>>172009
The ensign froze. How long had she been on the station? She swallowed hard, her mind wrestling with conflicting feelings of joy, anxiety, and concern. Madeline quickly rendered a salute that the Captain returned.
Captain Tetsuhara, it's a relief to see you up! She blurted, but the Captain's expression was one of indulgence.
Thank you, Ensign Teyssier. Lieutenant Commander Tetsuhara appeared fine, with only a few bandages on her bare arms. She and Leah Badr were dressed in cryopod attire: sleeveless white tops and low-cut white shorts that were little more than underwear. According to Traveler's chronometer you've been off-ship for several hours. The secondary VI brought itself back online an hour after you left, and reactivated Rook. Leah and I were revived almost an hour ago. With the help of the VI, Rook has reestablished our subspace communications array. And when he did, we received an interesting message.
Madeline felt frozen in place. She looked down at the creature, noticing how it rested against the inside of the jar closest to her. It was drawn to her, she thought.
The Captain continued: A frigate detected a mayday, but not from our ship. Whatever you did on that alien construct, ensign, it got their attention. They're twelve hours out in subspace. They'll reach the node in this system then, and deploy a repair craft to bring out engines back online. Soon we'll be back at the fleet.
Leah, who had been silent all this time while watching the creature, heard the Captain and bobbed her head up and down. While she seemed confident in the Captain's words, the acting head of security seemed focused on Madeline's companion. Her fierce eyes tracked it like a drone on a target. Madeline held the jar a little closer.
Now, the Captain crossed her arms, I'll need a full report of what happened on that construct. And what exactly -she pointed at the creature- that is.Post too long. Click here to view the full text.