Regrouping

Posted on 31 Aug 2026 @ 5:48am by Captain Harvey Geisler & Commander Madelina Barnes & Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Lieutenant Ranul Frex & Lieutenant Commander Joey Geisler & Lieutenant JG Kelly Khan & Lieutenant JG Aerie Mak & Lieutenant Commander Kennedy Monroe M.D. & Lieutenant T’Mari Rael & Lieutenant Daynah Ral
Edited on on 04 Sep 2026 @ 12:45pm

3,528 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Acceleration
Location: Transporter Room
Timeline: February 8, 2391 || 2045 hours

Upon hearing that the away team had signaled their intent to return, Harvey stepped into the turbo lift, leaving command of the bridge to Joey, and made his way to the transporter room. As he entered, columns of blue light appeared on the platform. The columns quickly dissolved into the away team. Harvey stood there for a moment, a faint sense of unease sitting at the base of his skull. It was an odd feeling, one he couldn’t shake, but he brushed it away regardless. “Status report.”

The last shimmer of blue dissolved, leaving the away team solid on the transporter pad. Maddy stood at the front of the group, still clutching her phaser in a white‑knuckled grip. Her skin was pale—almost chalky—and a faint tremor lingered in her shoulders, the lingering bite of the Tiburon’s frigid bridge still clinging to her. Her breath came shallow, uneven, and her eyes darted briefly around the room before snapping toward Harvey.

She swallowed hard.

“Captain…” Her voice wavered, but she forced it steady. “Whatever we might have been expecting… what we experienced was far from it.”

She stepped down from the pad, boots hitting the deck with a muted thud. “The bridge was below freezing. Ice on the consoles. Frost on the bulkheads.” Her expression tightened, panic flickering across her features. “And there were bodies. Frozen. One of them had been attacked.”

Maddy turned her head toward Camila, giving her a small nod—an unspoken cue to fill in the rest.

Shay stood with the others, arms folded tightly against her chest, waiting her turn. Her posture was rigid, controlled, but her eyes carried the same unsettled tension. She glanced briefly at Larado, then back to Harvey, ready to report once the others finished.

Camila swallowed. "We then went to the Ready Room and I...I opened it," she started, then swallowed. "I am not crazy, under the influence or a liar, Captain Geisler, but I saw a creature that looked like a Earth tiger crossed with a human wearing a Command red uniform...eating another man. He's currently in the Brig."

She paused. "I recommend immediate quarantine lockdown under protocol fourteen point seven point two – Security Blackout Mode."

Harvey stood still, resisting the urge to lean on the transporter control console as he listened to his two senior officers’ report. “It’s that bad?” He asked, though the question was clearly rhetorical. “Very well. Initiate the protocol.”

"Right away, Sir," Camila said and tapped her combadge twice to open a shipwide comm. "Di Pasquale to all departments. Quarantine protocol is now in effect until further notice under protocol fourteen point seven point two."

“The Tiburon is under tow, and we’ve established remote access,” Harvey shared an update from the bridge. “We’ve started to download its logs, and we’ve left probes in the nebula. Thoughts on what to do with that… tiger? And the rest of the survivors?”

"Isolate and treat in Medical under quarantine," Camila said. "The tiger...is a new one. I'd prefer to keep it in the Brig."

The Captain nodded, both agreeing with the recommendation while acknowledging it at the same time. "Any idea as to what happened over there?"

"Well, there was something down in or around Engineering. I can't even really begin to describe it. But, it took one of the security officers that was assigned to help get me down to Main Engineering. We had to basically have a phaser fight to get out of there. But....." Frex said as he pulled out his tricorder. "I did manage to get some scans of it, I think? Hopefully, it caught something," Frex finished.

Maddy shifted her weight, still visibly chilled, her fingers locked around her phaser as though letting go might invite the cold back in. Her face remained tight, but she forced herself to meet Harvey’s eyes. "We’re no closer to any answers than we were before boarding the Tiburon,” she said, voice low but steady. “If anything, going over there just gave us more questions.”

Shay stepped forward then, taking the opening. “Captain, Larado and I found… aquatic material in Security.” Her brows knit, still baffled by the discovery. “Giant kelp, sand, shells... We followed a hunch and went to hydroponics. We found four crew members barely clinging to life. They’re in sickbay now. And another individual... almost snake‑like in appearance... who’s currently in the brig for attacking me.”

