—- Captain’s Log, USS Luna —-

Our mission to explore Romulan space has been changed to patrolling the Triangle a section of unclaimed and unexplored space between the Romulan Free State, Klingon Empire and Federation. Up until now it was mostly unexplored because with no conflict between the three states there was no need to. Now it’s become more dangerous to venture away from home, no matter what government you belong to. The Klingons are on the warpath, the Klingon factions that have made this their home after failing to overthrow the empire are on the march and with Federation ships responding to incursions into the Romulan Free State’s territory the Triangle is less and less protected emboldening pirates and cartels.

 

We are without readily available backup and while as sensors are state of the art, what we don’t see is the problem. As one of a diminishing supply of ships protecting this space, we become that much easier to just avoid and continue doing whatever you want elsewhere. When we do catch a pirate, as with the Orions last month, it’s too easy to show up with a more powerful ship and convince us to look the other way.

 

As Captain I have to keep up the illusion that we’re making a difference out here, but all I feel is frustration as to how little we’re actually able to accomplish.

—- USS Luna, Bridge —-

Captain Adriana Cruz took her seat after completing her log in her Ready Room. Commander Olivia Carrillo stood and took her seat next to the Captain nodding a greeting at the other woman. Carrillo was not without her own concerns about their current mission, but her job was more complicated. In some ways she was there to support the Captain and in other ways she had to be a source of inspiration and energy for her commanding officer. While the Captain did not show her frustrations it did not take a Betazoid to feel them when you sat next to her as much as Carrillo did.

“Captain I’m getting a distress call in Federation standard,” said Chief Communications Officer McKenzie, “It’s weird though, it sounds like Starfleet, but the wording is different.”

”Lieutenant Jara, can you identify the ship?” Cruz asked, glancing back at the tactical conn.

The Security Chief squinted, “Yes but it doesn’t make sense. It’s a Miranda-class, it’s in our computer banks as the USS Boston.“

Cruz blinked, “What, anything on the Boston in our records?”

Chief Science Officer Gabriella Miller nodded, “Only that it served around the time of Kirk’s Enterprise, and vanished in an ion storm a year after launch, near Andoria. It was believed to be destroyed.”

Carrillo said, “Best speed to the ship, try to hail them.”

”I’m trying, no answer just an automated message,” McKenzie said.

 ”Well this should at least be interesting,” Cruz said glancing at her first officer, then to the Vulcan pilot she asked, “How long until we arrive at the Boston?”

”A day and a half at warp seven,” Pr’Nor said. 

“Go faster bring us down to a day,” Cruz said, “We don’t want the scavengers getting their first.”

—- USS Luna, Captain’s Ready Room —-

“How are you settling in?” Cruz asked as she poured two glasses of red wine, one for herself and one for her Executive Officer. 

Carrillo took it and sighed, she had not been performing to her expectations, though that was only one away mission and so the sample size was small. 

“Settling in, but I need a few missions to go well to feel like I’m helping,” Olivia Carrillo said.

Cruz nodded, “When I had your job half the crew got poisoned during a first contact mission, so go easy on yourself. Your knowledge and worth is apparent, don’t forget them in your haste to prove yourself.”

“I get the ‘we all make mistakes’ aspect of it, but I got taken captive along with my away team on our first mission,” Carrillo said.

Cruz smiled, “I’m not used to pumping up first officers, the only ones I’ve had were all sure of themselves. But I picked you out of a long list, and not just because you remind me of me. This life, this career, there’s enough people who are going to doubt you that you don’t need to do that work for them.”

Carrillo nodded, “So do we know how the Boston got out this far from Andorian space?“

”No clue, but if it’s been drifting all this time someone would have spotted it don’t you think?” Cruz asked, “Similarly if it was warping, even warp one by now it’d be further out. We’ll get there tomorrow, make sure you have a team in mind to board the ship, we may not have as much time with it was we want. It’s in unclaimed space, but a discovery like that is going to draw attention.”

