Missing

Posted on Sun Dec 29, 2019 @ 9:12am by Captain Maritza Soran & Lieutenant Alanna Wells

886 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Doors of Perception
Location: DS5 Command
Timeline: MD27 0900

ON

Alanna looked a little disheveled as she walked briskly into the command center, looking for Commander Soran. She hadn't slept well the night before and hoped the commander could be of help.

The duty yeoman waved her in, and Soran looked up from her work, "What can I can do for you Doctor? Everything okay?"

"No," Alanna admitted. "I've been trying to contact Jason since he left. For the first five days, I was told they were on intel training and they couldn't receive messages. But yesterday...there was nothing. I looked for Captain Aaron Daniels and his ship, but they don't exist. The USS Marseilles is listed as being destroyed during the Dominion War. The captain doesn't exist, either."

Maritza pale eybrows drew together. "Let me check the transfer orders." She touched the panel on her desk, and her terminal activated. A few more touches, "hmmm. This doesn't look quite right. "

"No, it doesn't. I had a bad feeling about Captain Daniels, but nothing concrete. Jason was determined to find out what this captain knew about his father and went anyway. And now..." She looked at the commander. "I don't know what to do. I don't have the clearance to find out what happened, or if anyone even knows. They're just...gone." She ran a hand through her hair. "I thought you should know. And I was hoping you could make some inquiries."

"Absolutely." She sent her terminal screen to the big display at the side. "See those lines in the meta data there." She pointed at a four thick lines of indecipherable symbols and numbers. "That means its been through two different sub space relays it shouldn't. This is the map." The LCARS showed a section of the alpha and beta quadrant boundries, the almost straight line to Sol that DS5 was on.

But the bright blue line of the subspace relays showed a clear deviation out of sector. "Sol, Tau Bootis, Starbase 103, Hekarus, Us. But after Bootis, it jumps out to Dellos, then Moropa, and only then, after a 42 nanosecond pause, its sent on to 103. Its doesn't need to go anywhere near Dellos. The distance from Bootis to 103 is safely within margin."

"Where is it now, and why is there no record of the ship?" Alanna asked. "And why can't I contact Jason?"

"Its a good question." Maritza frowned sternly at the deviated relay line. "I can get ships registry records, but it will take a day or so." She thought about it. We've got more than a few cameras on the docking levels. There will be a picture of Captain Daniels somewhere. I'm going to get Security to run facial recognition." She paused. "And Intelligence. Daniels said he had a history with Haines' relatives. I'll get those pulled too, see if I can get leads out of that."

"Thank you. Once you get the image of Daniels, I can make some discrete inquiries in the non-Starfleet science communities to see if anyone has seen him around. It's a long shot, but at this point, I want to use anything I can to find out what's going on. Your help is greatly appreciated."

"The least I can do. That man did not smell right to me. And I don't take kindly to people running off with my staff."

Alanna nodded. That captain--whoever he was--had intentionally gone after Jason. "Maybe we could find out how he knows Jason's father. That may be why he wanted Jason so badly."

"I thought Robert Haines was dead." Maritza frowned. "That may be another place to start looking. Dead men tell no tales, but you never know what they say to their children before they go."

Alanna shook her head. "Missing and presumed dead, but he's still alive." She wasn't sure if she was supposed to tell Maritza that, but right now finding Jason was more important.

Maritza raised an eyebrow. "We have a motive." She tapped her fingernails on her desk. "I'll ask Ms Tessaro to make some enquiries, and when I get a new CIO, them as well. If this is foul play, I'm not going to let it go."

"I couldn't get a good reading on Daniels, but he felt...wrong," Alanna said. "I don't like him and I don't trust him. I'm not going to rest easy until Jason is back here." She gave the commander a brief smile. "I really appreciate your help."

"It comes with the job. Anyone would do it." Maritza demurred. "But I promise you, we will find him, and we will get him back." She didn't want to add that it might not be in one piece.

She didn't have to. Alanna picked up on the thought. That was what scared her: that this time, Jason was not coming back alive. "If there's anything I can do to help, besides check some of my connections about Daniels and his ship, let me know."

"I will. we will do everything we can Dr Wells. I'll let you know the moment I know anything."

"I appreciate your help, commander." Alanna stood. "I'll let you get back to your work now." In spite of how worried she was, she managed to smile. "Thank you again."

____
OFF

Lieutenant JG Alanna Wells
Chief Science Officer
Deep Space Five

Commander Maritza Soran
CO
DS5

 

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