Assembling the Team!

Posted on Thu Apr 3rd, 2025 @ 9:12pm by Commander Chisato Nishikigi & Captain Taiga Aisaka & Commander Jennifer Daxer & Major Chiyo Shimada & Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek & Lieutenant Dr. Eli Ellis M.D. & Lieutenant JG Nezuko

1,781 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Andromeda
Location: Shuttlebay 1, Deck 4, USS Tokyo
Timeline: The following day after "Counting Down To Oblivion"

The Tokyo had been holding its position since it had come through the Iconian Gateway. The gateway had closed behind them and trapped them not only in the Andromeda Galaxy, but inside of a Dyson Sphere. Down 'below' on the 'interior' of the Dyson Sphere's surface was a strange layout of what seemed like buildings and structures, they made one vast 'city' that covered the entire interior of the Dyson Sphere itself. Many of those structures were tens if not hundreds of miles tall, with arches, bridges and and balconies. Some of those balconies were big enough for whole starships to land on.

It was an impressive structure, one which was far from replication by any of the Alpha Quadrant Powers in the Milky Way Galaxy. What was more disturbing was that somewhere down in this vast 'city' was Omega Molecules, the most dangerous molecule in existance. Amongst all this was the Starship Tokyo, now holding position above this vast city in space.

Sensors indicated that the interior surface of the Dyson Sphere even had a breathable atmosphere. However so far there were no evident lifesigns, or signs of anyone ever inhabiting the sphere. Either they never moved in, they all died off, or it was abandoned eons ago.

(Shuttlebay)

Taiga stood in the shuttlebay awaiting the assigned officers she had chosen for this mission. She looked over the candidates she had chosen on a PADD as she awaited for them to arrive.

"Hoo, boy..." she could hear Chisato sigh as the ever-dependable Chief-of-Intel stumbled into view, her arms saddled with at least half a dozen PADDs.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting, Captain," she apologized as she set the PADDs down on a nearby cargo container. "I managed to compile the data that you forwarded to me earlier this morning, and since I can't really clue my department into what exactly we're doing, I had to do all of it by myself, and that doesn't even begin to cover all the legwork I had to pull off getting those security protocols programmed in..."

Taiga nodded simply as she picked up one of the PADDs and began to flick through it's contents.

Chisato glanced around the shuttlebay, at once realizing it was just Taiga and her.

"Am I early again?" she remarked in disbelief. "Dangit, how does this keep happening?"

Taiga didn't acknowledge the Commander's outburst, instead she focused on the material on the PADD. At the moment that was the more important.

Daxer was the next to arrive. For the first time since coming aboard, she was in a Starfleet uniform that was in pristine condition. On one hip was a tricorder, and on the other was her pistol. On her shoulder hung an M16 rifle with a grenade launcher attachment. On her belt were clips for both weapons, and a pouch with grenades.

Unlike Chisato, there hadn't been much research for Daxer to do. She already had a decent bit of knowledge about the topics surrounding the Omega particle that she'd gained from her very short time with the Borg.

"Better to be prepared." She said, figuring at least someone would ask why she'd brought so much firepower. "Just because the sensors don't see life forms, doesn't mean there are none."

"Is that an... Assault rifle?" Chisato observed with a look of mortification.

"Standard M16 assault rifle, with a grenade launcher attachment." Jen said as she held the unloaded weapon for Chisato to see. "Sometimes it takes an old fashioned weapon to deal with an overpowered enemy."

Before Daxer could further explain, Chiyo was next to arrive. Unlike Daxer, Chiyo's kit was more 24th century, as she was armed with a high powered phaser rifle.

"Glad to have you back, Commander." Chiyo nodded. "In an official capacity, anyhow..."

"Just like old times, eh Major?" Jen said, giving the woman a slight smirk. "Minus the Borg drones of course."

"Oh, for sure:" Chiyo quipped back. "Just something potentially much deadlier..."

"Why are we already assuming that this is going to come to violence?" Chisato sighed as she handed Chiyo and Jenifer their respective PADDs. "A little diplomacy never hurt anybody..."

"As the head of security, it is my duty to assume that every encounter will be a violent one." Jen replied. She quickly skimmed the padd, then shoved it into her pocket. "Besides, if this place has anything at all to do with the Elachi, then we are definitely not safe."

"Violence is pretty much part of a marine's daily routine." Chiyo added. "We're not 'first to fight' for nothing, you know."

Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek entered the shuttlebay while still reviewing the sensor information the ship had on the structure they had encountered. . .entered. . .penetrated. . .?

None of it made any sense to him. Not their forced-arrival, not the discovery of massive structures, nor the fact that there was breathable atmosphere but no inhabitants detected.

It made even less sense to Ensign Mikko Ishigami when he instructed her to take Helm while he was assigned to this mission. He couldn't go into any further details because he didn't have any further details to give. All he knew was that he was going to be assigned to do something crazy.