"A mutation of sorts, then?" Harvey asked, his eyes narrowing. He closed his eyes almost immediately and sighed. They'd made it almost six months without a scratch or an incident, and now, in the midst of their final cargo run, here they were confronted with the dangers of the unknown once more.

Harvey tapped his combadge and called out, "Geisler to Sickbay. Doctor Monroe, status report."

===Sickbay===

Kennedy's tone conveyed a mix of concern and determination as she offered, "A total of six patients, including two of our own, are stable for now, but showing signs of some sort of mutation, sir. What looked like a simple fall and a case of confusion and paranoia turned quickly into respiratory distress. Closer examination revealed our people have developed what appear to be gills of some sort, though I cannot explain the how or why as yet. Until I know what we're dealing with, those of us who came in contact with our people, including myself, Counselor T'Mari, and Nurse Blake, are quarantined. Anyone else is using protective gear."

===Transporter Room===

In surprise, Harvey turned to look at the Away Team. If medical was already quarantined, then those in the transporter room should do so as well. "Shit," Harvey muttered. "Miss Di Pasquale, we have to assume that what happened on the Tiburon is going to happen over here next. We have to lock down the ship. No shuttles, no escape pods, no one leaves."

"Affirmative," Camila said and began to relay orders to Security.

Harvey looked over to Maddy and frowned. "As much as you or I should be on the bridge to guide the crew, we don't know what's going to happen to either of us yet. Best to rip the bandage off now and allow the ship to function while we can do what we can to figure this out."

Maddy drew in a slow breath, the cold still clinging to her bones. Harvey’s words hit harder than she expected, and for a moment her expression tightened—she clearly wasn’t fond of the idea of stepping back from the bridge, not when everything in her screamed at her to lead in a crisis. But she nodded anyway, jaw set.

“Understood, Captain,” she said quietly. “I don’t like it… but you’re right. If Sickbay’s already quarantined, then we need to assume we’re next.” Her eyes swept the transporter room, lingering on each member of the away team. “We should all go into quarantine. Every one of us who stepped foot on the Tiburon. And we work from wherever we end up—securely, remotely, whatever it takes.”

The Captain tapped his badge. After the familiar chirp was heard, he calmly said, "Transporter Room to bridge. Commander Geisler, respond please."

Joey answered immediately, her voice steady and professional despite the tension threading through the bridge. “Bridge here, Captain."

"Commander," Harvey said, keeping his tone as professional as possible. "Contact Gamma Command, Code SSC 34. Request guidance. At the same time, let's set a course for Gamma Command. Keep the Tiburon in tow, and get underway at warp 8 as soon as possible. Commander..." Harvey sighed, closing his eyes as the next sentence weighed heavy on both his heart and mind, "Commander, under further notice, you are in command. Divert all resources to Medical and Science until instruction arrives from Gamma Command."

===Bridge===

Joey blinked—just once, sharply—as Harvey’s words settled over the bridge like a weighted blanket. In command. That was never a phrase to take lightly, and certainly not one she expected to hear in the middle of a crisis still unfolding. But her hands were already moving, instinct overriding the jolt of worry that tightened in her chest. “Aye, Captain,” she said, voice steady even as her pulse kicked up. Her fingers swept across her console, opening the secure channel. “Contacting Gamma Command now.”

She keyed in the authentication herself—no delegation, no hesitation—and sent the guidance request through the encrypted relay. The confirmation chirp felt far too small for the enormity of the moment.

She rose from her seat just enough to project her voice across the bridge. “All stations—divert every available resource to Medical and Science. Priority One. No exceptions.”

Her gaze snapped to helm. “Set a course for Gamma Command. Warp eight. Maintain tow on the Tiburon. Engage as soon as the course is laid in.”

“Course laid in, Commander," Kelly said as she felt another shiver go through her. "We'll be redlining on the tow beyond warp five if the warp bubble destabilizes," she informed her.

"We'll do the best we can," Joey said as she tapped her badge again, her voice quieter now, meant only for Harvey. “Orders acknowledged, Captain. We’re executing them now.” A beat. “What’s going on?”

Kelly nodded and took the Black Hawk with Tiburon in tow, the news coming from Commander Geisler's combadge sending a chill up her spine. "Warp five, engaged."

===Transporter Room===

“Stand by,” Harvey moved himself behind the transporter controls, not to relieve the operator, but to take on communications control to merge the open comm line he had with Sickbay into the open comm line with the Bridge. 

