The newly installed bridge template brought Captain Helena Dread some relief.  They’d returned a month ago from searching the rimward for assorted Orion interference and any Tougun Network activity.  It had been a mixed bag.  Coming back to Montana Station had given Dread a chance to ask for help from Commander Miados, the Director of Engineering Operations on the starbase.  While the tight bridge that had been originally installed had seemed like a welcome addition, Dread and the crew had discovered it wasn’t as functional as they’d imagined.

Miados had completed it within fifteen days, along with a few repairs and refits here and there.  The ship was ready.  Dread corrected herself.  The ship was ready, but the rest of space wasn’t.  It had started a week ago with one or two sectors losing communications. Each day one sector or ship would fizzle in and out until they were gone from both the communications board and the sensor board.  A week later, the pattern had increased to significant swaths of the rimward, alpha, and beta quadrants.  There were certain areas and locations that were free of the infuriating interference or, as some had taken to calling it, ‘the blackout.’

She sat in the center chair, PADD in hand.  They were making final preparations for a mission that hadn’t been revealed.  Fleet Captain Geronimo Fontana had been in meetings over the last week as new information was being collected, and attempts at reaching those who had been cut off continued.  She turned at the sound of the rear door to the bridge sliding open.  “I was just thinking about you, Fleet Captain.”

Fontana rolled his eyes and sat in the seat next to her, “It’d bad all over, Helena.  We’re only about fourteen days into this, and the problem is just getting to being understood.  There’s been some wild ideas on solutions, adaptations, temporary fixes, and whatever else I forgot to take notes on.”  He leaned back, eyes sagging.  “We still haven’t heard from Nova or Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Dragonfly reported an hour ago – they managed to get out under warp one. Perseverance took a bit of a beating when this thing hit.  Pantuso found a clean part of space to push to maximum warp – she’ll be here within the hour.”

Dread deadpanned, “And then there’s the Gagarin and her feisty little bitch of a captain.”

He returned the look, a quiet glimmer in his eyes, “You said it, not me.”  He shook his head, “We’re going to need to figure out the boundaries of this thing.  That’s going to be your job.  You’ve got a strong crew and plenty of equipment to help sort this out.”

Helena thought she saw something in the face of her CO and friend, “You’ve not mentioned Dragonfly’s part in this, Ger.”

The look returned for a brief breath…and was gone.  “I did not, Helena.  You’re on sector mapping duty.  When I have a better idea of what part Dragonfly will play, I’ll let you know.”  He stood, “Good luck, Captain Dread.  Find me some answers.  It’d be a great little moment to tell about another success out here in the rimward.”  He paused at the doors to the turbo-lift, “I just want to be able to stick to a few of ‘em, you know?”  With that, the doors closed, and he was gone.  Dread wanted to ask who he was referring to but pushed the question into the back of her mind.  They were going phenomena hunting. 

She tapped the all-call button on the arm of her chair, “Captain Dread to all crew – assume departure stations…we leave within the hour.”