“Report!” Banfield said after she pushed herself up from the floor of the bridge. Looking around, she saw that the ship’s emergency systems were engaged as everyone started to steady themselves back on their feet and retake their stations. Pushing a stray lock of hair back into position, Banfield made herself presentable again.  

“We have passed through whatever that energy barrier was,” replied CJ, who just got himself back at the helm. The soft-spoken Merp pushed his curly blue locks back into his normal style as he checked over his stations. “We are reading an all-stop. Internal dampeners are fully operational again.”

“Main power is being restored now,” announced Westerham as he checked the engineering readings. “No hull damage sustained. I can’t see any damage.”

“Shields are at full power. The entire tactical array is operational, too,” Jisaraa stated from her station.

“Sensors are coming back online as well,” T’Liana reported. “I’m preparing a full sensor sweep.”

“Ship-wide diagnostics indicate we are fully operational, captain,” Thamars added, his fingers flying over the console. “All systems are green; no anomalies detected.”

“Whatever pulled us in, we’re lucky with results,” Jen remarked as Banfield sat back in her chair. The crew’s shared relief was palpable.

“Bridge to sickbay. Doctor Nicus, are there any injuries?” Banfield inquired, her voice reflecting her deep concern for the crew’s well-being.

“Nothing significant to report, captain, just a few bumps and bruises.” 

“I need everyone back at their stations to help us understand what’s happened,” Banfield said, her eyes scanning the crew as they hurried back to their posts. Her determination to unravel the mystery was palpable. 

“I won’t keep anyone here a minute longer than I must.”

“Thank you,” Banfield closed the channel. Impressed that for such a dramatic event to take place against them, Banfield expected the ship to be far worse than it was. As her first officer said, they were lucky. Something about what had happened did not sit right with her. Banfield had been in similar situations before and she knew that was something amidst. Feeling anxious about not wanting to wait any longer for answers, Banfield got herself out of her chair and walked over to T’Liana at the science station. She was eager to know something. Some clue, some evidence to explain what The Veil was and how it had pulled them in without causing them any damage. “Anything, lieutenant?”

“I have had to recalibrate the sensors, but we are in a region that appears to be not fully normal,” T’Liana answered, emphasing on the last word of her response. 

“Clarify,” Banfield said.

T’Liana gestured toward the main screen as she altered it from being switched off to showing the captain what was outside the ship. Before their eyes, mesmerising swirls of vibrant energy and turbulent matter materialised, creating an awe-inspiring spectacle. The dense matter moved with a graceful slowness, adding an air of mystery and wonder to the scene. “This region of space is filled with a significant amount of interstellar matter.”

“So it’s a big nebula?” Jen asked.

“Yes and no,” T’Liana replied, her tone indicating she was finding their current location an enigma to unravel. “From what I can gather, the Veil contains all of the matter, and there is a significant amount of different types of matter that normally we wouldn’t see all together but are sustained.”

“Anything dangerous against the ship that we should be aware of, T’Liana?” Westerham asked from across the bridge.

She shook her head. “I cannot determine anything; however, I would advise increasing power for the deflector and shields. ”

Banfield looked at her husband and nodded. “Do it.”

“Captain, with this amount of matter around us, I would suggest we keep to one-third impulse as our maximum speed to avoid overheating the manifolds,” CJ advised from the helm.

“Can we work up a workaround solution?” Banfield asked. 

“Until we know more about this region, we can’t be sure of the environmental difficulties it can have on the ship’s engines. However, preparing similar enhancements that Starfleet make any ship entering the Briar Patch is a starting point,” Westerham recommended. 

“Get started, commander,” Banfield said formally.

Westerham stood up and started to make his way towards the turbolift. “I’ll be in Main Engineering.”

“So, how do we get out of here?” Jen asked aloud after Westerham was gone. 

“Good question,” Banfield said. Though she wanted to explore this region further, she was keen to know if they could leave. “CJ, any chance we can leave the same way we entered?”

