Where Have All The Young Ones Gone?

Posted on Thu Feb 22nd, 2024 @ 5:11pm by Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance
Edited on on Thu Feb 22nd, 2024 @ 9:49pm

Mission: Visit to Eden
Location: Eden
Timeline: Current

on:
{Eden, North Pole Control Room}

Kevin fiddled with the controls on what he thought was the navigational consoles with little success. He had asked the disembodied voice, which referred to itself as the Custodian, about the control but it had nothing of value to share. Its repeated mantra, "I am not programmed to answer that query", held a tone of you-should-already-know-that.

Little success, however, was better than no success. He had been able to determine that the ship had been on this course for several centuries but that less than a hundred years ago, it had experienced a jump in its position, travelling many tens of thousands of light years from the Delta Quadrant instantaneously giving credence to the rogue wormhole theory.

Lieutenant Walker's and Ensign Thorne's attempts to decipher their consoles were similarly stymied and it had been previously agreed that a linguistics expert with specialized equipment should be brought in. Mira would have loved this, Kevin though to himself with a smile.

Periodically during their investigations, the unoccupied consoles would come to life and begin a mosaic of colored lights and alien symbols. At first the Star Fleet officers were concerned but as there was no evident negative impact, they quickly began to ignore the interruptions. The console between Kevin and Trace, however, had been active for many minutes now.

"Commander," Ensign Thorne called from her console, "There has been a change in the sphere's configuration."

Kevin walked over from his console. It was true. A thirty-third trapezoidal area had been inserted into the ring of trapezoids north of the ship's supposed equator, interfering with the neat and orderly display of lines on the console's representation of the sphere. "When did it change?" he asked.

"Just now," Ensign Thorne answered, "It grew at a rapid rate and the other biomes in the ring appear to have adjusted to compensate." She tapped on her PADD. "I estimate that each of the biomes in the norther ring lost 91 square kilometers of area, about eight-tenths of a percent of their original area."

"Hardly so much as you would notice," Kevin responded.

"Unless you were in those 91 square kilometers," Trace observed wryly.

Kevin wondered what would happen to a living organism in the area that was reconfigured. Would they be moved? Or would they be destroyed? He activated his comm badge, "Lance to Rodale. What is your current situation?" He knew that the communication delay meant that it would be six minutes before he received a response. Fear gnawed at his gut.

=/\="Norris to Lance!"=/\= the panicked voice of Rodriguez sounded over the comm badge.

"Lance, here. Go ahead Norris."

=/\="The Captain has been taken! Half the bridge crew as well!"=/\=

Kevin shared a look of incomprehension with Trace. "Norris, say again?"

=/\="The Captain and half of the bridge crew suddenly disappeared from the ship! No warning, no evidence, one minute they were here, the next gone! That leaves me in charge!"" =/\=

Normally, the thought of Ensign Rodriguez in command of the Norris would chill Kevin to the core but he was already past that point of concern.

"Where is Commander Rodale?" Kevin demanded.

=/\="Lieutenant Kronnelti said she was taken by lizardmen on the ship!"=/\=

"Lance to Kronnelti" Kevin called out. There was no response. Kevin drummed his fingers impatiently on the console. "Lance to Kronnelti"

Somehow, someone on the ship must have taken them. He wasn't finding out anything here. He needed to get back to the ship. "Take charge," he ordered Trace and then turned without waiting for a response.

Kevin nearly bowled over the linguist and a security guard carrying a large crate between them as he sprinted from the control room.

:off

Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Chuck Norris