Personal Log: Stardate 05.02.2402

Captain Sophia Rodriguez recording…

It has been a week since my husband, Captain Kirok Skyrunner, has rescued me and the few survivors of my ship, the USS Thunderdragon. My heart is broken over the loss of my outstanding crew at the hands of probably the second most evil civilization I know of, next to the Borg. I will never forgive the Vaadwaur for their needless slaughter of my crew. Never!

“Pause personal log,” Sophia said, through gritted teeth.

The computer bleeped, giving acknowledgement to her request to pause the recording. Sophia walked to the bathroom in her quarters, which just so happens to be her husband’s too. She went to wet her face with some cool water to calm down and organize her thoughts. As she patted her face dry, she slowly looked around Kirok’s quarters and all she saw was pictures of them, but nothing personal about himself. She likes the feeling she had of him admiring her like this, but wondered if it was healthy. After looking around his quarters, and having her first good night’s sleep since she lost her ship, she feels more relaxed now. She walked back to Kirok’s desk that she is using to have her morning coffee while making this personal log. She smiled to herself at the thought she had.

“What’s his is mine and what’s mine is his,” she said softly to herself, sitting down behind the desk again. “Computer, resume log entry.”

The computer bleeped again and Sophia resumed her personal log entry.

Even though the loss of my first command and nearly all hands is heavy on my heart, I will never forget my brave crew. I am proud…so very proud to be married to the best man I know, Kirok Skyrunner. I have full faith and confidence in his ability to lead his crew and command his ship with dignity and respect that he deserves. I’m not fully sure if he is still mad at me for ‘forcing’ his promotion by asking a favor from my best friend, who also happened to be the Starfleet Commander in Chief, but I knew he was ready to command. His ability to create unorthodox strategies rivals his name’s sake, James T Kirk. Kirok told me when he was a young boy that his parents named him after the officer they admired the most. That being said, I have full faith in my husband in his plan to create a collision with these exBorg drones, build a working alliance, and work together to fight the Vaadwaur to save not only the Federation but all of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.

Kaelara has brought onboard the 500 or so members of her people that are needed to reactivate the Borg Cube. She said that Hugh stashed a battle group of rogue Borg ships in the quasar, hopefully they are still there. We really need the help from Kaelara and her people to defeat the Vaadwaur…and bring them to justice. The Carlsbad is prepped and ready to jump to the quasar, using the same primitive transwarp drive the rogue Borg that followed Lore used. I’m hoping and praying it works.

End Log.

“Senior Officers, report to the Bridge,” Captain Skyrunner announced over the ship’s intercom.

“Here we go…,” Sophia whispered to herself, as she finished her coffee.

She put her cup back into the replicator and walked out of the Captain’s quarters, nearly bumped into her former Chief Engineer, Flummox Vael. They both walked to the main turbolift, enjoying a friendly conversation.

“Good morning Captain Rodriguez,” Flummox said, recovering from the near collision he had with her.

Sophia smiled at Flummox. “Good morning Flummox, how are you doing?”

Trying to resist a yawn, Flummox replied to his former Captain.

“I’m ok. Nothing a triple Raktajino won’t fix. I was up all night making final adjustments to this transwarp drive that Kaelara gave us. I have my reservations, but the math and science behind it is solid. If this works, I might just be known as,” he finished his statement with his best Scottish impersonation, “‘a miracle worker’.”

Sophia laughed at his attempt to sound like the Starfleet legendary engineer, Scotty. They met Commander Lionel at the turbolift. He noticed them and nodded.

“Chief Vael, Captain Rodriguez. Good morning. Hope you both slept well,” Aramis asked them, as all three stepped into the turbolift.

“What’s sleep, Commander? I was up all night doing final checks on this transwarp drive,” Flummox replied to Aramis. Aramis looked at him with concern. Flummox reassured him. “I’m good Commander. I’m used to doing all nighters since my Academy days. Someone,” he looked at Sophia, with a playfully accusing look, “always had me doing things that kept me up most nights.”

Aramis saw Flummox look at Sophia and saw her ‘not so innocent face’ and laughed. “Well Mr. Flummox, that is part of being in Starfleet.”

“Oh I know sir. I would not change what I have become. I enjoy the people I work with and I love my job sir,” Flummox said, looking at Sophia.

