The Rhode Island-class starship slid quietly through its arching search patterns. The long and winding Tholian border was the main reason for the search. Recent activity had picked up, and Commodore Fontana could not ignore concerns about the tempestuousness of the Tholians. In the center chair of the USS Buran, Captain Helena Dread read through the latest reports. Her feelings of worry and concern had not abated in the last two days. Signals were increasing in frequency and diversity, leading her to question what the aliens were doing just across the invisible line. It didn’t help the fractured nature of Tholian politics, not to mention how little they understood about the alien species. Every pass of the border revealed more sensor readings to quantify and qualify. More communication snippets to translate and understand, with varying levels of success.
But it wasn’t just the Tholians, Dread grumbled. It was the Gorn, on the far other side of the rimward. Reports of scout ships in the darkness. Missing transports found in pieces, torn apart by an unknown enemy. The beguiling and frustrating shared thread of not knowing or understanding what, or who was behind this latest activity.
The last piece of the moving puzzle was Selene Voss, the new leader of The Network. With Tougun’s ouster, Voss had seized control and pushed the dangerous group of outlaws into darker territory. Dread had a special dislike for Voss. The destruction and suffering the woman was foisting upon the rimward infuriated her. The lack of humanity in the woman was inexcusable. Two variables were curious. Three variables were alarming.
“Captain, we’ve got a signal change.” Eleanor Bishop spoke as she sat at the science station, her eyes scanning the displays with the incoming data. “We’re picking up Tholian chatter. Working on a rough translation.” Dread was thankful for the lieutenant and her experience that she brought from Montana Station.
Helena asked, “Does it match previous surveillance?” The addition of Montana Station in the sector had increased the reach of their sensors, science and otherwise. Dread had felt a quiet awe at the Tholians who didn’t seem to deviate or attempt to hide their movements. There was little care for cover or secrecy. A healthy amount of fear also balanced that awe. The Tholian threat was not just a warning in the academy. It was a clear and present danger. Helena was staring it down from her little Rhode Island-class scout. Uncomfortable was one way of saying how it made her feel. Bishop didn’t initially reply, and Dread turned her attention back to her. “Lieutenant?”
“Some, but others are unfamiliar. As in brand new to our translators and universal translator.” Bishop’s face grew tense, brows furrowed. Dread knew that look. Something was bothering the science chief. Her hands worked the console, attempting to understand the mystery.
Helena stood and walked to stand behind Bishop, who shook her head as the readings scrolled. “There’s language about patrol, and then there’s language about questions, and then there’s more about understanding…but the rest of this comes back as nonsense.” A grumble growled from the woman’s throat, her complaint clear. “We don’t know enough about the language, word formation, or sentence structure to make an educated guess. The team is going to need more time to try for a wild guess.” The apologetic look on Bishop’s face gave Dread some comfort. Eleanor never gave up, and her team consisted of eager communications and science officers.
“Get me what you can. Helm, let’s move slowly to the next search section.”
Four hours later, a concerned Eleanor Bishop stood in Dread’s ready room, her eyes filled with worry. Dread noted that the PADD with the report was gripped tightly by both hands. “You wanted to deliver this news in person, Lieutenant Bishop.” Dread gestured for her to sit, and she did.
“I think we’ve got something more than just regular Tholian communication, Captain. We worked it, and our wild guess is there’s some breakaway group…or something…still working that out. But this group is charting an alternative path for the border, and I think they’re not alone.” She gingerly handed over the PADD. “The language is more aggressive than it’s been in the past. There’s marked differences in the sentence structure and the words being used. There’s emphasis on certain parts that we haven’t seen before.”
Dread scrolled through, reading with growing alarm. “Or it could just be regular conversations, and our lack of information is because the Tholians aren’t sharing their dictionary. That’s one possibility.” She shook her head, feeling a cold frost building in her stomach. Her worries and her fears were colliding, and it did not feel good. “Or they’re about to shift the border or attack us, or threaten us, which requires a proportional response. Gives them plenty of room to break through the border and smash Montana Station to pieces. I don’t like any of those options.” She glanced up at Bishop and felt empathy for the woman. Eleanor was the eyes and ears of the Buran. She had to see the bad news before anyone else. “You had more?”
Bishop’s face went pale. “I wish there wasn’t. We’ve also detected faint communication signals within the Tholian groupings. Nothing concrete, but we couldn’t ignore it. We’re still working on clarifying what it is, but it’s not Tholian. It’s something else.” She sighed. “We need more data, which means we need more time on the border.”
Dread caught the look in the woman’s eyes. “You’re uncomfortable this close to the Tholian border, Lieutenant?”
“Yes. I’ve made a case study of the Tholians since my assignment to Montana Station in March of last year. There’s nothing but bad news to be found. I don’t like being closer to something that could do me that much harm in such a short amount of time…sir.”
Helena stood and handed back the PADD. Bishop pushed out of her chair and accepted it, standing at attention. Dread looked the young science officer in the eye. “You’ve discovered the uncomfortable truth of the final frontier, Lieutenant Bishop. We get to study the strange new worlds. Sometimes those strange new worlds have pointy teeth and don’t like us.” Bishop replied with a muted nod and departed. Dread sat back down.
Who was the other signal out there?
And why were they out there?
