Episode Number: 3×05
Written by: Jon Crew, based on a story by Tony Pi
Directed by: Jon Crew
Transmission: 3rd March 2024
On returning past the anomaly where we recovered the wreck of the Sonak, we have detected faint traces of an ion trail leading away from the area. Given that Sonak’s support vehicle, a small warp-capable craft carried by many Vulcan ships, was not present when we discovered the wreckage, we cannot ignore the chance that there may be survivors.
Captain’s Log: Stardate, 9966.7
Plot: Vale, Valik and James deal with assorted personal issues as Lyonesse traces possible survivors from the Sonak disaster.
The ‘A’ Plot: While en route to Oreison, Lock detects traces of an ion trail near the site of the Sonak disaster. Analysis shows that it is over a decade old, appears to be from an annular warp drive, and leads to the BC-07 star system about a light year away. The captain decides to investigate, in case someone survived the wreck, and they divert to follow it. During the trip, James analyses the warp trail, discovering that it appears to be leading away from the planet, rather than to it, but they press on regardless.
The trail seems to fade out as they enter the system, but sensors pick up an artificial structure just below the surface of a class M water world, designated BC-07b. The planet’s constant storms make the use of transporters difficult, so James is detailed to pilot the aquashuttle Isolde down to investigate. His passengers include Vale, Valik and Astan, along with a couple of medical and engineering personnel.
Despite needing to dodge the high winds, he successfully puts Isolde down quite close to the structure, which is floating at a distinct angle about 50 meters below the waves. Submerging, the shuttle approaches the structure, which appears to be a large duranium platform containing pressurised chambers, and they locate a Federation standard docking port on the upper surface. James docks directly to the port, making access to the installation fairly easy. Within, they discover that standby power is being generated, but that no-one has been home for some time. Valik checks the computers, locating research notes and logs indicating that all 34 of the platform’s staff evacuated on Sonak’s support ship when they lost contact with their parent ship.
They return to the ship with the downloaded data, then Lyonesse heads in the opposite direction, following another faint ion trail back towards, and beyond, the anomaly. After about a day’s travel into the passage back towards New Vahar, sensors detect what appears to be a bubble of anti-protons embedded in a fold of the “wall” of the passage. Several kilometers across, it is surrounded by what appears to be a simple electromagnetic force field, keeping the antimatter from the normal matter surrounding it. Scans show that there are several metal objects within the bubble, including pieces of what appears to be a Vahari ark, and what could very well be a Vulcan support ship.
Although the sensors are unable to reveal any details about the wreckage, such as life or power readings, the captain is determined to retrieve it. Lock notes that it appears that anti-proton beams are slowly carving up the Vahari remains, although the Vulcan ship appears to be intact so far. The science department hypothesises that the antimatter is actually part of an unusual cosmozoan, made entirely of antimatter. This makes extracting the wreckage much more complcated, as Starfleet protocols would forbid injuring such a creature without hard evidence that there is someone to be rescued.
The ship edges closer to the antimatter cloud, constantly scanning for more detail, but the sensors prove incapable of penetrating the force field. Lock launches a probe, but while it penetrates the screen easily, it is annihilated as it encounters the anti-protons within. The explosion seems to cause pain to the creature, and pseudopods begin to extend towards the ship. James works quickly to pull it out of reach.
Theorising that it would be possible to modify the shields to produce the same separation effect as the creature’s force field, they opt to try this on Lyonesse. However, an experimental push against the creature’s own screen results in it pushing back and trying to envelop the ship again. Vale suggests another approach, using a similarly-modified shuttlecraft to sneak in, in a similar fashion to a needle extracting organelles from a cell.
Once Valik’s team have upgraded the shields on the scout shuttle Nimuë, James pilots the mission to try and reach the Vulcan wreckage, again accompanied by Vale and Valik. As predicted, it appears the creature does not notice them, but about half-way to the wreckage, the James’s cybernetic limb begins to malfunction again, making bizarre movements at awkward moments and forcing the shuttle onto an erratic path. Valik detaches the limb and begins repairs, while James tries to maintain control of Nimuë one-handed.
