Vantage Point

Posted on Sat Jan 25th, 2025 @ 9:45am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Unknown

Mission: The Only Thing Left Was Hope
Location: Valley of the Red Sun
Timeline: After "Villains", before "Orders"

ON:

The USS Marigold circled around the area of dead space once again, Captain Qui's message broadcasting on all channels.

"Captain Temple, please surrender yourself and your vessel, and return the Starfleet equipment stolen from the Khonsu station. We do not wish to engage in hostilities but will do so if required..."

The Marigold had been hunting Temple in the S.S. Prime for three days now. Temple had managed to return to the Valley of the Red Sun - a location he knew well after previously studying the anomaly in this region. He knew he could hide within the fast field of dead planetoids and safely avoid detection for a while, his pursuers unable to follow into the jagged valley of death that covered this desolate area.

Captain Qui was persistent, though, constantly patrolling and broadcasting her invitation for Nyx to surrender.

In the cockpit of the Prime, with its dimmed lights and blast shields drawn, Nyx silently shut off the broadcast with the tap of a button. He was running as quietly as possible, with the Prime in low-power mode to avoid giving off any readings. He'd been living on rationed meals and sleeping in short shifts. For now, the mouse had avoided the cat.

Moving into the cabin of the shuttle, Nyx returned to his work. The computer core he had 'borrowed' from the Khonsu station was being connected to the craft's computer system through a series of cables. It had been damaged significantly after the Khonsu was destroyed by asteroids - caused by the gravitational pull of the anomaly. He had been busy repairing the connections and trying to restore power to the core unit in order to retrieve the sensor data the station had pulled from the anomaly. It was the only lead he had to go on to discover what was inside the mysterious phenomenon.

Using a hyperspanner from the shuttle's emergency equipment supplies, Temple was attempting to reconnect the final communication line from the core to the shuttle, when he became aware of an orange light appearing in the cabin. Nyx tensed up, eyes searching to find his phaser.

As the orange light dissipated, the Protector was stood before him, the mystery man in his black suit and helmet.

"You!" Nyx pointed at the man with the hyperspanner. "What are you doing here?!"

"I have come to assist." The Protector claimed, his voice a familiar dull, mechanical tone.

"Oh? So you know what's happened then." Nyx retorted pointedly, "Have you been watching me this whole time? How did you even get here, past the Marigold?"

"These are questions I cannot answer." The man replied. "Know that I am here to help you, Temple, as I always have."

Nyx dropped the tool and raised himself up, the anger boiling. "Help!? The anomaly you sent me to investigate has gotten stronger. It now has the gravitational force of a small black hole, pulling everything into its destructive path. It almost got my ship; it actually did help to destroy a science station. Now, because of you, I'm being hunted by Starfleet like some kind of criminal, while you've been - what, just watching?!"

"I am here, am I not?" Came the simple response.

"Well, I hope you're happy." Nyx scoffed, "Because I am now stuck here in this dead zone, with the USS Marigold on my tail. Meanwhile, the anomaly is due to reappear soon. It is only getting bigger and more destructive with every appearance."

"You have learnt more about the anomaly than I or anyone else," The man said, "And you saved those scientists from certain death. Of these things, I am happy."

"That's great, but I am nowhere near figuring out what it is," Nyx said, "Or how to stop it."

"You are." The mystery man said, waving a hand over the computer core in between them. "You have done exactly as required. All that is happening is what should happen, even if it seems impossible right now."

Nyx turned around in frustration, pacing up the shuttle's cabin as he took in the Protector's words and tone. Even through the computerized voice of his helmet, Nyx could tell the stranger was not concerned about the dire situation. He was calm about it, even. Nyx sat himself down on one of the benches, putting his head into his hands.

"How are you so sure?" Nyx asked quietly, eyes closed.

The Mystery Man turned slightly pointing to the port window. "Out there is the Valley of the Red Sun. For all appearances, it is a dead zone, a field of lifeless rock. Yet, there are organisms and matter surviving on those rocks. Microscopic beads of life. Of renewal. Adaption and permeations are being made right now out there, that in a millennium could see this region spring to life once more. You must adapt yourself."

