Moira bit back a curse as she slammed into the console. Sharp pain made it hard to draw breath for a moment, and her fingers flailed to grab onto the smooth sides. It was no use, the ship spun once more and she was thrown to the floor, instinct making her shield her head as she tumbled like a stone. 

It was chaos all around her, the sounds of other crew members screaming as the ship lurched and groaned with hideous noise. She had never felt the vessel tossed about, and it made her think of playing with models starships as a kid. Always throwing them into the air, and watching them tumble as they crashed. 

Suddenly the alarm bells and lights went dark, and everyone fell into a shocked silence. As the lurching feeling stopped, the Anaheim’s back up systems came online, the dim lighting showing a crew that seemed frozen in time. 

Moira waved off the offered help from Beron, the tactical officer who had come over to aid her. He needed to get back to his station, they all did. They couldn’t afford to sit here and do nothing, she thought with a groan as her side ached and throbbed. 

“Bridge to Engineering. Report.” Callum’s voice broke the silence, confident sounding amid the dim flickering lights. Knowing they would both need to show strength now, Moira straightened her back and hid the wince. Moving over to Fylar’s station, she saw the screens slowly coming back to life as the ships computer restored itself. 

“Engineering sir. The power grid took a wallop, not sure what that was but it messed with every system we had. Warp core is stable, but it looks like the engines are down. Thank the stars, but the warp core didn’t lose containment, we can get everything back, but its going to take awhile. And we will likely need repairs, we took a beating,” came the soft accent of Jenifer Thon, Anaheim’s Chief Engineer. Moira wasn’t surprised to hear the assessment; with the way the ship had lost power and been thrust through whatever made up an Underspace tunnel. 

Though what she saw next as Fylar’s console came back online was much worse than engine repairs. “Helm. Current position and heading,” she called to the ensign. 

Callum acknowledged the report from Engineering, and then began to oversee the deck by deck reports coming in. Luckily the hull integrity had not been breached, though the rampant energies surging through the ship after the bizarre graviton wave had wreaked havoc on the systems. With life support stable, and power slowly being restored Callum had been sending orders to the repair teams, when Moira’s voice brought his attention from the PADD.

Moving to the helm, he saw the results of the astrologation, and at first he couldn’t believe it. But when the chirp confirmed the results, he couldn’t hide his shock. “That is the Borias Cluster. We are inside Cardassian territory. The tunnels flung us a third of the way across the quadrant,” Callum stated, shock making his voice flat. The crew murmured, anxiety spreading as they all realized they were adrift within the Cardissan’s sphere of power. Callum took a moment to collect himself, then silenced the murmuring as he broadcast the news to the ship. “This is your Captain speaking. We find ourselves unexpectedly adrift in Cardassian space. We will not crumble to this news, and we will perform our duties with diligence and care. The ship is stable, as is life support. As soon as we have restored engines, we will begin to make our way to a station. Crews report to your assignments.”

As his address ended, he could see some of the nerves leave the crew on the bridge. While they hadn’t expected this result, there was a comfort in knowing the Captain had a plan. He had learned that on his own maiden voyages, when he had been freshly minted, and the crew while often younger on a Utility ship like Anaheim, knew its business.

“Moira. Go see the medbay. You’ve grabbed your side three times in the last four minutes. Get that taken care of, we will need you fit. Fylar, gather your readings and ready a report. We will want to submit our findings as soon as we are within range. Even if there is no chance of reentering where we were cast off, the data could prove useful,” Callum said as he made his way towards the turbolift for the engineering section. “Mr Faim. You have the conn”

Captain’s Log.

The Anaheim has found itself suddenly thrust into the vicinity of the Borias Cluster, inside the territory of the Cardassians. We have been adrift for several hours, although life support and critical systems remained stable. We have been unable to account for the graviton wave that expelled us forcibly from the tunnels of Underspace, though Fylar believes now that interference was likely. 

Our position has so far apparently gone unnoticed, sensors have not detected any vessels approaching although I do not believe we will go undetected for much longer. We have impulse engines, but the warp nacelles continue to remain unresponsive. With a moment of relative peace, I have ordered some of the crews to rest, as the engineering division continues its repairs. 

