“The stars don’t look bigger, but they do look brighter.”

Sally Ride – Astronaut

You didn’t have to be a genius at Astrometry to figure out that they were not occupying a space in the Galaxy as they knew it, but Lieutenant Commander Deassomi Dai was exactly that and (despite the persistent danger implicit with being kidnapped aboard an experimental vessel, powered by a potentially lethal technology – that was under the control of a rogue AI, that itself was in thrall to a mad – scientist) all things considered, the USS Valley Forge’s CSO was (figuratively) having the time of her life.

Firstly, the notoriously – unstable Stutter-warp drive had not failed when it brought the Away Team to….wherever this was. That was a plus in and of itself. Judging by the horrific deaths suffered by the original crew of the ‘USS Artemis’, Deassomi figured that alone was cause for celebration.

Somehow the Stutter-Warp effect had torn a hole in the reality of space time, but in this instance had elected not to tear apart the superstructure and the fragile Starfleet occupants within.

The Betazoid scientist hummed a tune that her mother used to sing to her, in her childhood, as she attempted to utilize the crude navigational deflector and limited sensor – pallet’s aboard the wayward test – article, to better establish their position relative to the nearest stellar framework and extrapolate their final destination.

She frowned as the instrument faltered and the data – stream froze on the screen. Deassomi gave the console a heft whack with the heel of her hand and the data resumed.

At her side, the ghostly blue apparition of Hull-3185’s Chief Test – Pilot appeared to frown at her, an echo of the past on replay.

“What?” Lt Commander Dai grimaced and ran her aching hand over her rustling stubbled – hair and rejoindered dryly. “If you people kept this bucket of crap in better repair, I wouldn’t have to hit it, would I?”

The apparition of Commander Simion Michaels (in reality some 25 years dead now), seemed to frown himself and fill out something on the shimmering data – pad that he once held.

“Go ahead – report me.” Deassomi muttered to herself as she turned back to the readout, “Somehow I don’t think anyone in Starfleet is in any position to give a shit.”

If her calculations were correct (and she was pretty sure they were), then there probably wasn’t even a Starfleet as they knew it, or even ever had been one.

To her trained eye, as soon as she was able to recover from the shock of not being instantly bisected by an intrinsically unstable, extremely – localized, warp-field collapse and had managed  to gain access to the bridge, two things became quickly apparent.

Firstly, that the person calling themselves Dr Gallian Makon had taken refuge in the transporter’s pattern – buffer once more, but not before entrusting complete autonomous control of her home – baked AI substrate known as “Sanctus” & that Sanctus had absolute control over the ship’s systems and wasn’t about to relinquish that hold without a hell of a fight.

Secondly, the not inconsequential fact that the stars outside the ship just weren’t bright enough.

To a scientist with a Major in Astrometrics and Stellar Cartography, this was a discovery of a beyond ‘Sortek – Prize’ consequence and, consequently, Deassomi had delegated the task of wheedling Dr Makon out of her Photonic – lifeboat to the Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Isono – and then swiftly lost all interest in that endeavor – the prevalent incongruity of the diminished – luminosity of the Starfield streaming past outside being of far more professional interest (bordering on obsession) for her keen intellect.

She shifted back into the seat, swinging her legs up on the console as she crossed her ankles and also her arms behind her bald – head.

Whilst the mystery implicit in the irregular stars suggested that they had crossed into a plane of existence that seemed to mirror their own ‘Prime’ Universe (the muted light issuing from those stars was evidence enough to support that theory), the alignment and dispersal of the galactic stellar – mass was pretty much identical to their own.

Lt Commander Dai had given up trying to get Sanctus to divulge the course and destination laid in by Dr Makon, before she slipped down her digital rabbit – hole. The monosyllabic answer offered up by the cryptic AI was always the same.

For want of anything better to do as the ship sped its way on that pre-determined course, she decided to piss it off and ask anyway.

“Sanctus, what is our destination?”

Then she mouthed along as the AI repeated its repetitious mantra.

~“Unable to comply. User authority not recognised. Sanctus access privileges restricted to Dr Gallian Makon.” ~

“Never get tired of that…” Deassomi smiled a wry grin.

Besides, she was a genius at Astrometrics. She didn’t need some smart – assed jumped – up calculator to tell her where they were headed – she had worked this out hours ago.

It was the same destination that the mysterious ‘USS Artemis’ had been feverishly headed towards in their “Prime” Universe, when the USS Valley Forge and the USS Raleigh had intercepted her, the day previously.

The Antaari – Nebula.

“Now what,” Deassomi wondered to herself, “is so important about that place that Dr Makon is so desperate to get there in such a hurry – in two whole Universes no less?”

