Where No Pandora Has Gone Before

Posted on Sat Apr 4th, 2026 @ 8:59am by Captain Nycolas Temple & Ensign Zeve Navot & Ensign Ian Milkovich & Ensign Raven DeVine & Admiral Audra Milne & Lieutenant Commander Christine J'Oh & Lieutenant Liana J'Oh & Lieutenant Jarok

Mission: A New Day at Midnight
Location: Deck 1 - Briefing Room

ON:

A new adventure awaited.

Captain Temple was standing by the open door of the Briefing Room - looking out to the Bridge from the doorway. He was awaiting the arrival of his senior team in anticipation of the Pandora’s launch, knowing they would likely come up the turbo lift to the Bridge and then turn into the Briefing Room. He wanted to greet them himself, to welcome them back personally.

His new XO, Lieutenant Commander Christine J’Oh was the first to arrive; punctual as usual. She had moved with confidence from out of the lift towards the Briefing Room, acknowledging her captain with a sharp nod.

“Hello, sir,” She said warmly, “Today’s the day. You must be so happy to have your ship back in action again?”

Nyx reached out to take her hand, “I can’t stop smiling.” He admitted, “It has felt like years.” He paused, giving a thoughtful shrug. “But at the same time, it’s like starting over.”

Christine smiled, “I feel the same.”

“Alright, what’s the hold up?” Came a voice from behind them. Nyx and Christine turned to see Liana standing behind them, a playful smile on her face. Her vibrant red hair framed the mischievous look in her eyes.

Christine and Liana had chosen to come separately to the meeting, despite both coming from the same quarters. The couple were keen to not let the professional mix with the personal too soon. Liana especially had wanted to stand on her own as a new Chief Officer onboard the ship; a role that she knew she had earned through years of diligent service and high performance, but she remained sensitive to any implication that her promotion could have come from being married to the Pandora’s XO.

“I try to arrive on my own and here you two are blocking the doorway.” Liana remarked in her usual dry fashion. She had known Nyx since the Academy; he was no doubt used to her humour by now which allowed her to be braver than she normally would have with any other Captain.

“We’re having a moment,” Nyx retorted with an eye roll. “First meeting, new mission. You know, it’s special.”

Liana sighed but she didn’t want to tease any further. Life in the big chairs was something she had learnt to appreciate from a distance; perhaps one day she would know how it felt. “Fine, but if y’all don’t stop being sentimental in the doorway, this special meeting is never going to start.”

“Liana.” Christine tried to hush her wife with a hissing tone but there was a smile on her lips nonetheless. “Come on, then.”

Nyx could only shake his head as they went inside the Briefing Room. He turned to see a tall, broad Vulcan man approaching next.

“Lieutenant Jarok.” Nyx smiled broadly as the new Intelligence Chief approached. “So glad to see you.”

“And I you, Captain.” Jarok nodded; he had supplanted his face with a soft but not overly warm grin. Enough to satisfy his new crew mates that he wasn’t an entirely joyless Vulcan; but not too much to appear fake and sarcastic. It was a delicate path that Jarok would walk in Starfleet vessels, a dance he had become familiar with in his twenty years of service.

“Have you had a chance to see the new playground facilities?” Nyx asked, knowing the Lieutenant had joined the Pandora with his young daughter, Sha’El. She was in between Nyx’s own oldest and youngest, a precious age of still child-like joy and play, with a growing edge of independence and attitude.

“We have.” Jarok replied, as if he was giving a report, “It is a stimulating experience for Sha’El. She liked the slides, even if she pretended not to.”

“My favourite is the red one.” Nyx said suspiciously quietly, casually admitting that this forty-year-old Starfleet captain had also enjoyed the new playground facilities.

“Then I’ll have to try it out sometime.” Jarok raised his eyebrows with a glimmer of mirth. Nyx bellowed out a laugh and gently patted the Vulcan’s shoulder.

“Good to have you onboard, Lieutenant.” Temple replied, still laughing.

