Solaris’ ready room was quiet as she studied the sensor readings her ship had collected of the mysterious distortions blacking out an entire sector. She didn’t like the idea of going in alone, and so was waiting to see if she could get some assistance. It hadn’t been long since they had sent the message to the Callisto but she wasn’t truly expecting a quick answer either, knowing the other ship could be involved in its own mission at the moment. Which made it all the more surprising when her terminal chirped at her. She tapped a control and was greeted by the face of Captain Ceix.

“Captain, thank you for returning my call.” she commented.

“Of course.”, Ceix replied. He leaned back in his chair and waited for McLaren to speak – when it did not happen, he decided to probe. “What can I do for you, Captain? If this is about your agent, I can assure you she is receiving the best care possible.”

Sol shook her head slightly.

“I have no doubt, Captain. It’s not about that… I’ve stumbled across quite the mystery. An entire sector of space covered by distortions.” she explained, tapping a few controls to share the data the Yamato had collected.

“Distortions? Of what kind?”

“As you can see… our sensors haven’t been able to penetrate very far into the distortions… and I’m not too keen on just walking my ship into that much unknown alone… hence my call for assistance.” she said.

“Are they any similar to the distortions we encountered a few months ago?”, Ceix asked curiously. He was, of course, referring to the subspace apertures that had opened into Underspace.

Sol thought for a moment. She had read the reports about the Underspace incidents. She shook her head.

“Other than being a type of distortion, they don’t appear to be related to that incident. We have sent probes in and while their sensors are similarly affected, the probes themselves remain intact.” she explained.

“Hmm.”, he frowned and reviewed the information McLaren was sending him. “We can certainly provide aid”

“That would be very appreciated, Captain.” she said. “Between our two ships, I’m certain we can discover the cause of these distortions.” she said.

“Four.”, Ceix corrected her. “We are presently in company of the USS Givens and a civilian vessel, both will be escorted back to DS17, and I fear that would take too long to offer you the support you are asking for. Where are you currently located?”

Sol raised an eyebrow, sending their coordinates.

“This is our present location. But I’m happy to rendezvous at a location closer to you before we venture in.” she said.

“Perhaps you could meet us halfway. I believe Miss Turunen would appreciate spending some time with you.”

She nodded quickly. Given the situation she saw no issue with that, and if Arys needed something, she would be there for that too.

“We can rendezvous with you halfway. That’s no issue. Has something happened?” she asked,

Ceix nodded. “Yes. There have been some… changes. It’s difficult to explain.”

“I see.” she said quietly. That sounded ominous, but she didn’t doubt what the Captain had said before.

“I look forward to meeting you again, Captain.”

“Likewise, Captain. Safe journey.” Solaris replied.