Story:Trekker's Alternity/USS Nebula/Machina Ex Deus/Act I

Prologue

 * USS Nebula
 * Stardate 44793.1
 * Banizati sector

"Here, there be monsters." Captain fo-Dreggethaei looked up from the map of the Banizati Diaspora, being tracked in real time by the Memory Gamma sensor feed to his desktop computer panel. The Efrosian's mustache dropped as his mouth closed into an exaggerated scowl. His feigned frustration at the blank map sectors faded somewhat as he lifted his brandy ans swished it around in its glass.

Science Officer Greenman leaned back somewhat as he gave up on trying to read through the distorted sensor readings. "So they found a solar system where no one has gone before, right in the middle of a crowded spacelane? We can chart it and be back at Deep Space Four in two hours, at warp five." The astrobiologist flipped a stray blond hair from his eyes as he closed the tricorder he had used to patch through the transmission the captain's desk monitor was displaying

"A three hour tour." Chief Engineer Barth leaned on the captain's sofa pracariously, with one hoof on the sturdy plasteel crate the trio had used to move the Prometheus Device onboard. "That's really all the time it would take to chart."

The three officers, specialists each, had become accustomed to moving aboard a new ship, formulating a plan, and succeeding in achieving the impossible. Even so, an assignment involving a galactic mystery and an uncharted star system usually took more than a half-day's time, travel included, making the Banizati Mystery a very short assignment.

"Have you met the crew yet, captain?" Barth's stocky frame visibly relaxed with each sip of the potent Saurian brandy.

Despite the short mission, the three specialists always began an assignment with a celebratory toast. The Captain cautiously sipped from his glass, testing the strength of the vintage Saurian liquor before he committed to a whole swig. "I've only talked to Lieutenant Styles. He says his people are ready for a meaningful assignment. They've been testing this ship's new drive coils for a year with short hops between this sector's other worlds, with hardly any meaningful exploration to experience."

Barth chortled. "I'd be ready for some excitement if my only mission for a year was piloting a test prototype between three friendly colonies under the command of a lieutenant junior grade."

The Captain's mouth turned up at the corners. "Well, those engineers are under the command of a lieutenant commander now. I hope you have them able to keep up with you." The mild-mannered verbal dueling between captain and engineer had been running for years, across more ship assignments than either could readily count.

"Your leadership will motivate me to do so, Captain sir."

Greenman, as usual, was oblivious the the other officer's challenging remarks to each other. He broke into the conversation while puring his glass. "Actually, the Nebula refit program must be an amazing job. They have to rewrite their power protocols everyday. The sheer number of material variations they're trying means that some of their experiments with coil stability have over a thousand..."

Barth snorted, bored with the scientific side of the mission profile of the Nebula. "Bah. They're wasting a lot of good ships on these experiments. A whole class of large ships commanded by junior lieutenants, just waiting for experienced officers to come along and do something useful with them."

The Captain looked up. "I'm going to hold you to that claim of usefulness. Lieutenant Styles is staying behind, working on a refit of the sensor pod assembly, so we'll be flying with the launcher module instead. And you'll have to do some of his junior lieutenant work for him, Barth. Testing modules and performing short term missions is what Starfleet has decided is the best use for this subseries of the Nebula-class."

"In all of their best judgment at the Admir..."

"And here's to us making a difference in this sector." Greenman interrupted and raised his glass for the toast, most likely eager to take his leave of the other two senior officers in order to start writing the sensor protocols that would, if the mission was successful, reveal what shielded the Banizati system's star from all known sensor probes.

"Here's to us." The other two men toasted and finished their drinks.