Jarok nodded as he headed into the room. It didn’t matter how many ships and posts he had been on, starting a new one always evoked an air of nerves and contemplating. He had met many Commanding Officers before; some of which had made even *him* look animated. Thankfully Nyx was not that kind of Captain; he was warm and personal. The greeting had gone well, much to Jarok’s satisfaction.

Arriving next was Raven DeVine, newly minted Ensign and stepping in to represent the Medical Department for this meeting. She had already been to Sickbay and was surprised at just how much it had changed. The whole ship had been given quite the upgrade. Making her way to the briefing room she smiled as she was greeted by Nyx. “Hello Captain.”

“Greetings, Ensign,” Nyx beamed in return. When he had first met Raven, she was rollerskating around Mindo’s holodeck bar in pink fishnets and a tutu. Now she was wearing the Starfleet blue medical uniform, with a pip on her neck, a PADD ready in hand. A world away from where she had began five years ago. But she was still Raven. There was a brightly coloured scarf wrapped around her hair and she still walked with the same confident stride she had always possessed, like every corridor was a fashion runway. “Welcome back! Thank you for taking leadership of Medical until a permanent CMO arrives. I hope the on-boarding process hasn’t been too overwhelming for the department.”

“We’re coping Captain,” Ensign DeVine nodded, “We have all of the crew medical files updated on the system and we’ve taken in the full inventory of supplies. We’ll need some time to get used to the new layout and where everything goes, but the team are looking to be fully settled in as soon as possible.”

Nyx immediately felt the emotion caught in his throat. It was pride. Pure, unconditional, knowing-how-far-she-has-come pride. She wasn’t a fledgling junior officer anymore; she wasn’t an entertainer getting herself kicked out of a casino on Paradise Outpost. She was Ensign DeVine now, Assistant Chief Medical Officer.

Raven saw the look in his eyes and gasped a little at his emotions. Nyx had been there to encourage her to join Starfleet, convinced her she could do it when her own doubts and inner saboteur told her that she was only ever going to be a dancer and nothing more. He had written the recommendation with a full account of the work she had done on the Pandora for the Academy entrance qualifications. He had said some of the nicest things a person in any official capacity could have said to her. It had changed her life.

“Oh, Captain.” Raven felt herself get caught too. She waved her hand before her eyes, wishing them not to swell with joyful tears. “We can’t do this now. We’re about to have a meeting!”

“I know, I know.” Nyx bashfully nodded as he tried to compose himself. “What would Mindo think?”

“Mindo would have been first to cry. But that doesn’t make it okay.” Raven remarked with a laugh. The humour broke the emotional heaviness and allowed them both to relax.

“Enough.” Nyx said, taking in a deep breath. “We’ve got to be serious now.”

“I was trying to!” Raven complained, “You got all weepy.” At the risk of starting it all again, she raised up her hands and continued into the room. “Ugh!”

She was still Raven after all.

More officers continued to arrive and Nyx managed to greet them without any repeat performances of over-emotional responses, even if his heart swelled with every new arrival. It was happening - they were back. He hadn’t realised how much this had meant to him until now, but he had to stay composed.

Standing up from his station on the Bridge, Ensign Milkovich nodded to the Captain as he approached the Briefing room. His feet stopped dead at the doorway as he reached the invisible line that he dared not cross; the threshold sitting at the tips of his shoes. His rank and position did not allow him to enter that room and he knew it.

“Sir?” Ian cleared his throat, “The last of the arrivals are now on board. The transport shuttles have departed and our shuttle bay is closed. Luna Shipyards will be detaching their docking bridge soon.”

“Excellent.” Nyx replied, slapping the young man on the shoulder. “Send the signal to all hands to prepare for departure.”

“Aye, Captain.” Milkovich nodded again, looking down briefly to his feet.

“And Ensign?” Nyx grinned; he loved a surprise. “Have the relief officer take your place. I’ll need my best pilot in this meeting.” He motioned towards the big table where everyone else was seated.

Ian gulped loudly. “S-sir?” He squeaked.