“All right, Doctor and Commander,” Harvey said, “we’ve got a merged line between the transporter room, sickbay, and the bridge. Assuming all senior officers are accounted for, this is now a staff briefing. The Tiburon crew has been infected by… something. And we’ve brought it aboard. Quarantine protocols are in effect. Not only do we need all resources diverted to Science and Medical, but we’re going to need space to work. Even though some of us have been exposed, we can still contribute. I need suggestions.”

===Sickbay===

“It would help me to understand what led up to Lieutenant Cobb and Ensign Kalifa being beamed to Sickbay,” Kennedy offered. “All we know is they were found near the turbolift by our engineering team, and Lieutenant Cobb reported they were coming out of the turbolift when the Ensign collapsed. Just to clarify, Lieutenant Cobb and Ensign Kalifa were not part of the Away Team, is that correct?“

“I’m afraid I have little to add right now” T’Mari added from where she remained in Sickbay. “There’s so far been very little to go on from our current patients, but whatever is affecting them has a profound effect on emotions and personality as well as physically.”

===Transporter Room===

“Cobb and Kalifa weren’t part of the away team,” Maddy said, her voice steady but edged with lingering tension. “They’re members of the Tiburon’s remaining crew. Lieutenant Frex and his team found them onboard—already showing signs of whatever’s affecting the others.”

"Ensign Becks is part of the Black Hawk and Lieutenant Frex confirmed he was attacked by something or someone on the Tiburon", Camila confirmed over her combadge.

"Yeah, I thought it might have been prudent to get some kind of data on whatever it was. So, while I helped lay down some suppression fire, I did point my tricorder in the general direction of.....whatever or whoever that creature was," Frex said with a shiver down his spine.

"The away team found that the Captain had been replaced with a tiger," Harvey added to the conversation, "so it sounds like we're dealing with a mutation of sorts. That leaves us with two action items: finding the cause, and finding a way to reverse the process."

“Captain… if this is spreading as fast as it looks, we need to start protecting the command structure now.” Maddy said, her eyes flicking toward the ceiling. “I recommend we seal off the bridge. Lock it down completely. Keep everyone already there isolated and unaffected for as long as possible. If the senior staff starts showing symptoms, at least the bridge crew can maintain ship operations.”

She shifted, pale and visibly uneasy, but determined. “And… your children.” Her voice softened, but the urgency didn’t fade. “What do you want to do with them? If this mutation is affecting emotions, physiology, everything… we need to decide now whether they stay isolated, move to a secure family compartment, or join the bridge lockdown.”

===Bridge===

Joey didn’t answer right away. On the bridge, she stood with one hand braced on the arm of the command chair, eyes fixed on the forward viewscreen even though her attention was clearly miles away. When she finally spoke, her voice carried that same steady professionalism—but underneath it, a softer thread of worry. “We can try to get them here.” She glanced toward the sealed turbolift, imagining the route, the risks, the unknowns. “The bridge is the safest controlled environment we have. If we lock it down completely, isolate life‑support, and keep everyone inside protected, it might be the best place for them.”

===Transporter Room===

Harvey did not hesitate in his reply. This situation was urgent, and he knew in his gut that it would get worse before it got better. "Have them relocated to the ready room. As soon as they're there, lock down the bridge. We should also secure other areas, such as engineering and the flight deck. Miss Di Pasquale, this would be a good time to refresh us on our automated security measures."

"We're going to have to suspend genetic-only authentication as genetic drift makes DNA unreliable as proof of identity," Camila started. "Security is going to nonlethal wide-beam phaser stun, EM pulse cuffs and environmental field generators to contain infected personnel and provide an environment that can sustain whatever mutation they may face. Full lockdown of the shuttlebay and deactivate the escape pods to prevent escapes. Each deck must be quarantined and travel between them restricted."

===Sickbay===

“From what we’ve witnessed here in Sickbay these mutations happen fast” T’Mari added. “If any of us are infected you could see changes in behavior start anytime.”

Kennedy listened carefully, trying to look for any clues she could. Thus far, she'd learned of a tiger transformation and two crewmembers developing gills. Was there valuable information hidden in those facts? She would have to take a closer look at what the Away Team had gathered to find out. "Lieutenant Frex, please send me whatever you have on the...being," Monroe settled on, "that attacked Ensign Becks. Good on you for your forethought, thank you."

Monroe knew the decision on what to do with the twins wasn't an easy one. She wished could offer more information on how this mutation spread so she could offer more guidance on whether moving them to the Ready Room was as wise as they hoped, but Kennedy knew she would want children close to her under these circumstances.

