With the swirling of gas clouds, and colliding of nucleogenic particles, the pooling of pre-animate matter and the static discharges light up, there was no way to describe the Vadlox nebula other than a scientists dream. One could spend a lifetime scanning and collecting data and they would only just scratch the surface of a spatial phenomenon thousands of years old. From the safety of stellar cartography, Commander D’orr and his team had the privilege of watching in awe as the force of nature went about its millennia business. These were the enigmas of the universe the hulking Xelliat had signed on to explore, not missing starships that would no doubt turn up in a day or two. He’d leave that to Peri and others suffering from early-onset paranoia caused by the disasters of recent times. He was here for the nebula and its mysteries.

Mysteries like the cause of the recent uptick in lightning flashes within the gaseous clouds, the very same mystery that had drawn Hypatia here in the first place. Mysteries that had drawn officers from far and wide, from all manner of departments across the science division. Experiments and research projects taking place in labs across the nine decks dedicated to science facilities had come to a halt as people of all species and genders tried to find the answer to one simple question – what the hell was happening out there?!

On their eighth, or was it ninth, sensor sweep of the nebula, Onsas was about ready to call it a day. Matheus had arrived to relieve him of his duties when a shrill screech from the computer made them both cower, somewhat embarrassingly, for a moment. Only a mere moment at that, because the computer seemed to take control of the room, sending the three-hundred and sixty degree holographic display spinning, LCARS markers surrounding a particular area of the nebula before zooming in, drawing the scientists back to the task at hand.

“What the actual f-” Ren whispered, stopping only at the disapproving look from his department head. That would have been another slip of gold-pressed latinum in the swear jar when he got back to the department office later. He had to kick the habit and soon or he’d be destitute whilst the rest of the department had a night on the town at Denen Nes’ Gaming Emporium the next time they were at DS17.

“Computer, analysis?” Onsas called out, staring at the display on the holowall. To the naked eye, it looked like a concentrated cluster of the same lightning flashes they had been experiencing intermittently, but these looked to be rapid and often.

“Working…” the computer told the scientists, who impatiently observed, unable to do anything further until presented with the information they required.

“Analysis indicates significant, high density ionic storms causing gravimetric distortions,” the computer finally declared, spurring the two into action. Ren slid into the seat next to the Xelliat and began monitoring the display as more and more alerts began to creep in from science facilities across the ship. All had detected the sudden surge in activity.

“Frak me,” the Betazoid whispered, completely forgetting about the consequences of the swear jar. “These storms are significantly more powerful than those already encountered out here,” he revealed to his department head.

“They’re causing a tear in subspace,” Onsas told sternly, zooming in as close as he could. Looking up, it was clear that there was definitely some sort of anomaly there. Something growing in size with each flash, and something becoming increasingly more identifiable.

“Hang on,” Ren reached out with his left hand and placed it on the Xelliat’s right arm, “is it just me or is that a…”

“How the hell do we lose thirteen starships?”

To say that one could cut the tension on the Hypatia bridge with a knife wasn’t an exaggeration. Once Tharia had returned to the bridge from her meeting, the atmosphere reflected the icy climate of the home world from which she hailed. She’d immediately put the team to work on further analysis of their own findings, but also what they knew of the disappearances that had been reported so far. That had been fifteen minutes ago, and with no information forthcoming as yet, the Andorian was rapidly growing restless. She’d practically paced a hole into the floor between the two aft stations with her constant back and forth, and her movements had clearly dampened the atmosphere on the bridge. Unlike the Captain, when Tharia’s tension levels rose, the whole ship felt the repercussions from bow to stern. Repercussions more powerful than the shockwaves caused by the nebula they were scouting.

“Twelve!” Peri spun on her chair and looked across at the Commander, who stopped in her tracks at last, resting her weary feet. “We’ve just received confirmation that one of the missing ships was simply experiencing technical difficulties. Systems are back online and she’s reported in.”

Unfortunately, the Bajoran’s cheery disposition was quickly shut down by the Andorian’s continued frosty glare. Obviously the sudden reappearance of a ‘lost’ ship meant nothing in the grand scheme of things, and the Andorian let her know that. Thankfully, two rather exhausted officers emerging from the aft turbo lift drew the Andorian’s focus and allowed the tactical chief to slink back around to her station.

“Captain!” Onsas’ deep voice echoed across the bridge and drew the Trill from his seat in the observation lounge, his brows furrowed and lips pursed as he regarded the science chief and his deputy more closely. “Sorry sir, but I need you to tell us again what Captain Nazir told you about the Collegiate,” the Xelliat boomed with excitement, turning his attention to his deputy and then the Captain.

Folding his arms across his chest, standing behind his command chair, the Captain raised an eyebrow before relenting and acquiescing to his request. “She said something about the Collegiate reporting a lightning storm in space, but very little else. Peri, you were trying to access the last log from the ship, did you get anywhere?” Giarvar looked across at the Bajoran, who had turned back to face the scientists who were clearly excited about whatever they had found out.

Peri nodded, picking up a data PADD and holding it out in the direction of the science officers. Whilst Ren stepped up and took ownership, the Bajoran elaborated on her findings. “According to the log, Collegiate detected a mild ion storm that lingered for approximately an hour before it grew in intensity. As it grew, it appeared as though the storm was damaging subspace,” she was stopped in her tracks by the science chief.