“Look sharp, Ensign.” Nyx said firmly, “We don’t have time for bashfulness.”

Ian nodded, straightening up his posture. “Aye, Captain.” He said firmly, before hurriedly grabbing the next Bridge officer in line to take his seat.

Nyx held down his smirk as he turned back to the Senior officers in the room. He clapped his hands together in his usual fashion. “Alright team, who is ready for our first mission back?”

There was a chorus of agreeable responses from the gathered faces. Christine was to his right, Jarok on his left. From there on down there was an officer from each of the main eight departments - including Raven for Medical and Ian for Helm. He had seen so many faces around him once before - Nash, Brennan, Griffin, Mindo, Kaleri, Smith, and so many more. They were gone now, they had moved on. Today the Pandora also moved on.

"As am I." Nyx nodded. He made his way around to the main wall screen and tapped a few buttons. "As you may have been briefed, the Pandora's new status means we will act as the first responders to any urgent new events, phenomena, and sticky situations. Our Sensor Pod has been calibrated to receive a running stream of alerts across all Federation space, which is then broadcast into our Rapid Response Unit as part of the Intelligence department."

The screen showed a view of the new Intel department, and the Rapid Response Pod where these alerts will be broadcast into.

"Our mission is to gather information, make an assessment, and determine the response required by Starfleet or the Federation," Nyx continued, "Sometimes, we will be called upon to solve or satisfy the situation to the best of our ability. Other times - those likely requiring combat or battle ships, we will simply relay our findings and move on. We are not a warship, after all. But above all else, when help is called for - the Pandora will respond."

Jarok nodded, “Rapid Response is currently online and manned around the clock. We’re still up-skilling our team to handle the visual display layout of the Pod.”

“Sounds fun.” Liana remarked as she looked at the display showing the unit in use. Of course it was a very serious tool to help respond to emergencies, but it also looked like a big toy. “Do we all get a chance to learn it?”

Jarok raised just his right eyebrow, sensing her enthusiasm came from a not-entirely serious place, “It is possible, yes. There is a training room for the Pod.”

“I’ll book some time.” Liana smiled eagerly.

Raven and Ian shared a look with each other, both agreeing but not wanting to speak up for themselves.

“It would be beneficial if we have everyone familiar with the Pod’s control panel and use.” Christine spoke, trying to add some legitimacy to the fun.

The Captain couldn’t pretend he hadn’t also had a go, “Agreed, as long as Intel is up and running.”

“We will be, sir.” Jarok said sharply.

"Good. Because we have our first priority call." Nyx replied, as he tapped at the display. The image changed to a dazzling nebula, which consisted of a swirling lights that seemingly twinkled amongst the dense space. "This is the White Diamond Nebula. A beautiful, naturally occurring combination of certain minerals and gases which gives it this sparkling visage. Inside of that nebula is the planet Omipro.”

The viewscreen zoomed into a bright pinkish hued world with a dusty cloud atmosphere.

“Omipro houses a Federation colony in the central hemisphere,” Nyx explained. “It was initially thought to be an uninhabited planet but archaeologists have found artefacts from a civilisation that once existed about twenty thousand years prior. Those artefacts were initially displayed in a cultural museum. As of yesterday, that museum came under an isolated attack.”

There was a video showing of the attack. A black shuttle descends from the pink sky and starts to rain down phaser fire onto the ground. People ran, screaming, debris and smoke filling the air. A small team of six figures emerge from the shuttle and zip line down to the ground. They run into the museum where more phaser fire and shouting can be heard. The video cuts to show them moving out crates and bags of items. Starfleet officers attempt to respond but they are forced back from rapid fire. The video cuts out.

“Wow.” Raven breathed out, “How many casualties?”

“Ten dead. At least thirty in hospital.” Nyx said solemnly. As a list of names appeared on the screen, “Phaser injuries mostly, some critical. As you can see, it was a blanket attack. Shock and awe.”

Raven took note of this on her PADD. “How are the colony medical services handling it?” She asked.

