sinister_coffin

[I was watching Deep Space 9 and this concept began to emerge. Also on AO3.]

Part 2>>>

Part 1: Riptide

“Science Officer’s Log, Stardate: 57128.54, Science Officer M’Rell, reporting.

The USS Prometheus is now beginning her first foray into the Delta Quadrant. After picking up new specialist crew at Deep Space 18, we are finally ready. Our Prometheus may be old, but in this scientist's opinion, there’s no vessel more suited to deep space research than the Nebula-class.

And in my personal opinion, there’s no Captain more suited to our mission, than Captain Nog.”

M’Rell’s tail twitched in amusement as she heard yet another soft cackle from the direction of the command chair. They’d been scanning the stellar nebula all morning and, instead of sitting in his ready room and waiting for news, the Captain was on the bridge engaged in his favorite pastime, calculating profit.

“Um…Lieutenant.” Came a whisper from her left. It was Ensign Yadav, an Ekosian, dark-skinned, highly intelligent, and as green as M’Rell’s tail was long. And M’Rell was very proud of her very long tail.

“Yes, Ensign?” M’Rell didn’t take her eyes off the scan readouts, but her ear twitched towards the Ensign attentively.

“What…uhm…..what is he doing?”

“Calculating profit, of course. The Captain is Ferengi after all.”

“But…” Yadav glanced down at her console, ensuring the sensor arrays maintained precise alignment, before continuing. “He is going to make any latinum off of scans of a pretty common type of stellar nebula. I think that might actually be illegal.”

“Would you care to answer that, Captain?” M’Rell purred.

“Glad to.” Said Captain Nog, from behind Yadav.

Yadav fairly squeaked and turned to stammer before he held up a hand for quiet. She went silent in an instant. The Captain was diminutive, but he had presence when he wanted to have it.

“Two hundred and ninety four petabytes of data.” He said, adopting his usual, professorial tone for instructing green ensigns. “My personally projected result of this nebula exploration. That alone might not justify our expenditures, it is, so far, not a very unique nebula. Unique in it’s particular way, but not by a large margin. Yet, we have more than sensors. Don’t we, Ensign. What might those be?”

“Uhm….computer models?”

“Yes. And?”

“Analytic programs?”

“Mere tools.”

“Specialist personnel?”

“Precisely, dozens of profit multipliers. Small papers, refined analysis data, all feeding into a large body of knowledge, feeding larger models and going out to more experts. The knowledge generated by a day or two here becomes part of a great library-”

FWABOOM!

His speech was suddenly interrupted as the ship shuddered under and impact that rocked the hull. Nog was nearly thrown to the deck as M’Rell’s crash harness deployed automatically.

“Report!” Nog ordered as he struggled to reach his chair.

“Sudden gravimetric sheer!” The helm officer responded as the Prometheus continued to rock and shudder. “It’s dragging us into the nebula! I’m coming about!”

“Belay that!” Nog ordered as he reached his chair. “ Don’t fight, turn and follow it. Then shift us off it’s course gradually until we reach the edge.”

“Like a riptide.” The helmsman realized aloud as he maneuvered the ship, “Let it drag you while swimming to the edge of the flow.” In a few moments the ship was no longer rocking. The view screen showed massively distorted view of the stars, like being at a very low and oddly formed warp.

“Exactly, a little trick I learned visiting an old friend on Earth.”

“Stars and Hells! What is going on?” First Officer Commander Mudell, a stocky Bolian woman, demanded as she arrived on the bridge.

“Gravimetric riptide.” M’Rell reported. “It grabbed us the instant we touched the edge. Sensors indicate we’re moving at about….warp three point eight.”

“Confirmed.” Added the helm, “Looks like our course is taking us through the nebula.”

“Shields are holding. All sections reporting minimal casualties, some bumps and bruises is all.” Ops reported.

“In that case, lets see where this takes us. Helm, just ride the current.” Nog ordered, grinning.

“Oh no.” Mudell lamented. “You’re going to do it again.”

“The riskier the road…” Nog started.

“The greater the profit!” Finished over half the bridge crew.

Mudell sighed as she strode over to the science section to look over Yadav’s readouts. “You’re all mad.”

“Yes they are, ma’am.” Yadav replied instantly, then looked shocked that she’d said it.

Mudell chuckled, “Well I see at least a few of the new crew haven’t been infected by the Captain’s madness yet. I suppose the second officer fully support this course of action?”

“Naturally.” M’Rell replied with a faint chuff of amusement.

“Star protect these fools and lunatics.” Mudell prayed with a sigh before straitening up. “Assessments confirmed. Stand down to Yellow Alert. All stations maintain ready status.”

The klaxons stopped and the red alert lights switched to yellow as Mudell went to her chair next to Nog. They began quietly discussing options and possibilities. Finally Nog spoke up.

“Do we have contact with Starfleet?” He asked.

“Minimal communications, sir.” Ops reported.

“Appraise them of our status and inform them we’ll be following this riptide phenomenon for as long as it is safe to do so.”

“Aye sir, sending message. We should get a reply within the hour.”

“Good. Keep them updated. I want all sensor arrays active, but don’t sacrifice shields or engines to support active scanning. Ready ten probes as well. I have a few ideas. Get me a preliminary report on this phenomenon within the next quarter hour. I’ll be in my ready room.”

He strode off the bridge and stopped for a moment, looking out onto his busy bridge crew and whispered, low enough that only M’Rell heard it. “Very profitable.”