Houston, We Have A Problem!

Posted on Wed Sep 30th, 2026 @ 8:45pm by Captain Patricia Cooke & Lieutenant Charlotte E. "Charlie" Yeager & Lieutenant Alice Penrose & Lieutenant Darik Moreau

1,282 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Ghost Starship
Location: USS Missouri

Captain's log,

The Away Team appears to have managed to get some power restored to the Hindenburg, but something is making it difficult to contact them...

End of log.

The Missouri had been holding its position alongside the USS Hindenburg. There had been a stir when lights appeared to come on aboard the derelict Galaxy class ship, but the Away Team still hadn't reported in.

Patricia had been seated on the bridge since she got done talking with Lieutenant Penrose. Something clearly wasn't right, and that mood was gripping the bridge crew, including Patricia.

"Was that the Away Team trying to call?" Ops asked after another burst of static came through the comms.

"Cooke to Away Team, come in Away Team." Patricia used the button on her chair in an attempt to contact the Away Team herself. She was only met with static. "Away Team, come in."

After another burst of static, Patricia decided that this had gone on long enough:

"Yellow alert." Patricia ordered. "Something's wrong, and we need to make sure our ship is secure before we can assist the Away Team."

Patricia tapped her combadge.

"Cooke to Lieutenants Penrose and Moreau; report to the briefing room immediately." She ordered.

It only took a minute or so before Alice Penrose made her way towards the briefing room door, adjusting the cuffs of her uniform jacket. She glanced sideways as she heard footsteps catching up with her, recognising the profile immediately. "Should we be worried?" she asked quietly.

Lieutenant Moreau shook his head, but his mouth was set in a line of disapproval. "Intelligence *and* Counselling being called into seeing the Captain? Yes...I believe we should be worried" he glanced at her before he let out a breath. He reached to ring the chime, because he was nothing if not somewhat polite.

Patricia and Charlie were already present in the briefing room when the chime rang. A move which seemed to surprise the both of them.

"So, that's what that button at the door does..." Charlie observed.

"Enter:" Patricia called out firmly.

Alice moved in alongside Darik, nodding to the Captain and her guest, settling her hands behind her back. She took the chance to better cast her eyes over Charlie, taking him in a detail at a time. "How may we be of assistance, Captain?"

"I'm not going to mince words here:" Patricia said. "The Away Team has gone quiet, and we're unable to raise them on any frequency. We must assume, then, that the Missouri is in immediate danger, and we must take appropriate action to ensure the survival of this ship."

Darik's expression tightened slightly. "Have there been any irregularities aboard the Missouri?" he asked, glancing briefly towards Yeager before looking back to the Captain. "Even small ones. If you believe the ship is in immediate danger, I assume this goes beyond the Away Team going quiet."

"I've been digging into what's already known about the Hindenburg disappearance, including classified files." Patricia explained. "The Hindenburg was sent into the Romulan Neutral Zone around the same time the Battle of Wolf 359 occurred: Its mission was to attempt to salvage any useful components from the wreckage of the USS Yamato. Based on those findings, I believe the threat that we might be facing is the same computer program that destroyed the Yamato and attempted to destroy both the USS Enterprise-D and IRW Haakona."

Patricia turned towards Charlie.

"I've already had Lieutenant Yeager clear all non-essential personnel from our shuttlebay and place containment fields in place around the bay." Patricia explained. "Moreau, I want you to look up what you can on the Enterprise/Haakona incident, and I want all of you to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Donald Varley dismissed the threat as compounding systems failures and died for the misdiagnosis. I don't intend to repeat his mistakes. Do I make myself clear?"

Darik nodded, already reaching for his PADD. "Understood, Captain. I would recommend we stop accepting any further data from the Hindenburg into the main computer. If the Away Team manages to transmit, it should be routed through an isolated terminal first." His mouth set into a thin line as he looked down at the PADD. "I'll pull the Enterprise reports and find out what started failing before the more obvious problems appeared. If this has already crossed over, I would rather find it before the ship starts deciding which systems it no longer needs."

"Do we have plans to send a rescue party for our people over there?" Alice asked quietly, her gaze drifting to the viewscreen to look out. It sounded like they had no idea what their status might be. Getting them home was in the forefront of her mind.

"I can certainly see about getting together a shuttle team to mount a rescue mission that way:" Charlie remarked. "If somebody could dig up the Hindenburg's prefix codes, we could see if they're still valid."

"I appreciate the sentiment, Missus Yeager;" Patricia said. "However, before we can mount any sort of rescue mission, our top priority is to ensure that our own ship is safe. Which unfortunately means that the away team are on their own, for now."

Penrose nodded lightly, straightening a little with the decision. Leaving an away team vulnerable wasn't something anyone wanted to face, but she understood the logic of the decision. "What can I do for you, Captain?"

Moreau looked at them, a slight tightening in his face betraying the last of Cooke's words. He locked the reaction down firmly, because he was new enough not to have any real read on the Captain beyond his meeting with her where she talked about hotel Missouri.

"I'll need you to help keep the crew calm, prevent panic from spreading." Patricia said to Alice. "The worst thing that can happen right now is to have a widespread panic onboard."

Patricia stroked her chin.

"That being said, we may need you to be "on-call" if any developments arise." She added. "This might turn into an "all-hands" operation to save our ship, if it comes down to it."

"Understood," Alice nodded gently to her, tugging her shoulders back just a touch. The warning of being 'on-call' was useful. Given the danger of overwhelm with her neurodiversity, it helped to at least be prepared for it. "I'll also be sure to...discourage any scuttlebutt that may be developing around the Hindenburg."

Darik glanced towards Alice, the set of his expression easing by a fraction. "I'll send you anything I can verify as I find it. Scuttlebutt has a habit of growing into the gaps when people don't know what's happening, and I'd rather you had facts to work with." His attention dropped to the PADD again, his thumb already moving across the screen. "I'll pull the Yamato, Enterprise and Haakona records and compare the first reported failures against anything unusual we're seeing here. I'll look for the Hindenburg's prefix codes while I'm in there as well. If we need them later, I'd rather not start looking when later becomes now." He lifted his eyes to Cooke. "And if there's anything in those reports that gives us a safe way to reach the Away Team, you'll know immediately. Unless you need me here, Captain, I'll get started."

"Then make it so." Patricia declared. "Dismissed."

A Mission Post by

Captain Patricia Cooke
Commanding Officer
USS Missouri

Lieutenant Alice Penrose
Chief Counselor
USS Missouri

Lieutenant Darik Moreau
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Missouri

Lieutenant Charlotte E. "Charlie" Yeager
Assistant Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Missouri

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