Amerind (Part 1)

Posted on Mon Jul 28th, 2025 @ 1:11pm by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Lieutenant JG Kurumi Hatanaka & Petty Officer 1st Class Yoshika Miyafuji & Commander Thomas Johnson & Commander Jennifer Daxer & Commander Chisato Nishikigi & Lieutenant Commander Casey Washburn & Lieutenant Commander Talia Johnson & Lieutenant Jasad Yuvek & Lieutenant Nezuko & Lieutenant Teneca Quinn & Lieutenant Ralen Trellis & Lieutenant Takina Inoue & Lieutenant Mizuki Nakahara & Lieutenant JG Connor Carey
Edited on on Mon Jul 28th, 2025 @ 1:12pm

1,264 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Preserving The Past
Timeline: January 25, 2397

The bridge of the Tokyo was bathed in red light as the starship held position on the far side of a large moon.

Taiga looked at the viewscreen. "Is there any other ships on sensors, apart from us and the Kanna?" she asked simply. With the potential threat of the Iconian's showing up, both ships had agreed to run in depth sensor sweeps before even attempting to approach Amerind.

"I'm not detecting any ships, cloaked or other wise." Teneca reported from the main science station.

"Helm, take us over the north of the moon. Nice and slow. Keep the Kanna behind us." Taiga ordered. "Have your finger on the throttle, if we see an Iconian ship, we jump to Warp..." she reminded him. She was hoping that the Heralds weren't sat in wait for them. Her heart began to pound in her chest knowing that at any moment they could be flying into a trap. If the Iconians were so focused on finding The Preservers, there was no reason why they wouldn't already be here.

"Aye, Ma'am," Lt. Jasad responded, his voice steady despite the knot of tension in his stomach. His hands moved with practiced precision across the helm controls, initiating the maneuver. "Bringing us over the moon's northern pole, quarter thrusters."

On his display, he could see the Kanna holding position exactly two thousand kilometers behind them, tucked safely in the Tokyo's considerable sensor shadow. "Maintaining escort formation with the Kanna," he reported, adjusting their heading by point-seven degrees to account for the moon's gravitational pull. "She's staying tight in our wake—should mask most of her sensor profile if anything's watching."

"We have isolated a few tribes we can beam down to, it does require some cosmetic... changes to Lt Commander Johnsons ears, as well as our skin tone." Thomas replied "When we figure out where to beam, it will be easier to determine the type of clothes to wear as well."

Taiga turned to Thomas. "I think it's best to keep Talia on board. She can act as an advisor from the Tokyo. Considering she's in a similar condition as myself." Taiga suggested. She wasn't prepared to put Talia at risk, especially after what she herself had gone through on the Iconian Dyson Sphere.

His finger hovered over the warp drive controls, and he couldn't help but glance at the tactical display showing empty space around them. The problem with the Iconians wasn't just their advanced technology—it was their unpredictability. They could materialize anywhere, anytime, with no warning. No subspace distortions, no energy buildups, just... there.

"Considering all we have been through... good point." Thomas replied as he gave Talia a smile, "We don't know if we are going to be met with hostility or peace."

Talia knew both Taiga and Thomas were right, she was at that stage in her pregnancy where away teams were pretty much out of the question.

"Hail the Kanna." Taiga said.

A few moments later the face of Captain Williams appeared on the viewscreen. She gave them all a cheerful smile. "Go ahead Tokyo."

"We've determined it's safe. So you can join us in orbit." Taiga stated. "We're going to beam down our security and science teams to the Obelisk. Commander Johnson will be leading a small team to the nearby settlement as we discussed. Are your people ready?"

Williams nodded. The officers behind her around her bridge were mainly all science officers, easy to spot from the teal on their uniforms. "We're all good to go here. My teams will meets yours on the surface."

Taiga nodded. "I'm also deploying Starfighters to patrol the outer edge of the system. They can check any blind spots our sensors might not see." She added.

Williams smiled. "Thank you Captain. Hopefully those Heralds don't show up and ruin our fun."

"Hopefully not." Taiga replied before the channel cut off. She turned to her bridge officers. "Ok, let's do this."

"One step ahead of you, Captain," Chisato replied, nodding first to Daxer and then to Nezuko. "Commander, Lieutenant; I believe you're with me?"

"And here I thought this day might actually be boring." Jen said as she moved to follow Chisato, and tapping her COMM badge. "Security team one, report to transporter room two on the double."

Nezuko quietly followed Daxer and Nishikigi toward the turbolift.

Lt. Yuvek made a minor course correction with the lightest brush of his fingers, adjusting for the moon’s gravitational eddies without so much as a glance at his display. His eyes, instead, remained fixed on the stars beyond the viewscreen—calm, calculating, unreadable.

After Captain Williams signed off and the bridge returned to quiet purpose, Lt. Yuvek spoke—not loudly, but with the slow, deliberate cadence of someone used to weighing every word.

“Captain,” he said, his tone dry but not disrespectful, “have you ever considered why ancient civilizations leave behind so many puzzles for us to solve?”

“The Preservers, the Iconians. . . All these so-called enlightened societies scattering breadcrumbs across the quadrant, hoping someone worthy would follow the trail. It’s always framed as benevolence. As legacy. A gift to future generations.”

A pause. “But what if it isn’t?”

He tapped his console, shifting the ship’s nose by half a degree as he continued, his voice still quiet, but laced with something sharper beneath the surface.

“What if it wasn’t about helping us? What if it was just vanity? A way to remind the galaxy that they existed. That they were the architects of wonders. Not because we needed them… but because they couldn’t bear the thought of being forgotten.” He said while leaning back slightly, as if shrugging off the weight of his own speculation.

“Personally, I’ve never trusted a civilization that leaves behind instructions but not a warning label.” he added.

"You have a good point Jased." Taiga replied. "But, if we can learn anything about the Iconians from The Preservers, it could give us an advantage. We know that the Iconians were very interested in them, there has to be a reason why."

[USS Kanna]

Captain Shauna Williams was excited. She was a good scientist, her specialist field being ancient civilizations and archeology. As the Kanna entered orbit she was making her way down to the transporter room with the science officers she had selected. Unlike other Captain's, she often joined her science teams on the surface. She often referred to herself as a scientist first, Captain second.

As she stepped into the transporter room she was surrounded by teal uniforms and various pieces of equipment. "Who's ready to unlock some secrets of the preservers?" She asked with a huge grin.

"You know I am, Keptin!" Anton Fyodorovich Kurakin had a rather large pack on his back, its size all the more noticeable on his small frame. Thank goodness for antigrav tech. The junior archaeologist was ready for anything.

"What would I do without you?" Shauna grinned at Kurakin as she stepped up onto the transporter pad.

"Tokyo has already furnished us with Mister Spock's field notes regarding the obelisk," Lieutenant Shigeru Hamada reported. "I must say, I'm interested to learn more about their cipher writing; the whole idea of an entire written language being based around a series of musical scales is... most fascinating."

"It probably uses some sort of mathematical sequence. After all musical notation is all mathematical." Shauna smiled. "I'm sure you'll have a chance to take a look at it once we're down there."

To be continued...

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