Sophia slightly blushed at his comment. “You are an excellent Chief Engineer,” she said to Flummox, with a warm smile.

Flummox bowed slightly to Sophia. “Thank you Captain, that means a lot to me.”

The turbolift doors whooshed open to a busy Bridge, where the other senior officers were busy manning their stations. Captain Skyrunner stood in front of his command chair, staring out the viewscreen. He turned around when he heard the turbolift doors open, nodding to his officers.

“Good morning Captain, Commander, Chief. We are about ready to initiate the transwarp jump.” Kirok said, bringing his senior officers up to speed, then hitting the ship’s intercom. “Ship’s status?”

Sophia took her seat at the right side of the command chair, examining the current ship’s status on her display monitor. Aramis took his position at the Operations station, starting sensor scans of the area. Chief Engineer Flummox, formerly for the USS Thunderdragon, is now temporarily the Assistant Chief Engineer under Chief Catersha, at his request. He manned the Bridge Engineering station, double checking the ship’s power systems. Lieutenant Bradley was already at his Tactical station, triple checking the shields and weapons systems. Ensign Nguyen went over the navigation systems thoroughly. Lieutenant Commander Amara was manning her science station, making last second checks.

Ensign Nguyen reported first, “helm is ready sir.”

Amara followed right behind Nguyen, “all sensors and scanners are ready Captain.”

Flummox reported from his station. “Engines and power systems look good sir.”

Chief Catersha ‘s voice came over the intercom. “Engineering is ready sir. Transwarp drive is operating normally. We are ready down here.”

Aramis reported from the Bridge Operations station. “All secondary and emergency systems are standing by.”

Doctor Sorvath T’Koren stated his status report from next to the Tactical station. “Sickbay is ready sir. The Carlsbad’s holographic CMO is standing by.

Captain Skyrunner turned to look at his wife and Executive Officer, raising an eyebrow slightly. She caught his look, gave a slight smile and nodded, reporting to him.

“The ship and crew are ready, Captain.”

Captain Skyrunner stepped to his command chair, sat down and looked at Kaelara, who sat on his left.

“Are you people ready, Kaelara?”

Kaelara tilted her head to the side for a few seconds, silently communicating with her people using the Borg transceivers each of them must rely on now. She smiled, slighted and nodded.

“We are ready Captain,” she replied.

“Very well. Helm, break orbit and move us away from the planet. Engineering, Cat, you may begin warming up the transwarp coil.”

The USS Carlsbad started banking away from the planet as the navigator engaged portside thrusters to break orbit and aft thrusters to give forward thrust. As the ship started to turn away from the planet, the navigator shut down the thrusters and engaged the impulse engines. The computer automatically engaged the impulse engines, firing the port one forward and starboard one in reverse slightly, getting more velocity of the turn that the thrusters started.

The USS Carlsbad’s impulse engines, when ignited, cast a gentle orange glow across the ship’s sleek warp nacelles. As the ship broke free from orbit, the Carlsbad’s impulse engines, both on forward thrust, provided enough thrust to slowly push it away from the alien world’s gravitational pull.

As the USS Carlsbad started to break orbit, the planet started to recede into the distance, its blue and green hues shimmering like a gemstone. White and gray clouds drifted lazily across its surface, while turquoise oceans deepened to indigo near the poles. Continents rose majestically from the seafloor, their rugged shorelines softened by a hazy atmosphere. These crystal clear images slowly started getting fuzzy and smaller in size and detail on the Bridge viewscreen. As the ship gained distance, the same sprawling city that the Carlsbad’s sensors detected when they arrived came into view, its crystal spires and angular towers shimmering in a kaleidoscope of light and shrinking in size rapidly as the ship moved further away. The soft, ethereal glow emanating from the planet left a lasting impression as the starship vanished into the depths of space. As the ship gained distance, the same sprawling city that the Carlsbad’s sensors detected when they arrived came into view, its crystal spires and angular towers shimmering in a kaleidoscope of light and shrinking in size rapidly as the ship moved further away. The soft, ethereal glow emanating from the planet left a lasting impression as the starship vanished into the depths of space.

“We have left the orbit of the planet sir. Orders?” Ensign Nguyen asked from her navigator position.

Captain Skyrunner looked at Kaelara. “It’s your call Kaelara.”

Kaelara looked ahead. “Initiate transwarp drive.”