Nyx looked over to him, a scowl on his forehead, "I don't need a 'glass half full' speech, I need a way out of this."

"You have it." The Protector shrugged, "Remember, I gathered you and your crew because I believed you all had more to achieve; your journey was not finished. The story of the Pandora and her crew will be significant to Starfleet, as well as personal to each of you. There is no destination without the journey."

"That sounds like a speech I would make." Nyx remarked with a wry tone, "To someone in my situation."

"What else would you tell someone in your situation?" The man pressed.

Nyx smiled a little, "Well I'd definitely find a way to talk about hope. Hope is all we need, hope keeps us going, hope can move mountains. If you have hope, you have a plan."

"Do you?" The man tilted his helmet. "Have hope?"

"It is waning." Nyx immediately replied, then he gave an acknowledging shrug, "But I still have hope. My crew needs me to complete this mission, doing so will keep everyone safe, so I must find those answers. Having that purpose keeps me going."

"Then you don't need reminding." Mystery Man nodded.

Nyx leaned back, his head resting on the bulkhead, "So when you said you had come to help me, it was just to give a pep talk?"

"If that is your perception." The man shrugged, "You must make your own choices. And, quickly."

From inside the shuttle flight deck, an alarm started sounding. Nyx gave a glance to the Protector before jumping up off his seat and heading into the cockpit. Sitting down at the helm chair, Nyx reviewed the sensor reading.

"The Marigold is pushing into the planetoid field." Nyx reported, his voice panicked. "They're coming in closer?!"

Captain Qui of the USS Marigold had gotten impatient. She had detected a slight fluctuation in energy deeper into the valley of dead planets and chose to move the Marigold closer, at risk to her ship, in order to investigate. It was the only lead she'd had in hours and was not about to lose Temple again.

"Captain Temple, please surrender yourself and your vessel, and return the equipment stolen from the space station Khonsu. We do not wish to engage in hostilities but will do so if required..." The message began replaying once more.

"What do I do?" Nyx exclaimed. He turned to look back into the cabin of the shuttle, and found the Protector was gone. As usual, disappeared without a trace.

"Helpful!" Nyx shouted into the emptiness.

The Marigold was using her tractor beam to silently push some of the large rocks out of the way, while slowly entering into the area where the Prime was hiding. It wouldn't be long before they would be in visual range of the Prime and his cover was blown.

In the shuttle, Nyx looked around at his consoles, trying to figure out what to do. He didn't have the shields or firepower to go one on one with a starship - not that he wanted to attack Starfleet anyway. His warp engines were back online but the Marigold would only pursue him once more. He couldn't out-run them.

His mind flickered over to the region - the valley of the dead planets around him, and something the mystery stranger said crashed through his thoughts.

"Microbeads of life." Nyx repeated the Protector's words out loud. "Computer, scan the nearby planetoids for material substances. What elements are out there?"

The computer chimed, "The planetoids contain dense deposits of carbon, nitrogen, magnesium, aluminum, iron..."

"Stop." Nyx ordered. "Could the metallic substances covering the rocks be used to reflect a signal?"

The computer processed for a moment, before displaying an image on screen. It showed a series of sonar bands bouncing across the planetoids. "Calculations predict a sustained reflection signal of around thirty kilometers in diameter for a period of twenty-five seconds before dissipating."

Nyx nodded, his hands now dancing over the communications panel of the shuttle. "Sending a wide-band communication signal, full spectrum, directed at the planetoids."

The shuttle's computer chimed happily. "What message would you like to broadcast?"

Nyx smiled.

[USS Marigold, Bridge]

On the USS Marigold, Captain Qui sat pensively in her chair as the ship slowly made its way through the rocks. She gave signals to move larger objects out of the way, in order to avoid a collision.

First Officer T'Vara called out, "We are approaching the source of the power fluctuation."

"We've got you now, Temple." The Captain smirked.

"Captain, we're receiving a message." Ops officer Grigorian replied, a look of slight concern on his face.

"Finally, a surrender." Qui remarked, standing up and fixing her shirt as she did. Starfleet would no doubt be proud that she recovered the computer core and brought in the rogue captain. She could hear the commendation already. "Open the signal."

