It had been just over two weeks since the Corax arrived in the Delta Quadrant when the Barzan Wormhole reopened. Her orders clear. With a fully stocked cargo bay of food, clothing, building supplies and electronics she was to make an urgent delivery to a refugee colony situated in the dangerous space between Chaotic Space and the Telepathic Pitcher Plant. As the stars streaked by the main viewer, Aris cast his mind back a few weeks to recall his mission briefing with his new crew.

Not sixteen days ago, he met his new crew for the duration of his mission in the Delta Quadrant. Ensign Emma Swain assigned as Flight Control Officer and T’Keterk, the engineering specialist for this assignment. As he entered the small conference room on the Corax, he noticed he was the last to arrive.

“Captain on deck.” Emma exclaimed getting to her feet, quickly followed by T’Keterk.

“At ease.” Aris smiled waving them down before taking his seat. “For the record, I am Lieutenant Commander Aris Suin, your commanding officer for this assignment.”

“You have both been hand selected for this assignment after a thorough review of your individual service records and I know as Starfleet officers, you will perform your duties to the fullest whilst upholding Starfleet and by extension Federation law.” Aris continued as he addressed the two officers before him.

“Yes sir.”

“Affirmative”

Taking a small breath Aris activated the centre console. “On the surface our mission appears to be relatively simple, a supply run to a refugee colony who have lost their homeworld due to expanded mining operations. However with anything related to the Delta Quadrant, we will remain cautious.”

Tapping some commands into the console, he bought up a map of the local star system and a supplemental map of the Gradin Belt. “The Barzan Wormhole is due to reopen any day now. However the termination point will place us very close to Borg and Malon territory.”

“Sir? If I may?” queried T’Keterk. Aris nodded to continue. “Not to be disrespectful, but why is Command sending a Raven Class ship to the Delta Quadrant?”

“While the Raven class may not be of formidable size, she more than makes up for it in maneuverability, rapid deployment and atmospheric flight.” Aris replied. “Couple that with being able to land on planet surface, I can think of no better class suited for this operation.”

Strengthening his resolve, Aris unsealed the classified orders from Command. “Starfleet Command has been made aware of subspace pulses originating from the Gradin Belt, which has led to the formation of what is currently known as Blood Dilithium crystrals due to the red hue they exude”

“I have uploaded the information we have available on the Blood Dilithium situation to your personal terminals to familiarise yourself with.” Aris continued. “A side effect of this phenomena ranges from a sense of foreboding to full blown hallucinations, extreme violence and in some respects even a loss of free will amongst telepaths.”

Giving his two officers a chance to absorb the information, he waited a few moments for any questions. “Our primary mission remains to get these critical supplies on the ground where they are needed, although the mission parameters are subject to change as the situation develops further.”

“If there are no more questions…”Aris looked around the room. “You are both dismissed while we make our final preparations to depart.”

Aris bought his thoughts back to the present and the mission at hand. “Report.”

Emma turned in her chair to face the Captain. “We are approaching the region of space known as Chaotic Space, due to the uncertainty of the region, I have plotted a route to circumnavigate this area, this will potentially add a day or two to our journey at our current speed.”

“Thank you Ensign.” Aris smiled. “T’Keterk?”

“All systems are nominal Captain.” the Vulcan engineer reported. “Shields are operating at full strength, structural integrity has remained unaffected since exiting the wormhole.”

“Very good Lieutenant.” Aris replied. “Lets take this time to run a few diagnostics. I don’t want to be on the back foot should anything happen.” he continued. 

“What is the status of our landing gear?” continued Aris. “I may appear to be over-cautious but if we need to make a hasty retreat we will want the option to fortify a position on a moon, planet or other celestial body.”

“Running diagnostics now Sir.” T’Keterk replied as he stood away from his station. “With your permission, I will make my way down to the maintenance section and analyse the landing struts.”

“Acknowledged” Aris replied as T’Keterk made his way to the turbolift. Once again facing the viewscreen, he directed another question towards Emma. “Ensign Swain, you are certified in manual flight control operations?”

“Yes Sir.” Emma replied. “It was a required condition from my instructors before my graduation could be processed.”

“Thank you Ensign.” Aris responded. “I have a feeling those skills will be called upon before too long.” he added as an afterthought. 

Aris had situated himself in the small conference room, converting it to a makeshift office, going over some briefings and updates on the evolving Blood Dilithium phenomena when his badge chirped.

“Bridge to Captain Suin”

“Go ahead Ensign.” Aris responded.

“We are picking up a fragmented signal on long range comms.” Emma reported. “The strange thing is, the signal is on a Federation carrier subspace signal”

“I’ll be right there.” Aris got to his feet and rushed back to the bridge. “Report.”

“I’ve been trying to clean up some of the noise.” Emma reported as she tapped the console on front of her. “It appears to be automated, but we are having difficulty identifying the point of origin.”

“Are we aware of any survey teams or outposts in the area?” Aris questioned as he joined Emma at the front console.

“Unsure.” Emma responded. “Although this region has been mapped and surveyed multiple times, there is always the chance something has gone under the radar.”

“Thank you Ensign.” Aris retook his seat. “Send a standard response on all federation frequencies and let me know if we get a bite.”

“Acknowledged Captain.” Emma replied as she tapped some additional commands into the comm system. “Response has been sent.”

“Keep me informed.” Aris nodded. “Bridge to Lieutenant T’Keterk.”

“Go ahead Captain.” 

“How are those inspections going? We are picking up a transmission of unknown origin and I need you back on the bridge as soon as possible.”

“Acknowledged.” T’Keterk replied. “I will arrive shortly and deliver my report in person.”

Keeping an eye on the flight path the Corax was taking as they negotiated the final arm of Chaotic Space. “Ensign Swain, any responses to our hails.”

“Negati….” Emma began as her console flared to life. “Sir….we are being hailed.”

Straightening up in his seat, Aris faced the viewscreen, not sure what would be on the other end of the feed.

“On screen.”