A swirling vortex of energy that distorted the fabric of the space-time continuum started to form five hundred meters in front of the USS Carlsbad. An artificially created energy conduit, similar to a transwarp corridor, began to take shape ahead of the ship. The conduit pulsed with an intense, blue-white light as the ship’s crude Borg transwarp technology crafted a temporary tunnel through the subspace matrix. As the ship approached the conduit’s entrance, its hull glowed with a soft, electric blue aura. The stars ahead blurred and distorted, replaced by a shimmering tunnel of energy that seemed to stretch on forever. The ship’s inertial dampeners hummed in counterpoint to the transwarp drive, compensating for the immense forces at play. With a burst of acceleration, the Carlsbad plunged into the conduit, and the universe outside became a streaked, kaleidoscopic blur. The ship’s sensors detected the faint, pulsating resonance of the transwarp corridor, guiding it through the artificially created tunnel. As the ship traversed the conduit, space-time itself seemed to bend and warp around it. The journey was a fleeting moment, and when the ship emerged on the other side, the stars snapped back into focus, reformed into a new, unfamiliar pattern. The USS Carlsbad had traveled farther and faster than the speed of light would normally allow, a result of the transwarp drive.

In the depths of space, Murasaki 312 blazed like a celestial inferno, its quasar-like brilliance illuminating the surrounding void. This enigmatic formation pulsed with an otherworldly energy, its core radiating intense beams of light that pierced the darkness. Swirling clouds of plasma and energetic particles danced around the central nucleus, emitting a kaleidoscope of colors that defied the coldness of space.

The USS Carlsbad’s advanced sensors detected the intense radiation patterns emanating from Murasaki 312, including powerful jets of energetic particles that streamed outward from the core. These jets illuminated the surrounding space, creating a breathtaking display of cosmic fireworks. As the ship drew closer, its crew witnessed the mesmerizing dance of matter and energy around the quasar-like formation. Gravitational forces warped space-time, creating a vortex that drew in nearby matter and energy.

“We have arrived near the Murasaki 312 quasar Captain,” Ensign Nguyen reported, after confirming the readout.

“Full sensor scans Lieutenant Commander Amara,” Captain Skyrunner requested as he stood up and slowly walked towards the viewscreen.

First Officer Rodriguez walked up beside her Captain, whispering, “it is beautiful.”

Captain Skyrunner glanced over at her, giving her a slight smile as acknowledgement. The science station started beeping.

“I’m getting intermediate readings sir,” Amara reported.

Vora, standing at the back of the Bridge, walked over to the science station, examined the readings and started tapping commands into the station.

“Adjusting ship’s sensors Captain,” Vora said, tapping more commands into the computer console.

The computer bleeped and blooped, as it was adjusting the sensors. Several seconds went by, as the computer worked its magic. Then it beeped again. Vora looked at the screen, satisfied.

“Sir, I’m reading Borg energy signatures at coordinates 221.314.079. Distance is seven hundred thousand meters deep inside the quasar,” Amara reported.

“Those are the ships we are looking for Captain,” Kaelara said, walking up to Kirok.

“Set a course helm, one half impulse power,” Captain Skyrunner ordered, walking back to his chair.

First Officer Rodriguez turned to Kirok, “suggest we leave a sensor buoy at the edge of the quasar, both to study the quasar effects and give us advanced warning should anyone show up here.”

Kirok looked at her, thinking the idea over, then smiled. She saw him smile as she sat down in her chair.

“One reason why I love you babe,” Kirok whispered just loud enough for only her to hear. “Lieutenant Bradley, ready a sensor buoy and deploy immediately. Helm, hold your course. ETA until we reach the Borg ships?”

Ensign Nguyen did some quick calculations, then glanced back, with the standard one eye look, “our ETA is seven hours thirty nine minutes.”

“Very well. Commander Lionel, you have the Bridge. Captain Rodriguez, would you come with me please,” Captain Skyrunner said to Captain Rodriguez, with a hint of mischief in his eyes that she recognized.

Kirok got up and started to head to the turbolift, with Sophia following him. Aramis stood up from the Operations station and headed for the command chair. He passed by Sophia, whispering to her to have a good night. He gave her a big smile as he told her. She smiled back at him and stepped into the turbolift with her husband, who took her hand a split second before the turbolift doors completely closed.