=^=…we may have an attempted hacking of some sort of the system, luckily for us, I enacted the Charlie X-Ray room for this thank goodness they didn’t take that out during the last retrofit. I’m sending you the report now. Lieutenant S’Atilen and I are on our way to the bridge.=^=

“Attempted hacking?” Halsey swung in his center chair to face Sorek, his face a collision of a great many concerns and feelings.

Sorek wasn’t surprised Sesias discovered possible hacking.  Based on what happened to the away teams on the Colorado, it was clear something tried to control the ship and its crew.

The CO tapped his PADD and pulled up the report.  As he was reading his concerns grew.  He glanced at his XO, “This… I’m not sure weird does this justice, Commander.”

Sorek also accessed the report.  “Weird, sir?”  He thought about the meaning of that word, supposing it was a fitting adjective.  “So it would seem.”

The doors to the bridge opened as Sesias and S-Atilen entered the bridge.

Sesias stopped as he exited the turbolift and touched the corner plate and bowed his head for a second. ““Sir, I see you got the report and by the look on the commanders and your faces it is not what you expected. Wait till you see the actual video and hear them speak as the old human saying goes “it will make the hairs on your neck stand up.” The lieutenant and I both agree this is something bigger than what we first thought, something is not right on the moon base.”

 He holds up his PADD in one hand and with the other two arms he points at the Captain’s ready room or the command briefing room. “Sir, should we take this to your ready room or the briefing room as I’m not sure, even with the precautions I have taken with this PADD, that this is something we should watch and listen to on the bridge.”

Halsey blinked.  It was an odd request, but one he was willing to accept, given what little information he had.  He led them into the ready room. 

Ready Room

Halsey sat in his chair while the others sat on the couch as Sesias finished playing the videos on the screen at the front of the ready room.  He narrated a few parts important to context and finished with his report on what they had found.  The CO turned in his chair to face the group, “This is more than I think we could have dreamed or theorized when we got this mission.”  He shook his head, “My concerns about what happened on the Colorado and what it means for where this signal originated are pretty big at this point.”  He sipped at his coffee, “˜Thoughts?”

“Captain,” said Sorek, getting up, feeling more comfortable standing than sitting on a crowded couch.  “Our away teams had weird experiences on the Colorado.  We have the final log entries from some of the senior officers.  The only way to solve the mystery, is for us to go to the base.  Otherwise, all we can do is speculate.”

Halsey turned his attention to the others.

Sesias looked at Commander Sorek and then at Captain Halsey. “ I would have to agree with the commander, sir. Sitting here and speculating is not going to give us the information we need to move forward. The one thing that concerns me at the moment is the attempted hacking into the Mercy’s systems. That may be something we need to look at while we travel to Charon base.”

S’Atilen stood and walked over to the view screen and took a moment to look at the faces frozen on the screen. “Sir, it seemed like it took, whoever or whatever is behind the attempt, almost 14 to 15 hours before they could latch onto us and start the attempt. This could be due to the distance between us, the signal strength, or multiple other factors. However, we do know that it took some time. I would like to send a team from the communications department to get with Lieutenant Neva and her department to see if we can come up with something that will help protect our systems. Unfortunately, I believe that as we get closer, there will be more attempts by them to try and get into our systems, we may not be able to stop them outright, but we can sure make it a hell of a lot more difficult for them to try. ”

Halsey considered the words from his officers and glanced out the long windows into space.  “Work with Interim Chief Neva to see what you can come up with.  We did some work from the records and have a pretty good idea what moon this on. It’ll take us about two hours to get there.  You have that amount of time to come up with something.  Commander, I’ll ask you to work with the team.  I’ll see what I can find out about this station on my end.” He looked to each of them, “We’re going to take every precaution we can.  We’ll slowly approach, but eventually, we’re going to have to confront”¦whatever this is.”

The CO gave them a collective nod, “Dismissed, and godspeed.”

Sorek remained after the others left.  “If I may, sir.  When we reach the moon and eventually send an away team to the base, I believe you should consider not sending anyone Betazoid or Lieutenant Iziraa.  They were affected by something from this distance.  If whatever did it is on the base, its influence would logically be stronger.  We could be risking our people being compromised, injured, or even killed.”  Sorek paused as an idea came to him.Halsey listened as his XO spoke further. “Captain, psilosynine is a neurotransmitter in the Betazoid brain involved in telepathy.  If you want away team members already familiar with the mission, perhaps Doctor MacDonald could inject them with an inhibitor giving them some level of protection.  We would need the doctor’s expertise to know if that is possible and safe.  Whatever you decide, initially, we should take a small team.”

Leopold let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, contemplative at the ways this mission had challenged them and gone wrong.  “I agree with not sending our Betazoids into this thing.  Both were pretty shaken up when we got them back.”  He looked to Sorek, “I’m not opposed to finding a solution to help protect them on the ship – the variables involved here we all over the place.  Work with Doctor MacDonald to see what’s possible.”  He leaned forward in his chair and rested his arms on his desk, “What do you think we’re going to find out there, Commander?”

“At the very least, whoever or whatever is the cause of the fate of the Colorado,” said Sorek.  “I do not expect to discover what happened to the crew after 200 years.”  He studied Halsey for a moment, recognizing his captain was troubled.  “We will do the best we can.”

Halsey met his gaze, finding the confidence in the Vulcan commander a quiet comfort.  His first command, his first ship – his first mission.  The CO gave a quiet nod, “This crew has surprised me, and I believe they’ll continue to do and surprise themselves in what is possible within them.”  His wistful thoughts brought a smile to his face, “We will do the best we can –  all of us.”  He dismissed the XO and tapped his console, “Halsey to helm, plot an intercept course to the navigational points identified as the moon base station.  Warp 6 and engage when ready.”