There was a loud piercing sonic boom as the Marigold was bombarded with a repeating message. The captain and the Marigold crew were immediately forced to cover their ears after the message began relentlessly pounding their ship.

It said:

"Captain Temple, please surrender yourself and your vessel, and return the equipment stolen from the space station Khonsu. We do not wish to engage in hostilities but will do so if required..."

"Captain Temple, please surrender yourself and your vessel, and return the equipment stolen from the space station Khonsu. We do not wish to engage in hostilities but will do so if required..."

"Captain Temple, please surrender yourself and your vessel, and return the equipment stolen from the space station Khonsu. We do not wish to engage in hostilities but will do so if required..."

Over and over again, the signal was being reflected off the dead planetoids and bouncing back to the Marigold, overwhelming their communications relay.

"SHUT IT OFF!" Captain Qui shouted over the sound of her own voice recording incessantly pounding her ears and the ship's sensors.

"AYE!" Officer Grigorian cried out, slamming his hand down on the console.

The Bridge fell silent once more, the crew recovering from the sonic overload. Captain Qui returned to her seat, a ringing still in her ears. "Status?" She asked, her voice a little too loud.

"Communications are offline." Ensign Grigorian stated, "All frequencies, except sub-space."

First Officer T'Vara looked to the captain with a raised eyebrow. "We cannot identify the source of the signal, sir. And it appears the energy reading we were following has... gone."

"Gone?" The Captain balled her fists. "He's GONE?"

"The message was a distraction, sir, designed to overwhelm us while he slipped away once more." Officer Grigorian replied.

"Well trace his warp signature. We found him once and we'll find him again." Qui demanded, her tone rising in anger.

"We can't isolate a warp trail." T'Vara reported, "It too has been scrambled amongst the planetoids."

Qui rose from her chair, seething. That dreamed commendation would have to be postponed for now. With gritted teeth she ordered, "Set a course back to Starbase 12. And get comms back online!" She huffed, "I'll be in my ready room."

[S.S. Prime]

Nyx had gone to warp on the Prime, stealing away from the Valley of the Red Sun and the USS Marigold as fast as he could. He was satisfied that the Marigold would be unable to follow him for now. If they did manage to trace his signal, he would be long gone.

With the ship on auto-pilot, Nyx returned to the cabin. He found the computer core glowing as the optic fiber cables from the unit were now connected to the shuttle's systems. 'Perhaps the Mystery Man had helped after all?' He thought.

"Computer, download the sensor logs from the Khonsu station, specifically at the time of her destruction." Nyx requested.

The computer chimed, "Processing."

Moving to the wall screen in the cabin, Nyx watched as the data began to appear on screen. It showed a map of the Khonsu Asteroid Belt then a computerized diagram of the appearance of the anomaly and its destructive path. It would take some time before he could completely analyze the data.

"Computer, what is the next possible appearance of the anomaly, based on my calculations?" Nyx asked, watching the anomaly and its destructive power replaying through the screen. The Khonsu was destroyed in just five minutes.

"The anomaly is theorized to appear next in the Krakau system." The computer responded.

A gulp emanated from Nyx. "The Neutral Zone?" He said aloud.

"Correct." The computer said. "The Krakau system is located ten light-years into the Neutral Zone from the north-east entry point from Federation space."

Going into the Neutral Zone was not what he had anticipated doing. The projections had shown the anomaly moving in a spiralized direction outwards from Federation Space, so it was only a matter of time before it left their territory. Nyx had hoped to have intercepted the anomaly before it did so, but now he had no choice but to follow its path. The anomaly was too strong to be left alone.

"I have to follow it." Nyx said emphatically. He moved back to the cockpit of the shuttle. "Entering a course to the Krakau system."

With the Marigold no longer on his tail, Nyx was hopeful that he would be able to slip into the Neutral Zone undetected and continue to study the anomaly. Armed with the data from the Khonsu Station, which he would need to analyze while travelling, he hoped he could intervene before the anomaly destroyed anything else.

The Mystery Man had been right, the story was not over yet.

OFF