Found

Posted on Thu Oct 28th, 2021 @ 8:13am by Captain Brett Watson & Lieutenant Commander Lylja Tigerlilly & Lieutenant Addison Talbert & Lieutenant JG Johnston Grant & Lieutenant JG Elden Lado

Mission: Dazed and Confused
Location: Observation Lounge

Brett stood at the window feeling a feeling that was becoming all to familiar to him. It was the same feeling he had on the Unnamed planet. It was becoming a weight he wasn't sure he could bear much longer. Only his XO and Science Officer knew what this meeting about. He had made sure of that. Only the three of them knew what the situation was they were in. Yet, the burden fell on him to deliver the news. He waited for the other to arrive and the silence was deafening.

Lylja arrived with a datapad and a pink box full of pastries. "Good day, Captain," she said taking her seat and setting the box down. "Another exciting day in Starfleet, yes?" she said with a smile.

Addy arrived, "Good morning? I can possibly say." giving a bit of a smile. "How are things?" noting the posture of the captain. Which gave her some concern.

Grant walked before the doors closed, he had been up all night and it showed. With a couple of rolled up charts under his arm, which held two large Padds he took a long draw from his mug in the other hand before putting everything on the table. "It's morning already ?" he asked "So much for this'll take a couple of hours".

Addison looked curiously at the arrival of Grant, "Looks like the hours got away from you, eh?" giving a congenial smile.

"Yeah." Jon replied, trying to sort the pile out "Couple of trainees wanted to do a survey of the planet, just to get their skills up, now it's turned into a whole research thing, with half the department finding things in the data to study. Mining sites for minerals, Water supplies, projects to turn some of native vegetation in food sources. Got a proposal here to land the ship, so they can get working quicker. You'd think they hadn't been off a ship before."

"That is the sort of active problem solving we want to encourage," said Lylja sliding the box of pastries over to Grant. "Let me know how Operations can support your projects."

"Here's the projects. "he replied sliding over a padd in return "Take your pick of who works on what. Just warn whoever gets Keddie's project, botany, to have their ears talked off."

Brett turned and surveyed the room. All of them, even exhausted Lieutenant Grant, seemed far more upbeat than he was. Was it simply blind hope or feigned ignorance? Grant and Tigerlilly, at a minimum, knew the news he was about to discuss, so why was he the only one that was glum? He stepped to the table and took his seat. "Thank you all for meeting with me so early this morning. After looking at the data and charts and triple checking everything," Brett glanced at his Science officer, "I have some pretty rough news to report and I'm not sure how to approach the crew with it." Captain Watson took a breath. "We are no longer in the Beta quadrant. In fact, to be blunt, we are no longer in the Milky Way at all. Best as we can determine, and Grant, Tigerlilly, correct me if I'm wrong, we are currently somewhere in the dwarf galaxy identified as M110; a satellite of the Andromeda galaxy."

"Yep, 2 point 76 million light years from Earth, 300 years at maximum subspace for a message to get there, 28 thousand years for us to get home by traditional warp drive." Grant explained, rolling out a chart, point at the distance.

"Quite a far clip," says Lylja. "But not impossible. In any case, we are the representatives of the Federation and Star Fleet and this will be quite a chance to explore new and previously unknown things."

Addy raised an eyebrow when she heard of where they were at, somewhere very far from home. Definitely further than what she'd ever been. "Well I may have been traveling on the outskirts of the known galaxy, like way out there on the edge. This though takes the cake. Can't do much about it either." she stated with a slight shrug.

Brett sat there for a moment looking over those that were assembled. He was a bit dumbfounded. Was he the only one that was fretting over this? Addy made a good point that there was little to be done, but still. "I'm going to break an unwritten rule of Captaincy, and I hope you'll give me the grace to do so," he said, "but this news has me feeling rather hopeless."

"Well, to be fair Captain, if you wanted to go home it would be. Unless somebody had the plans in the scientific database for a Quantum Slipstream Drive, and Corzan's half the engineer I think he is, might take hmmm... about 18 months to get back to Earth. That is if you wanted to, but might be interesting to have a shufti at another galaxy for a bit." Johnston mused.

"If we got here, we can get back," says Lylja. "Until then, we must continue out mission as members of Star Fleet."

"Well, you can actually allow yourself a momentary feeling of hopelessness, Captain. That is allowable, you reflect on it, then take a deep breath and let it go." Addy remarked. "Besides you never know, a way may open up for us to get back sooner. And like Lieutenant Grant said, you've got someone who sounds like he's got ingenuity that may make the way for us to get back. I can't help but hang onto the feeling of hope." she looked at those there. "After all, you and your crew saved me and my crew from what could have been a rather distasteful ending. Miracles can happen and do happen."

Brett was silent for a moment. Here he was, the Captain of this ship and yet the crew around him was acting more in command than he was. What was wrong with him? Where did his confidence go? Where was the Captain that led his crew from a warp dead zone and unknown planet? He took a breath, then looked up and around.

"You know what? You are all right. We've been in bad spots before and found our way home. We can do this again. Voyager thought they were several decades from home and made a way in seven years, we can do the same." A small grin came across his face, "Thank you for reminding me that we got into this career to do the impossible. Now," he continued, "suggestions on next actions?"

"Land the Ship ?" Jon asked, pushing over a padd "Get the repairs done in a nice atmosphere, resupply as much as we can using the planet's resources. Get everything ship-shape while you decide a course of action in regards what we do longer term. "

Lylja nods. "That was going to be my suggestion as well. We have to know where we are and what we have before moving forward."

"I can help on the resupplying from a planet's resources, and I do recommend we all have a chance to step on some terra firma." Addison responded. "Some rays from the sun would lift your spirits sir." she added. "All of the ships crew could use that after what we've just experienced."

Brett nodded as he looked to Lylja, "So long as we don't have a repeat of our last landing, I'm all for it. Mr. Grant, work with Nyxera to get the long range sensors back up to full operation as soon as possible. I will not move this ship until we have a decent idea of a direction to go in."

There wasn't much for Elden to add from a security standpoint.
"We still have some torpedoes and limited phaser capacity. Landing on a planet would make repairs easier as we wouldn't have to worry about EV suits. I say let's go for it.'

Addy looked at Brett, "I say it looks like there is a unanimous vote here then?" looking at those gathered, then back to the Captain.

"Very well," the Captain said. "Then the next step is to inform your people. Prepare them for atmospheric entrance and landing. Let me know as soon as we have a direction and everything buttoned away."

Lylja nods.