“It wasn’t damaging subspace,” the hulking brute shook his head, “it was creating an opening,” he explained. Then, with a speed that belied his massive frame, he stepped across to his science station and tapped a few controls on the panel. “Observer, if you will…” he asked, gesturing to the forward bulkhead.

Replacing the bulkhead panels at the front of the command center, the holographic viewscreen came to life, its image representing their discovery in stellar cartography. “We detected it a short while ago. It began with a concentrated ion storm generating significant gravimetric distortions, approximately two lightyears from here,” Onsas told them all, before passing his briefing over to his able assistant.

“Much like the Collegiate,” Ren confirmed with a nod, “only the reaction with the nebula clouds have exacerbated the distortions, magnifying their effects by a factor of ten. But you can clearly see the same opening in space forming here,” the Betazoid stepped up and pointed to an area on the viewer, which magnified.

“Holy shit…”

The realisation of what they were looking at quickly set in, drawing Peri to her feet, and causing Captain Kauhn to round his chair and take a few steps closer to the main viewscreen. A hole in space, several hundred feet wide, with ionic pulses and flashes of clashing particles lining the periphery. “A wormhole?” he asked somewhat rhetorically, whilst everyone tried to make sense of what they were looking at.

“Any idea where it leads?” Tharia questioned, her attention solidly on the discovery.

“No,” Onsas was honest in his blunt response. “Its not like any wormhole I’ve ever seen. It even lacks tachyon particles, but that could be a side effect of its emergence here in the nebula,” he told her.

“Any evidence it could be artificial?” Peri asked, her brain instantly going on the defensive and wondering if it could be a prelude to something much more sinister.

“Nothing,” Ren shook his head. “Everything we’ve learned so far suggests this is a natural opening to a natural travel corridor of sorts, not unlike the transwarp corridors used by the Borg.”

“Hang on a bloody minute,” Giarvar held up his hands and silenced the bridge crew for a moment, spinning on his heels and returning to his command chair. Once back in its comfort zone, the Trill crossed his right leg over his left at the knee and relaxed backwards. “Are we somehow suggesting a wormhole like this is the cause of Collegiate’s disappearance?”

“Perhaps they entered willingly?” Italia shrugged at the forward operations station.

“Collegiate is a Reliant-class frigate,” Tharia countered, staring down at the Ops chief she now stood behind. “There is no way her Captain would willingly take such a ship into an unknown wormhole,” she scoffed at the suggestion, but then looked around at Giarvar. “Is there?” she asked with wide-eyes.

“Stranger things…” the Trill shrugged in response. “So what do we do now?” was his next question, looking towards his team for answers.

“Perhaps a probe?” Ren suggested, looking between Onsas and the Captain. “We’d get telemetry in an instant, but if the aperture closes, we’ll lose all contact,” he explained.

“We could always enter the wormhole…”

Every eye in the places trained on the voice of the voiceless, shocked at the insinuation from the previously silent Flight Operations chief, who suddenly picked up on the silence in the room and looked over her shoulder. “I wasn’t being serious,” she lied, hoping not to draw the wrath of the Captain, or worse.

Shaking off the suggestion from Burton, the Captain nodded at Ren. “We’ll try the probe and see what happens. Get to it.”

Amidst the dense clouds of Vadlox, Hypatia danced to the tune of her helmswoman, spinning on her axis surprisingly easily as she turned towards the peculiar anomaly that had drawn her ire. In a bold move, the mighty Sutherland launched glowing orb further into the cloud, the probe’s shields glowing under the stress of the growing gravimetric distortions. Beeping and whirring its way through the spatial anomaly, the scanning device transmitted its readings back to the mothership, screaming for all who could hear it. ‘I’ve found it! I have the information you seek!‘ Then it lurched. It tumbled. It saw its demise looming just a hundred feet away. It wouldn’t make it to its destination, would it? Just when it seemed that all might be lost, that the scientific analysis drone might succumb to nature’s ferocity and crumble under the weight of its crew’s hopes and expectations, the probe found its second wind, persevered through nebulous adversity and hurtled triumphantly into the aperture with a cheer that echoed all the way back home.

Onsas trilled happily as the readings came through, recording images and sounds from within the subspace corridor. His colleague began the analysis, running comparative studies to determine if anything like this had been experienced before by Starfleet’s finest. Findings were coming thick and fast, data indeed suggesting the tunnel to be a natural equivalent to a Borg transwarp conduit. But it was here, and it had happened naturally. Randomly. Opening in the middle of the Vadlox nebula and more than likely the cause of the growing distortions and peculiar behaviour the nebula had been exhibiting.

But then, as quickly as the data had come in, it ceased. Transmissions from the valiant probe ended, its life extinguished violently as it was crushed under the stresses of travel through the tunnel. Its demise brought sighs of resignation and sadness as the amazing discovery came to an end. Giarvar turned in his chair and looked towards his chief scientist.

“We’ve lost signal,” Onsas confirmed, “but we do have some idea as to where the tunnel originated…”

He would never get the opportunity to share his findings. Hypatia began to shake violently beneath their feet, triggering an instant, automated change in decor as the yellow lights across the ship were replaced with strobes crimson in colour.

Whatever was stirring in the depths of the nebula had crept up on Hypatia with a vengeance…