”Yes ma’am,” Carrillo nodded, “I’ll draw up plans for boarding her tonight.”

”Don’t forget to get some sleep, and try to make some friends it’s a lonely life being a Captain. A First Officer is where you get to socialize a bit more,” Cruz said with a smile.

—- USS Luna, Arboretum —-

Commander Olivia Carrillo said, “Can you repeat that?”

”It’s a Vendek Pine,” the man said, “A kind of Betazoid tree. It changes color based on your moods.”

“A mood tree?” Carrillo said, not quite sure if she was being tricked.

”Well the leaves,” the man said, “I do not quite know how the pigmentation works, but watch, it can read my emotional state.”

He set his hand on the trunk of the tree which went from a blue-ish green leafy coloring to a more reddish coloring in the leaves. It was surprising, but then Carrillo had never been to Betazoid, and so she was not aware of all the plant life that the planet supported.

”How did you know that?” she asked.

”I am a Betazoid,” the man said, then volunteered his name, “Aasus Breasi. I am a warp core specialist. You are the new First Officer Olivia Carrillo.”

Carrillo nodded, ”You read my mind?”

”No I looked at the roster when we stopped at Starbase 86. Engineering got a few new officers, as did other sections. I am trying to learn everyone on the ship,” he said, “besides I’ve learned that non-Betazoid find it intrusive to have us in their thoughts.”

”We’re more private than you might have been used to,” agreed Carrillo. She set her hand on the trunk of the tree and Breasi withdrew his, it went a more pinkish hue. Then Breasi added his hand setting his atop hers the tree went a deeper shade between what it had been with his only and hers only, but then it seemed to go orange a bit.

”You’re quite forward,” Carrillo said.

”Forgive me, I sensed you were lonely,” he said withdrawing his hand.

”No, I am, I’m just observing. You might have skipped some steps, reading minds might make you lazy,” Carrillo smiled, brushing a strand of hair from her face and studying Breasi. She was aware of the reputation of the USS Luna, it was something she’d been warned about. But still it was not as though she were his supervisor and the Betazoid seemed far too confident and seemed to know his own mind. 

“It probably does make me… lazy,” Breasi agreed, “but then can I buy you a drink?”

”Are you asking me, I’d like that,” Carrillo said.

—- USS Boston, Bridge —

It was the next day when Commander Olivia Carrillo and her team appeared on the bridge of the other Starfleet ship. The fact that it had a stable environment was surprising. Being lost for so long, they had assumed that there would be no environmental systems still going. Still though it seemed to be drifting there was a stable environment through at least part of the ship.

Chief Science Officer Gabriella Miller opened a tricorder and began to scan, “Not the whole ship, bridge, what we think is the mess, and one turbo lift.”

”So what you’d want if you were a survivor?” Carrillo asked.

”How could anyone survive here for over a century,” Chief Security Officer Claudia Jara asked.

“McKenzie, try to get that computer running, establish contact with the Luna and have the ship look through any logs,” Carrillo said. She signaled for the rest of her team to proceeded toward the turbolift and off the bridge. There was not much of the ship that seemed to have life support active, so they stuck to those bits, a few crew rooms and a gym. The USS Boston pre-dated holodeck technology, so there was nothing like that on board and the gym was a physical space.

“I’m picking up one life sign,” Miller said, gesturing to one of the crew bunk rooms, “In there.”

Jara drew her phaser and slowly advanced, they forced open the door and all moved into the room to find a human male sleeping in a lower bunk bed. He opened his eyes, and blinked in surprise.

”Who’re you?” he asked in Federation standard.

”The question is who are you?” Carrillo asked. He wore a goden uniform that back in the days when this ship had been active would have been command, but the captain of the USS Boston had been, at least according to records, a woman. 

“I’m Lieutenant Pierre Lambert, the navigator of the USS Boston,” he said, sitting up, “And who are you.”

”Well I guess we’re here to rescue you Lieutenant, just a few hundred years late,” Carrillo said.