Moira Hewlett received injuries from the crash into normal space, although the medbay expects a full recovery with time and rest. Though for now that is in short supply. Fylar, my Science officer is ready to make her report, to myself and the senior command crew.

Callum stood against the window, looking out at the Borias Cluster, its colors and appearance beautiful. He had always loved cosmic phenomenon, nebulas and stars being born, the universe had a vast array of sights to behold. And it gave him something to look at, beside the lifeless dull nacelles. 

Hearing the doors open, he nodded a greeting to both Moira and Fylar. As they had been on the saucer section, they were the first to arrive. As the two women took their seats, Jenifer arrived and Callum hoped she brought good news. She looked weary, her hair disheveled and lank with sweat. He knew she had been working herself hard, and gestured to the tray of replicated food and drinks. 

“Let’s begin,” he said as he pulled himself from the window and sat at the short table. It wasn’t much compared to the large boardrooms aboard other ships, but he liked to meet here. It felt more collaborative than forcing everyone into his ready room. “Jenifer, your report first please.”

Jenifer nodded, finishing the mouth full of sandwich as she pushed the update onto their devices. She drank some water, then tucked her hair behind her ears before taking a look at the listings. “Repairs are progressing well. The power conduits surged and burned out in many decks, but we have temporary bypasses in place. We will have to close some of the decks due to the cabling and bypasses, but should be able to make up the space. Main power and systems are progressing, though the warp nacelles will be awhile yet. We may be able to get some power to them, but I don’t know when we will have full warp speed,” she said, and as they acknowledge her report, she gratefully dug into the supper. 

“We have been scanning the trajectory as best we can, trying to piece together what happened as we were traversing Underspace. The graviton wave is definitely what overwhelmed the system, but there is more Captain,” Fylar paused for a moment as she gave him a minute to review her findings. “As you can see from the scans, there was clearly something manipulating tetryon particles. I believe it was down the junction we overshot, but the long range scanners are still picking up building levels. The saturation speaks to something that is most likely not a natural occurence,” Fylar expanded on her report, pulling up the table display to show the area she was speaking of. The cluster would provide a thick density to help hide from sensors, but to investigate would mean risking going farther into Cardassian space.

“What would anyone gain by manipulating particles like that? Is it some sort of research station, it’s too far from any strategic system to be a weapon,” Moira mused aloud, weighing in with questions similar to the ones budding in Callum’s mind. Another worry to add to the tally. 

“Well, there have been reports of beacons, platforms being built with tetryon particle emitters. I don’t have enough data to know exactly the full effect that could have on the apertures or tunnels. But the scale of the sightings, and the readings we are getting speak to some kind of intent sir,” Fylar stated, with her usual disdain for uncertainty and unknowns. Callum knew what it meant for her to edge onto a limb as she did, and he appreciated the hard work all of them had put in. 

“The readings are intriguing, and the possibility of it being related to everything else that has been developing is strong. We are in no shape to provoke the Union though, even if we were at full strength it is not what the Anaheim was made to do. We will continue to make our way to the edge of their territory. Fylar, lets see if we can do something to boost the sensors, and get a better picture. Jenifer, can you spare her a crew to help with modifications?” Callum asked, trusting his chief to know best how to divide and conquer the tasks in front of her. When she nodded, he dismissed them to their duties and waited for the doors to close.

“We bit off more than we could chew Callum. We can’t kick the hornet’s nest, even if we know that is what’s happening by the cluster. Underspace is going to change everything, but it should be an Intrepid class or larger out here. I was eager to see it, and the possibilities are immense. Let’s get our people home,” Moira spoke freely once the two of them were alone. Callum had always liked that she spoke her mind, and they had grown to admire each other’s points of view. It helped that both of them wanted to do well, earn further commands and see Starfleet excel at it’s mission. 

“Agreed. We will make for the border zones, and hope our luck holds out. With everything so chaotic, one lone Federation vessel will hopefully be low on the list for the Cardassians,” Callum said, as he turned to look out the window a final moment, before making his way to the bridge.