“Captain, we have dropped out of warp at the edge of the system, per your orders,” Ensign Chx reported from the Conn.

“Thank you, Ensign. Steady as she goes, put us in orbit of, well, the world that would be best suited for life,” Bane said, not sure what to say exactly. He had some preconceived notions of what he had wanted to accomplish with this mission, but ever since Spangler told him there was nothing here, he wasn’t sure exactly what to do.

“Sir, the third planet is a class-M planet, a lot like Bajor. Just a little smaller,” Lisald said from Operations. “It has several oceans, several continents and is geologically active.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Bane said. 

For several moments, the crew conducted their tasks. It was broken by Ensign Chx. “Standard orbit has been established, Captain.”

“Good,” he said, standing and making his way over to the Operations station with Lieutenant Lisald. “How is it looking down there?”

Lisald shook his head. “Same as Ensign Spangler reported, Captain. However, there is something extremely curious. I am reading an extensive planetary transportation network, almost a thousand cities greater than 200 square kilometers big, vast networks of irrigation. Sir, based on these readings, we should see a population of more than 10 billion. Yet, there isn’t a single lifeform on the planet, all the way down to the single-celled variety. No insects, no plants, no animals, no people. It’s like everything vanished in an instant.”

The Captain furrowed his brow, unsure of what to make of the situation. The best thing he could think of right now was to send an away team down to the surface. He looked over to his Executive Officer. It would be right up his alley, formerly being a Chief Science Officer, and now a perfect opportunity to gain some command experience. “Commander, assemble an Away Team and go to the surface,” he ordered. “Find out what is going on down there. We need answers.”

OFF

Bane Plase, Captain

USS Cygnus, Commanding