In the co-pilot’s seat, Vale is able to scan the derelict vessel in more detail as they get closer, confirming that it is indeed Vulcan, and detecting around thirty coffin-sized containers drawing power in its main cargo hold. Despite his handicap, James is able to perform an elaborate manouvre to dock to the Vulcan ship. The away team ventures inside, using breathing masks and magnetic boots, and they quickly find occupied cryogenic capsules, containing what appear to be Vulcans. While Vale ensures the survivability of the refugees, James and Valik set things up so that Nimuë can tow the craft out of the cloud, to be assisted by Lyonesse’s tractor beam as soon as they are in range. The creature pursues them, but they are able to get out of its reach in plenty of time.
Vale reports that the occupants of the capsules appear to be alive, but that it will take a couple of weeks to bring them out of suspended animation safely.
The ‘B’ Plots: James wakes up to major problems with his prosthetic arm. From the start, it’s behaving erratically, then it crushes a coffee cup, and hits him in the face as he tries to clean up the mess. He debates whether to talk to medical or engineering staff, and finally heads for sickbay. On the way, he encounters Lock, and the arm hits the other conn officer in the face, forcing James to apologise profusely.
Arriving at the medical centre, he finds Vale is in a meeting with Astan. The security chief has discovered that some of the lower decks crew have formed a secretive “club”, and have taken over a disused storage bay, warning others away. Investigating, he found that they had locked out the internal surveillance systems and decorated the chamber with odd-looking symbols, candles and other odd props. He wonders if Vale has ever encountered anything like this? Vale opines that it sounds religious in nature, and wonders if this has developed as a way of coping with the isolation of the mission. She offers to assist with his investigation, and also suggests that maybe there’s a lower-decker who could help him?
Once Astan has left, James speaks to Vale and explains his problem. She checks his neural and muscular health, and establishes that there is no problem with the organic side of his prosthetic interface. She advises that he talk to the engineering department about the cybernetic systems themselves.
Valik, meanwhile, has been experiencing intrusive thoughts about his uncle, and about the possibility of the expedition failing with the loss of all aboard Lyonesse. Unable to suppress these thoughts through his Vulcan techniques, he also goes to Vale for assistance, encountering James as he arrives.
James waits as the engineer goes in to meet with the doctor. Vale points out that it has been 50 Vulcan years since the Sonak was lost, so it is understandable that this would come up, especially when his mind is still processing the trauma from finding his uncle at BC-02. She also points that this is not unusual: many crewmembers are experiencing stress due to the prolonged duration of the mission. She believes suppressing these thoughts with medication will not help, and suggests focussing his meditations on the topic of his uncle, rather than shying away from it.
Back in engineering, Valik examines James’s limb and finds some broken connections. It’s the work of a few minutes to fix them, but, unfortunately, it would appear the repairs were not effective…
The Arc: This episode takes place before first contact with the Oreison and the K’si, and Lyonesse has finally discovered survivors from the Sonak.
Observations: Hamilton James has a cybernetic limb resulting from an academy injury. It appears that it has gone too long without maintenance.
It has been 50 Vulcan years since Sonak departed on her mission, which equates to 36 standard years.
BC-07b is a stormy waterworld with no land masses, orbiting a small red star. The Vulcan platform is 200 metres across, made of duranium, and appears to have been deployed to research the planet’s oceans and biology.
Larger Vulcan ships often carry a sizable support vessel, comparable in function to a Starfleet captain’s yacht, but much bigger. This one is about 150 metres long.
The creature is made of antimatter, protecting itself from surrounding normal matter with a powerful electromagnetic force field. It seems to engulf material objects, surround them with force fields of their own, then cut them up using anti-proton beams. What it does with the remains is unclear, but the science department theorises that it mixes controlled amounts with its own antimatter to generate energy and fabricate new materials for its own use.
Dialogue: Valik to Vale: “Doctor, I have observed that on occasion you have allowed emotions to cloud your judgment.”