Star Trek
Sariah tr’Kaleh
37
Security Report, Stardate 8442.1.
(Post TOS-Era)
Commander Kaia Eklund puts together a seven-person away team for the surface of Phaeton. Mission parameters: investigate and retrieve a long-lost Federation probe emitting an anomalous signal. Initial scans revealed minor sensor irregularities. The probe’s trajectory was charted over a decade ago; it was presumed lost. Its sudden reappearance and signal strength prompted this response. Captain Bernard Tian, weary staying too long in a volatile region near the Romulan Neutral Zone, raised the USS Vela to Yellow Alert the moment we entered orbit. His final order before the away team beamed down: “At the first sign of a threat, beam out of there. I’m not taking chances for old space junk.”
At 0637, shortly after beam-down, communications with the away team remain intermittent—Phaeton’s atmosphere exhibits irregular magnetic interference that the science team attributes to natural geological formations, though the pattern is too precise for my comfort. We’ve logged interference consistent with tactical jamming.
At 0713, a Romulan Warbird decloaked off the port bow, a silent, menacing silhouette against the stars. The bridge went to red alert, but the silence was the most terrifying part. No hail. No response.
"Tactical, status." Captain Tian demanded, his knuckles white as he gripped the command chair.
"Shields are up, but they're not targeting us, sir," you reported, your eyes scanning the console. "Their power output is holding steady, but no weapons lock. I'm picking up a series of faint energy spikes from their port side. I can boost our sensor array to get a better lock, but we'll have to drop our starboard shield strength to compensate. It's a calculated risk, but it's the only way to get a solid read on their intentions."
Tian nodded, his gaze fixed on the viewscreen. "Do it.”
space