The ‘Ghost’ of Commander Michaels stood, a gently shimmering incorporeal presence at her side.

If he knew anything, he wasn’t saying either.

Stardate: 2401.12.26. / 07:21hrs

Location: The Mirror Universe / Hull – 3185 (“USS Artemis”) / Transporter Room / Deck#1

The Hypospanner described a graceful arc through the air, as it was ushered by a streaming tirade of Nipponese vitriol.

“ひっこめ !! ばかにするな, いけ!! ぶっ殺してやる, こん畜生!!

And if you speak conversational Japanese, you just know that you ain’t gonna kiss your mother with that mouth.

Lieutenant Tani Isono was under considerable duress and under pressure to get results.

Her initial relief in finding that none of her Engineering – detail had suffered a gruesome death when Hull – 3815 went to Stutter – warp, had been short – lived when she realized that they had been absconded to some nightmarish reality and that her crew were just as imperiled as before – if not worse and more so.

In the hours that had elapsed, the talented engineer had tried just about every trick in her toolbox to try and pry the recalcitrant Dr Gallian Makon out of her hiding place within the Transporter – buffer and at every turn she had been thwarted by the AI know as ‘Sanctus.’

She had tried machine – reasoning with it. Attempting to hold a logical discourse with the AI using vocal inputs – trying to impress upon it the urgency of summoning Dr Makon from her molecular repose.

To no avail.

~“Unable to comply. User authority not recognised. Sanctus access privileges restricted to Dr Gallian Makon.” ~

She had tried to physically access the AI’s computational matrix and physically take the system offline.

She gingerly and tentatively went to touch her missing eyebrows and the painful memory of the resultant Arc – Flash that had accompanied that attempt from the EPS overload that Sanctus gifted her – served as a sore reminder of the futility of that particular course of action.

~“Unable to comply. User authority not recognised. Sanctus access privileges restricted to Dr Gallian Makon.” ~

Tani had attempted to re-route power from the transporter pad to elsewhere on the deck – hoping that the failsafe would kick in and kick Gallian Makon back in the land of the corporeal.

Sanctus had commandeered the Gravtic – generators and physically smashed Isono from deck -plating to ceiling vents and back again – bruising more than her battered pride.

~“Unable to comply. User authority not recognised. Sanctus access privileges restricted to Dr Gallian Makon.” ~

Every single thing that the Chief Engineer had tried, the wiley AI had punitively countered.

So – she had thrown her Hypospanner and stood glowering at the Transporter Pad and screamed invective – inflected with some of the worse language in her arsenal.

The task seemed insurmountable.

The tall Japanese woman blew an errant lock of blonde hair from her eye and was considering her next gambit, when she was interrupted by an urgent communique from the bridge and Lt Commander Dai’s voice issued from her commbadge.

“Heads up Lieutenant!” Deassomi’s voice came tinged with interest and Tani wondered if the Commander was, in fact, immune to fear – she wished that she could find the universe such a fascinating place that it equated to armor but found herself lacking.

“We’ve got company! A K’vort class Bird of Prey has just de-cloaked off our port bow, it appears we have visitors!” Came the CSO’s dry reportage.

“Klingons?” Tani’s confused reply, “Are you sure Commander?”

“Right now I’m not sure of anything Lieutenant, but I…..” Deassomi began to reply, when a commanding tone from the encroaching ship interrupted them both.

“Unknown Vessel! This is the New Marquis Vessel “K’gik’Mor”. You have one of our members aboard and we demand her safe return. Stand to and prepare to be boarded. Any attempt of resistance will be met with lethal force!”

To Tani’s utter astonishment, Sanctus actually obeyed the directive and she felt the ‘USS Artemis’ drop out of warp, like a dog at heel.

“What the…..” Tani began, as the Transporter Pad came to life and the swirling photonic ballet began to swirl and brighten as three figures began to materialize into being.

Flanked by a fearsome Klingon Warrior and a nervous – looking trigger – happy Ferengi – both holding lethal – looking disruptors trained on her, down stepped a tall, cadaverous figure with a commanding frown on his grey – reptilian face and the “New Marquis” Commander addressed her with absolute authority.

“My name is Gul Yomat Ghallir*. I commandeer this vessel in the name of the Resistance. You will surrender your arms to me and I promise you, on my oath of service as a former officer of the Cardassian High – Command, you and your crew will not be harmed if comply with my directives.”

“…actual fuck?” Tani finished in abject confusion.

(*See Missions – USS Savannah -“Hesperus Rising”& “All along the Watchtower”)