"Ma'am," Lieutenant Yuvek stated to Captain Aisaka as he arrived.

"Ah, Lieutenant," Chisato spoke up as she handed Jasad a PADD. "Here, you're going to want this; Captain Aisaka will elaborate once Nezuko and Doctor Ellis have arrived."

Eli arrived still working on his PADD. His medical bag slung over his shoulder. He looked deeply involved in his work, scribbling notes as he walked.

Last into the shuttlebay was Nezuko, with her special tricorder in hand and a type-2 phaser as a sidearm in her holster. She gave the security chief a bit of a side-eye for the unusual weapon choice, but had read once that unusual problems might need unusual situations, and this situation was most unusual!

Once everyone had arrived, Taiga cleared her throat. She stood in front of the shuttle's entrance port. "Ok, your mission is simple. The Tokyo can't pinpoint the exact location of the Omega Molecule, nor can our sensors penetrate some of those structures down below."

She took a breath. "You are to take this shuttle down and do a search in the general area. We've narrowed it down to a specific area, but it's still quite... sizeable... roughly the same area space as the Earth continent of South America..." Taiga paused for a moment. "Once you locate the Omega Molecule, I want you to penetrate the structure and assess its state and report back to Tokyo."

"We have no idea what's down there. We know there is a breathable atmosphere and the gravity seems normal from our scans. But be careful, there could be obstacles and security features. You're going in blind I'm afraid." Taiga patted the Type Eleven shuttle which was more comparable to a runabout than an actual shuttle. "I've had the shuttle stocked up for you all. Meanwhile the Tokyo will be investigating the Star in the center of the Dyson Sphere."

"So, long story short, we aren't so much as looking for a needle in a haystack as we are an electron on a Galaxy-Class starship..." Chisato surmised. "This could very likely take a while..."

Nezuko typed something on her screen but rather than have it speak aloud, showed it quietly to Chisato. An electron’s exact position cannot be known, so you describe a literally impossible task.

"Might as well be..." Chisato chuckled nervously.

Lieutenant Yuvek sighed inwardly with significant frustration. The team was being dispatched to perform a highly complicated task with hardly any clue as to where the molecule could be located. Scanning a surface area the size of a Human continent would be difficult enough, but the confines of the sphere made the objective any more unnerving.

"What do we know about the breathable atmosphere? What is creating or. . .generating it inside of this structure?" Lieutenant Yuvek asked. "Depending on what the atmosphere is made of, it will have an effect on just how effectively our sensors can penetrate it and try to scan the surface of the sphere." He added.

He hadn't even begun to discuss the possibility that whomever built the structure may have defenses in place that may prevent any nosey trespassers from finding anything.

"Oxygen, Nitrogen mixture. Basically it's the exact same as most Class M worlds. And from what I've been told, the Sphere itself is generating the Atmosphere. There also appears to be some form of flora down there." Taiga explained.

"I should have a detailed breakdown of the sensor data in that PADD I gave you, Lieutenant," Chisato added. "I mean, granted, the data is speculatory until we can examine it up close, but then again, it's not like this is a holiday either."

"It is most definitely not a holiday." Taiga said. "You are to avoid detection whilst you are down there. Try to avoid attention please..." she added. "Now, go, get this shuttle out and get down there. We're wasting time as it is."

With that said Taiga turned away from the group and walked away leaving them to board the shuttle.

Chisato glanced over at Chiyo. "Why are we avoiding attention if there's no signs that those structures out there have ever been inhabited?"

"Setting off traps, or otherwise drawing attention runs the risk of potential attack from the Elachi's masters." Daxer said, before Chiyo could reply. Considering how powerful the Elachi are, I don't think such an encounter would be wise."

Chiyo put a firm hand on Daxer's shoulder.

"Commander, I know you're excited to be back." She said. "But it's quite rude to answer a question intended for another officer."

Reacting on pure instinct, Daxer grabbed Chiyo's wrist, forcibly shoving it away as she turned to fully face the woman. "Rude or not, don't touch me without my consent." She said in a manner that showed she was serious. "The last person to do so ended up with a broken wrist, and I really don't think that's something you want." With that, she walked away, disappearing into the shuttle.

"Then remember your place in the chain of command, and I won't have to." Chiyo grumbled as she followed Daxer.

Posting by:


Captain Taiga Aisaka
Commanding Officer

Commander Jennifer Daxer
Chief Security/Tactical Officer

Commander Chisato Nishikigi
Chief Intelligence Officer

Major Chiyo Shimada
Marine Commander

Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek
Chief Flight Control Officer

Lieutenant Dr. Eli Ellis M.D.
Chief Medical Officer

Lieutenant JG Nezuko
Chief Operations Officer

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