Preceded by a brilliant flash of blinding light, the Echelon-class light cruiser Proteus emerged from warp and quickly adjusted to her new location, staring down the enormous gaseous anomaly ahead of them. Everyone on the crew had seen nebulae before, studied them before, but this was unlike anything the majority of them had seen in the line of duty. Violent eruptions occurred before their very eyes as the varying types of volatile gases swirled freely without the confines of a safety net, a warp core or other such containment fields. Hues of every colour imaginable intermixed to hide the perils buried within. On any ordinary occasion, ship and crew would steer clear of the dangerous anomaly, searching instead for something else to explore and use their advanced sensor suite for, but not today. Today, penetrating the nebula to ascertain the wonders it held was the only possible course of action if they were to get to the bottom of the mystery they found themselves engrossed in.

An eerie silence had engulfed the bridge the instant the warp cortex had closed, a silence that remained unnoticed by most, but not everyone. Something out there among the nebula called to two of the youngest bridge officers like a beacon pulling them across the stars.

It felt as though Lauren had lost all feeling in her legs as the chair spun beneath her. It was a feeling she’d only felt once before, and something that terrified her.

Her heart threatened to beat out of her petite chest, beads of sweat forming on her brow as her breathing became more erratic than usual. Commander D’orr sat closest to the tactical wall, noticed the youngster first and turned in his chair.

“Lieutenant Mitchell?” He called to her, but his voice was nothing more than a distortion wave. “Lauren?” He barked this time, noticing her trance-like state.

His concern drew the attention of the Captain, and several others dotted around the bridge. Reaching out, the Bajoran in the hot seat grabbed her XOs arm and gave it a concerned squeeze that he instantly recognised and prepared for. For ever since Frontier Day, small compartments had been built into the structure of those chairs at the heart of a command centre. In them, concealed for everyone’s safety but also for ease of access, a small hand phaser rested, poised for liberation. And action. Flicking open the door to the storage unit, the hulking Xelliat went to great lengths to avoid any sudden movements.

But as her eyes fell on the terrified expression of her young friend, Noli released her grip and used the arms of her chair to propel herself to her feet. She, like so many others, had experienced the horrors of that day, but something was different here.

Turning her entire body to look at the tactician, the Captain spoke in a hushed, calm tone. “Lauren,” she whispered, “It’s ok… we’re here.”

At first, it looked like the Captain’s words had been in vain, with no noticeable reaction from the tactician, but a flicker behind the eyes changed that moments later. Slowly but surely, the teary youngster turned her head and slowly made eye contact with the Bajoran. There were no signs of the horror that unfolded on that fateful day: no Borg entrails; no robotic voices; no loss of one’s humanity. No, this time all that remained were the scars left behind and the tears of a terrified young woman.

“They’re here…” she whispered to the Captain. “It’s not like… before… I can’t feel them, or hear them… I just have this feeling in my gut, this instinct…” the human tried to explain how she was feeling, but she didn’t need to for very long.

Directly in front of her, the Bolian turned in her seat and looked at the Captain and her human colleague, that same devastating expression on her face.

“She’s right,” Kiras confirmed. “More than one now, but definitely here.”

“The Lieutenant’s are correct, Captain. Given the increasing strength of the signal, whatever we’re facing is definitely in the nebula,” the dark-haired, moustached Romulan at science said quietly, never turning away from his display, his eyes transfixed on the data panel before him.

“Are you two going to be able to carry on?” Noli asked, looking between the two women, sharing an empathetic moment until both confirmed their willingness to carry on by returning to their stations. They’d been seen, heard. Their Captain knew and acknowledged their pain. They wouldn’t let her down now.

“Do we have a fix on its location?” Noli asked, returning to her chair and giving Onsas permission to stand down.

Returning to her duties at the forward station, the bald, blue-skinned Bolian Lieutenant nodded her head. “Aye Captain. The signal is emanating from the heart of the nebula,” Kiras confirmed.

“Any clue as to what it is yet?” Noli asked next, leaving it open-ended for anyone with the relevant information to step forward and wow her, but she remained disappointed when the crew remained quiet. She was about to give up and issue new orders when Mitchell spun on her seat and looked over from tactical.

“The signal is not powerful enough to be a vessel,” the tactical chief revealed, “so we’re looking at something considerably smaller, but significantly powerful.”

“Options?” the Bajoran asked to no one and everyone all at once, sliding to the edge of her seat, her hands gripping the armrests on either side of her petite frame.

“We’re going to have to get closer,” Commander Serath Vren finally spun from the science station and gave the command team his full attention at last.

“Sensors? Probes?” Onsas asked.

“Sensors will not penetrate the nebula’s perimeter and any probes we send in will likely be crushed under the weight of the distortions,” Serath replied.

“It’ll to be rough but I can get us through there,” the Bolian pilot spoke up, having put the ship at a standstill and turned to offer her advice and input. “I can do it. I can get us to the signal, but it isn’t going to be smooth sailing,” she told honestly. She didn’t believe in coddling people, or telling them what they wanted to hear, that wouldn’t get anyone anywhere.

“I can liaise with engineering and monitor system power requirements to give you what you need,” Lieutenant T’Mia confirmed beside her colleague.

“Alright, we have a plan,” the Bajoran smiled, relaxing into the comfort of her command chair and loosening her grip on the armrests. “Let’s make it happen, people.”