The young, broad-shouldered Merp looked up at his commanding officer. “I don’t think so, ma’am,” He answered simply. “Navigational logs show that before we passed through the Veil, a massive subspace energy wave was created to open a section to allow us to enter. It’s now closed, and I’m not sure how that subspace energy wave was created.”

Banfield crossed her arms against her chest. She wasn’t sure where to start and sighed to herself as she considered their options. They were alive and in one piece. That was the most important thing for her to consider. 

“Captain, I am detecting an asteroid not that far from us that is quite significant in size,” T’Liana reported. “Perhaps studying it further may help us understand the further elements of this region.”

Banfield knew what her chief science officer was suggesting. It was the only thing they could scan, and if they could determine how the asteroid was formed, it may reveal other clues to this area. “It sounds like our only logical course of action.” She turned to her pilot. “CJ, ahead one-third impulse to this asteroid.”

“Yes, ma’am,” CJ replied. “We should arrive at the asteroid in two and a half hours.”

Realising she wanted to take a moment, Banfield looked at Jen and told him to take the bridge while she was in her ready room. She tried to undertake her own analysis of the barrier they went through and to see if she could get her head around the Veil. 

After almost an hour of trying to make sense of the sensor logs, Banfield sighed heavily as she pushed the current PADD in her hands across her desk and ordered the replicator to make her another mug of raktajino. Getting out of her chair to collect her drink, Banfield made her way over when the door chime went off.

“Come in,” She responded as she picked up her mug. 

The door opened, revealing the arrival of Counsellor Roberto Solis. “Captain, I hope I’m not disturbing you?” He asked.

Shaking her head, Banfield gestured for him to come in. “Bobby, you okay?”

“Perfectly fine, thank you, ma’am; I hoped we could talk. If you don’t mind?” Solis requested. His voice, deep and steady, carried a reassuring tone.

Indicating that he should take a seat on the nearby sofa, Banfield offered him a drink, which Solis accepted. She then ordered him a mug of tea. 

Solis was a tall man with dark hair, neatly trimmed on the sides and brushed back effortlessly, revealing a sharp widow’s peak that added to his distinguished appearance. His deep-set eyes, a shade of warm brown, held a calm intensity, reflecting his natural empathy. 

Bringing the tea to him, Banfield sat down next to him after she handed it to him. “So, what’s on your mind, counsellor?” 

“This Veil that we’ve entered,” Solis started after sipping the tea, “I’m concerned that the crew may become quite anxious about being stuck here. We’ve been together for a few weeks, and the crew is relatively young.”

“The thought did cross my mind,” Banfield admitted. “That said, we will find a way out. We just need to know more about this region first before we can attempt an escape.”

“I know that, ma’am, my worry is-”

“Bridge to Captain Banfield,” interrupted Jen over the intercom.

Giving Solis an apologetic look, Banfield tapped her combadge. “Go ahead, Lukiz.”

“Ma’am, you want to join us out here. We’ve just found a Klingon Bird of Prey.” 

Intrigued to hear that, Banfield immediately got up and placed her mug on her desk before leaving with Solis behind to re-enter the bridge. 

Jen stood in the centre of the bridge, studying what was on the main viewscreen. Turning to look at it, Banfield was surprised to see the Bird of Prey with a broken wing drifting in space. What surprised her the most wasn’t the state of the Klingon ship but what was attached to the broken wing. 

“Is that a cosmozoan?” Banfield asked.

“It is, and it appears to be nibbling on the Klingons, ma’am,” Jen answered before they both looked at the creature and the state of the Klingon ship before them. 

The cosmozoan resembled a manta ray as it leisurely chewed on the ship’s delicate wing. Its translucent body emitted a mesmerising array of colours, casting a mystical glow in the vastness of space.

“Does anybody want to take a guess as to how the Klingons got here and what that space-dwelling lifeform is doing to their ship?” Banfield asked anyone.