Ansolon Season 02 / Episode 13
by Alan Tripp
2412
U.S.S. Reliance
“The Straits,” Malstrom Expanse
“Captain on the bridge!”
Ensign Helen Stevenson swiveled her chair just enough to see the captain stride onto the bridge of the Sovereign-class starship.
A rumbling from turbulence called her immediate attention back to the helm as she lined the ship the Reliance up with the their dresignated entry point that would carry them into the straits.
Technically, Capt. J’nae Freyja Skysen and the Heinlein-class heavy explorer, U.S.S. Reliance, weren’t exactly assigned to this mission.
But in Freyja’s defense, their previous mission WAS over with the region they called the Straits not that far off their designated flight path.
If one folded or condensed the map, that is.
In short, news had reached them of the disappearance of two starships in the region with a third run aground and trapped in a gravitation eddy.
The one trapped was the Stardrifter – her mother’s command.
However, the ship had been rescued prior to their arrival.
And thankfully, command had said nothing about Reliance attaching herself to the mission.
As Freyja headed to her command chair, her mother followed in his wake, settling into smaller chair positioned to the captain’s left.
Capt. J’nae Travanner Skysen used chair’s console to set up a real-time feed with the Stardrifter.
Freyja leaned towards her mother.
“You could have stayed with them, you know.”
Her mother’s eyes remained fixed on the small console, absorbing the latest status reports.
“Logic dictates I see this rescue mission through to its conclusion,” she stated. “And I can track my ship’s repairs just as easily from here as from the bridge of my own ship.”
She looked up and leaned closer to her daughter, letting the Romulan half of her heritage shine through just a bit.
“Besides, they had to pull out my chair to replace the wiring,” she whispered. “And the other chairs on my bridge aren’t as comfortable.”
“And that one is?” Freyja asked, gesturing to the one in which her mom sat.
Jenni shrugged.
“Also lets a mother spend quality time with her son, watching him work.”
Freyja shifted his gaze back forward to get a good look at the Straits.
“You really think Llwellyn and his team are on to something about navigating all that?” she asked.
“They are still alive, are they not?” Jenni countered.
“Point,” Freyja acknowledged.
The quarter human, Bajoran (gifts of her father), Vulcan and Romulan (gifts of her mother) straightened the top half of his uniform … a sign she’d made up her mind and was ready to get at whatever it was she’d set himself out to accomplish.
And she was determined that wherever it was the Fortitude was going, Reliance would be right behind.
“Yellow Alert!” Freyja ordered. “Helm … Prepare to match the current.”
“Engines ahead … Let the Straits set the pace. … Take us in,” she added.
“Pay attention people, and remember to keep your heads on a swivel.”
Her mother shifted her console to the readouts from the probes they’d launched to assist in plotting the route ahead.
When it came to gravitational anomalies, Jenni Skysen was among the best in the fleet.
It was the real reason she’d attached herself to her son’s mission.
And speaking of her daughter, she leaned across towards her once more, touching her shoulder as she whispered.
“You’re doing great,” Logic stated showing support of one’s offspring was always a wise path in parenting.
Freyja rolled his eyes, leaning back into the comfort of her chair.
“Mom, I’ve been at this almost as long as you have.”
Jenni gave him a wink before allowing her Vulcan half to reassert itself, and again burying herself in the incoming data.
A few hours later, the Reliance had not only caught up with the Fortitude, but had followed in their wake as they entered what the helm officer was referring to as a stretch of “slackwater.”
But watching the data streaming in, something in her told her they actually they might have passed something that could be considered more “break water” and that they were even now drifting past it and into a harbor hidden beyond.
As if on cue, her mother looked up from her console, transferring her feed directly to the main viewer.
“Clear that up,” Freyja ordered.
As the image grew clearer, a pair of massive shadows took form in the distance … shrouded in cloaks fashioned from the clouds of the nebula but there all the same.
At least three massive spherical shaped stellar objects that would make the jaw of an unseasoned explorer drop to the floor.
“Contact Fortitude and ask Llewellyn if his team are seeing what we’re seeing,” Freyja ordered.
Respectfully,
Capt. Freyja Skysen
CO, U.S.S. Reliance
And
Capt. Jenni Skysen
CO, U.S.S. Stardrifter
—–Out of Story—–
Richard … TAG … You’re it!
You know about Shallana is in there somewhere already as she’s with those that are the prize at the end of the rainbow.