Tiburon in Distress

Posted on 22 May 2026 @ 2:12am by Captain Harvey Geisler & Lieutenant JG Quinn Mackie & Commander Madelina Barnes & Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Lieutenant Ranul Frex & Lieutenant Daynah Ral & Lieutenant JG Aerie Mak & Lieutenant JG Kelly Khan

1,432 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Acceleration
Location: USS Black Hawk, Bridge
Timeline: February 8, 2391|| 1930 hours

Two hours of silence from the Tiburon had stretched themselves thin across the bridge. Maddy sat in the center chair, posture straight but jaw tight, eyes fixed on the stars streaking past the viewscreen. Every passing second without an update gnawed at her. A Starfleet ship didn’t go silent without reason.

They were close now—close enough that the unease in her chest had sharpened into something more focused.

She exhaled, pushing herself out of her thoughts. Brooding wouldn’t help anyone. “Alright,” she said, her voice cutting cleanly through the quiet of the bridge. “What’s our current status?”

Frex looked around his consoles and looked to make sure that everything mechanical and covered under Engineering was good. Everything came out as good and Frex looked back at the new XO and said, "Engineering is good across the board. I've even double checked the comms systems and we're still good there. UT is up and running too."

Aerie Mak sat at his console, quietly humming to himself. He wasn't at the bridge at that time of the signal, as the ops chief found himself stuck in the guts of the ship analyzing systems. Since reading the reports of what happened, he studied the signal and placed himself at the bridge. Tapping on the console, he keyed a few icons on the LCARS display, studying the frequency of the signal. Behind him, the new XO requested a status check.

Without turning around, Mak looked up at the viewscreen, responding, "Ops still running the signal check. Ship systems are still a go. So far, not even a little cosmic radiation will slow us down."

The humming in his head stayed constant, as Mak continued to be unbothered by it. He'd gotten a quick pain med check for his recent headache.

Camila looked up from her console. "All systems are green and ready at your command, Commander," she said.

"We're at two hundred thousand kilometers and approaching," Kelly said from the Helm.

Daynah manned the science station in quiet contemplation. She worked every angle of that transmission. Yet all she could get was that it was not synthetic in origin, and that it was a language, but the universal translator could not recognize it. She had been so engrossed in her work that she almost forgot the Commander had requested a report. When Daynah spoke, it was as if she was not entirely present, as her mind continued to work the problem. "All sensors are functioning normally. We have a full complement of probes if needed. Sadly, there is nothing new to report about the message." Deep within her Daynah could hear the thoughts of Ral, it was these thoughts that troubled her more than anything. For the first time in the symbiote's existence he was mystified and had no theories to offer up.

Joey kept her focus on the display in front of her, fingers moving with practiced precision as the Black Hawk closed in on the distressed ship. “Commander,” she reported, her tone steady despite the tension threading through the bridge, “all systems are green. Sensors are already sweeping the area—full range, active and passive. I’ll alert you the moment we pick up anything.”

Maddy absorbed each report with a short nod, the steady stream of all green doing nothing to ease the tight coil in her stomach. Two hundred thousand kilometers. Close enough that the Tiburon should have been shouting back by now—if she still could. “Thank you, everyone,” she said, rising just slightly in the center chair as she turned toward the helm. “Lieutenant Khan—drop us out of warp.”

Her hand lifted to her chest, tapping her combadge. “Bridge to Captain Geisler—”

A brief pause, just long enough to steady her voice and let the channel open fully. “—we’re closing in on the Tiburon now.”

"Acknowledged," Kelly said as she brought the ship out of warp.

Ahead of the crew, the viewscreen silently displayed the drop from warp. The starstreaks across the black velvet of space yielded to a bright blue nebula, crackling with energy. To the naked eye, it appeared far worse than an ion storm, but was not moving in any direction. This, along with the unusual low-level radiation emitting from the core of the nebula, was the reason the Tiburon had been dispatched to survey the phenomena.

Amidst the electricity was a small black dot, the silhouette of the Saber-class ship in distress. The lights were on, as were a dim glow from the impulse engines, but there was no life to be seen in its deflector or warp nacelles.

Behind the crew, the turbolift doors opened. Captain Geisler stepped out onto the bridge and approached the center chair. He made no move to reclaim the seat, but he instead turned to look at the viewscreen. "What's the Tiburon's status?" he asked aloud.

Maddy rose the moment the turbolift doors parted, smoothing her uniform jacket out of habit as she stepped away from the center chair. She moved to stand just beside it—close enough to brief him immediately, but leaving the seat open should he choose to take it. “Captain,” she greeted with a nod, then turned her attention to the viewscreen where the Tiburon hung like a shadow against the crackling blue nebula.

“So far, here’s what we have,” she began, keeping her tone crisp and controlled. “The Tiburon is adrift at the edge of the nebula. Impulse engines are powered but idle. No warp signature, no deflector activity. We’ve received no further communication since the initial distress call.”

Joey turned her attention to the Captain and Commander. “Sensors show no external damage, but we’re not picking up any telemetry from onboard systems. Whatever happened, it took their comms and most of their shipwide output offline.”

“We’re holding position at two hundred thousand kilometers. Ready to proceed on your order," the XO said.

Harvey nodded to Maddy before placing his hand on top of the chair's headrest. "Have there been any attempts to hail the Tiburon? Any lifesigns?"

"I'm picking up ten lifesigns, Captain," Camila said as she scanned the Tiburon. "Shields and weapons are offline."

Harvey's fingers drummed across the headrest, considering their limited options. After a moment, he turned to Commander Barnes and said, "Well, it didn't take us long find weird, didn't it. This one is yours, Commander."

Maddy gave a single, firm nod. “Understood, Captain,” she said.

She’d spent the last several days going over personnel files to, and knew who would be right to lead the team. She turned toward the security station. “Commander di Pasquale,” Maddy said, her tone shifting into crisp command, “assemble a search and rescue team, then meet me in transporter room two. Lieutenant Frex, you'll be joining this expedition.”

Camila nodded and turned her station over to the Security officer on watch. "Aye, Commander,," she said as she headed for the turbolift. She tapped her combadge, summoning a few SAR officers to transporter room two with full kits.

“With any luck, we’ll have answers soon," Maddy said. She didn’t add one way or another, though the thought pressed at the back of her mind. Ten lifesigns, no shields, no weapons, no telemetry—whatever waited aboard the Tiburon wasn’t going to be simple.

As Camila headed for the turbolift, Maddy fell in step behind her, already shifting into mission mode. Her stride was purposeful, her focus narrowing to the tasks ahead: gear up, assemble the team, and get over to that ship.

Frex stood up from his station as the relief officer came over and stepped onto the turbolift with Camila and Maddy. He looked between the women, but didn't say much. Frex was curious as to what could have happened to the ship and crew.

As the bridge lost several of its senior officers, Harvey remained standing beside the center seat. His eyes remained fixed on the listing Saber-class vessel engulfed in the bright blue light from the nebula, wondering what exactly had happened over there. “Set sensors for maximum sensitivity,” he cautioned the remaining bridge crew. “Let’s see if anyone else was passing through this sector, or else, anything inside that nebula that seems out of the ordinary.”

Without waiting for a response, Harvey sat down in the chair. A frown grew on his face. Something about this didn't feel right. No, it didn't feel right at all.

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