“Overwhelmed.” Nyx said gravely. “We’ll need to assist.”

“I’ll have Triage Kits and a ground team ready when we arrive. We can use our sickbay to help relieve the pressure on their hospital.” Raven stated, snapping into her planning.

Christine looked to the young officer and nodded to her wife, Liana, “Have your team support Medical with transports and medical supply deliveries.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Liana curtly smiled, already making the plans.

“What did they steal?” Jarok asked, he was replaying the footage and saw them carrying out items from the museum.

“They haven’t done a complete stocktake as yet, but there’s not much left.” Nyx replied, “No one has claimed responsibility publicly but we have a lead that the shuttle may have travelled deep into the Nebula and may be receiving support from nearby planets.”

“It’s not an opportunistic attack.” Jarok remarked, analysing, “It’s meant to look like a brute force attack, but they were well prepared and planned. I’ll be looking to monitor local networks to see if there is some underlying reason for the attack.”

“Agreed.” Nyx leaned back in his chair. “Our mission is to help secure the colony, support the treatment and recovery of the injured, and gather what information we can about who is responsible.”

“And then what?” Liana asked with a frown.

“We deliver that information to Starfleet and they’ll decide if we continue the investigation.” Nyx replied calmly. “Normally, it would be automatically our designation to carry out this investigation and delve deeper into the issue, but we are here for the initial response to the crisis.”

Jarok stirred at this. The Intelligence Officer didn’t like leaving a question unanswered and he wanted those responsible for these deaths to be held to account. “Am I to assume that we would then leave once the crisis is settled?”

“Potentially, yes.” Nyx shrugged, “If there are no leads and no present threat to the colony, we move on and allow another ship to carry out the investigation. We have to get used to responding and moving on.”

“We have to consider we are at best use when we are free to respond to the next emergency.” Christine added, supporting her captain. “That’s what we do.”

Liana had more to say but she nodded in agreement. “I understand.”

“We won’t know until we get there.” Nyx offered carefully. “It could be an on-going situation.”

Jarok tapped at his PADD, “Who will take on the investigation?”

“The USS Palentine.” Nyx added, “I’m sure they’ll appreciate whatever information you can find while we’re there. Speak to the survivors, canvas the museum, collect any evidence that you can.”

This seemed to please Jarok and he nodded, “Aye, sir. We will start right away.”

Nyx settled his hands on the table. “Any other questions?”

Ian cautiously cleared his throat, “I - uh - yes. Me. Sir. If I may? What about navigating through the nebula? It looks… not easy.”

“We have a chartered course to follow,” Nyx smiled, trying to ease his nerves. “Don’t worry, Ensign, you’ll get us there.”

Ian gave a nervous chuckle. “Yes. Of course.”

Nyx clapped his hands together, “Alright. We have our emergency, let’s get going. I expect everyone to be ready before we reach the Nebula. Clear?”

There was a variety of “Clear”s and “Yes, sir”s across the room. Nyx stood from his chair. “Let’s get to work.”

The room stood as well and they ferried out to the Bridge. Nyx received the final approval from Luna Shipyards and Starfleet that they were all clear to depart. He took the Captain’s chair and eased into its soft leather cushions. Christine did likewise to his left in the XO position.

Ian moved to the Helm panel and started tapping away, “Manoeuvring thrusters engaged. We will clear the space dock in thirty seconds.”

In the quiet of space, the USS Pandora gently pushed forwards from within the metal structure of the spacedock. Shuttlecraft moved aside as the Luna class vessel silently pushed forwards. Unmoored and independent once again; the Pandora looked glossy and sleek with her new hull and neon lights. The freshly painted “USS Pandora NCC 801104” came into the light as it passed from out of the shadows of the dock.

Back on the Bridge, Ensign Milkovich reported they were free from the shipyards and ready to go to warp.

A broad smile appeared on Nyx’s face, “Let’s fly.”

The Pandora zoomed off into the distance, leaving two bright blue streaks behind her as she warped away.

OFF