===Bridge===

Mak stood at his operations console on the bridge, checking over the readings. Listening to the growing reports, he made sure to follow the proper quarantine protocols. Rubbing his neck, the humming in his earpiece kept him lucid. This talk of a tiger made him nervous already, despite it being an Earth species.

The soft, distinct alert from the Intelligence console cut through the panic Joey was feeling. Her head snapped toward it immediately. The display was already scrolling with new data packets, the header flashing in confirmation. "Captain, guidance from Gamma Command has come through along with the Tiburon's logs."

The last line of Gamma Command’s directive finished scrolling, and Joey’s breath caught for half a second as an additional packet appended itself to the transmission—flagged Priority Medical Support.

She opened it and began to read so that everyone on the bridge, as well as those patched in, could hear. "Gamma Command — emergency directive 47‑C. We're to rendezvous with the USS Nightingale, a hospital ship equipped to handle situations such as these. Estimated time of arrival is twelve hours at warp five towing the Tiburon."

"We are to remain under strict quarantine and containment until proper transfer protocol can be safely executed," Joey continued. "We are to monitor environmental controls for any airborne or surface-borne mutagenic spread. Non‑contaminated departments should shift to remote or limited‑contact operations. And last, we should maintain communication with Gamma Command every thirty minutes or upon any escalation. All other guidance are steps we have already taken."

===Transporter Room===

"I'll contact Security and have them seal all maintenance hatches and access panels that people might try to use to get between decks and have the Bynar step up the drone surveillance," Camila said, hating the words as she spoke them.

A lot could happen in twelve hours, thought Harvey as he nodded to Camila. "The Nightingale is Obera-class," he said aloud, remembering one of the briefings he'd reviewed from Command. "Let's establish an uplink as soon as possible. Let's keep our research available to them so they don't have to start from scratch like we are."

Looking over to Lieutenant Frex, the Captain asked the engineer, "Twelve hours at warp five with a Saber in tow. Think she can handle it, and is there any reason why we might want to try and push it faster?"

Frex did some mental math in his head and shrugged as he said, "I think we should be good for a 12 hour tow. If you'd like, I'm sure with how it's configured now, we could probably push it to warp 7 without much modification. If we needed to haul butt back anywhere. But, I don't see issues with it, sir."

Harvey nodded to the engineer, confirming verbally with, "Thank you, Mister Frex. I think we'll stick with warp 5 for now, and push the engines only if our situation worsens." With a sigh, he then added, "I think that concludes this briefing for now, unless anyone has something else?"

"Just let me know if you need anything more when we get out of quarantine," Frex replied

===Bridge===

“Captain… I do have something else,” Joey said, glancing toward the display where the Tiburon’s logs were still streaming in. She swallowed, eyes narrowing at the data she’d already seen. "Some of the Tiburon's crew left in escape pods and shuttles... multiple launches over a very short window. But… others left the ship in a less conventional way.”

She waited a beat.

A beat.

“They were reported as beaming directly into the nebula.”

===Sickbay===

“Directly into the nebula!?” T’Mari frowned. “Yet more questions with no answers.”

Kennedy took a deep internal breath. The fact command was sending a medical ship to rendezvous with them suggested this was way more serious than even they understood.

She had to keep her crew alive for 12 long hours when they had very little to go on and the latest news suggesting not only strange mutations, but likely suicide in a spectacularly dramatic way. Logically, she told herself they weren’t likely to find survivors, but the evidence suggesting some crew members had directly beamed themselves into the nebula, could just as easily have been a clue into what was happening to them.

“I recognize I could be grasping at straws here, sir,“ Kennedy replied, “ but it’s possible the nebula itself could provide clues as to what’s happening here. I realize we can’t investigate this ourselves because the priority is to lockdown the ship, but perhaps the Tiburon’s logs will shed some more light on why specific crew members chose that particular action well others did not.“

===Transporter Room===

Both of Harvey’s hands gripped the transporter console and he lowered his head. For a moment, he allowed himself to solely carry the frustration of the moment and the loss of life. “Agreed, Counselor. Whoever entered that nebula is likely long gone, and we would risk more life on a fool’s errand. And it’s all the more reason we have to lock this ship down.”

Following a sigh, Harvey lifted his head and said, “Commander Geisler, lay in a rendezvous course and engage at warp five. Keep that probe telemetry coming, and make sure science and medical have unrestricted access to it. You are in charge now. The rest of us will relocate to the medical complex. Doctor Monroe, as soon as you’re ready, we’ll beam over. May the great bird protect us all. Geisler out.”

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