy asked. "We're in her quarters, if something happened she may not have had time to bring anything back here."

The Captain began again, looking older this time, "It's been 3 years in this void now. Navigation isn't certain that we haven't been going in circles. I'm the only one who hasn't rotated into stasis yet, and it may be too late for me to regain my sanity should we ever exit this void. I'm being relieved of duty, and my first officer will be revived to continue to try to navigate the ship out of this area. I wish him the best of luck, and to get our people safely somewhere. To anyone who reads this, I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to complete this mission. I wish I could say I tried my best, but I don't even know anymore.

Maxun was confused. Twice now, the ship's captain had mentioned being in a starless void. However, when he looked out the recorded image of the viewport, he could clearly see stars. "Captain, I'm at a bit of a loss here about something. Twice now, the Serenity's captain has made mention of her ship being in a starless void. And yet, I can see stars out of the recorded viewport. I can't explain the disparity." He looked around the room again, finding it in disarray, unlike before. "And it seems the Captain has let her cabin cleanliness go to the side as well. Maybe...." he went silent for moment. "Maybe something happened to them, that we haven't yet discovered, that caused them to believe they were in an empty void?"

"All of them?" Remy asked incredulously. "What could cause that?"

Maxun considered the question for a moment, then shook his head. "There are too many unknown variables still for me to give you even a reasonable guess, Captain. I need to keep researching the files. Maybe something will pop up."

"That's what you do, isn't it?" Remy responded, referring to his position as chief intelligence officer. "I'll have someone from security come keep you company. I don't want you to be alone if another one of these goes rogue."

Maxun chuckled softly and nodded, both in the recording, and as he sat in the chair. "To use an old Human phrase, Ma'am, It's why you pay me the big bucks." He grinned at the old joke, then he got more serious. "However, I agree with your caution. No one should be going through these files alone." He reached up and severed the connection to the recording. Opening his eyes, he looked at Remy. "I give you my word as an El Aurian, that I will not look into any more files until someone is here to look after me."

"I'll have McEntyre send someone up right away. They were going to be moving the working stasis units from down below to a place with more stable power supply. You're theory about the computer choosing who to save is panning out. Our team down there caught one that was about to go out earlier," Remy told him. "I should go check on the progress."

Maxun frowned at that. "I only wish we had found this ship sooner. Then more of the crew and passengers would be alive."

Remy sighed. "I don't know that it's been anywhere that we could have found it."

Nodding, Maxun replied. "You're right, of course, Captain. I think it boils down to the fact that...something about this ship, and it's people seem very familiar to me, in my core. Almost as if they are connected, somehow, to my people." He shook his head and chuckled softly. "I know it doesn't make any sense, Ma'am. It's confusing to me as well."

"I'm sure we'll have some more answers, if not today, then by the time we start waking some of them up to talk," Remy assured him. "Did you want to stay here, or move around a bit?"

Maxun considered the question, then replied. "I think, once I've got a safety buddies, ill go searching for the ship's main computer core. There's bound to be answers there."

"Do you want to go to the Bridge?" Remy offered. "There may be schematics. Ops and engineering found a computer room of sorts off engineering, but it doesn't look anything like our computer core. But then again, I doubt that theirs would look anything like ours."

Nodding his head, Maxun replied. "That would be a very good idea, Captain. Perhaps, I can determine what else is on this ship."

"Alright then, let's go." Remy looked back over the Captain's quarters. She had a hard time believing how old the ship was - how long ago since the quarters had likely been occupied. As much as they wanted answers, Remy wasn't completely comfortable going through her personal effects any longer. She'd prefer to find the answers in a work station somewhere.

Maxun nodded and fell into step with his commanding officer as they both left the Serenity Captain's private space.

~OFF~

Commander Remy Johansen
Commanding Officer
USS Astrea

&

LT(jg) Maxun Spello
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Astrea

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