"Going Dark."

[FredM 0]

"Going Dark."

U.S.S. Cairo, NCC-42136-A

Stardate 0303.01 @ 23:05

Exiting Starbase 345 Grid

 

 

      "Sir, we have cleared the outer marker. Holding course bearing 243 mark 008 at full impulse," the Ensign at the helm station said looking at his computer terminal. Captain S'erio sat in his command chair, shifting his weight every so slightly in an attempt to get more comfortable. Over the years, it had become clear to him that the seat was not made with fur in mind.

 

      Jonston glanced down at the computer monitor between the two command chairs, pressing a few buttons and reading some information. The Andorian smiled slightly, "Ensign Gusman, set course for the New Rigel system. Warp 6." The red collared officer at helm moved his chair a few inches to the left and pressed in a few commands. Turning ever so slightly to look behind him he nodded in response to the XO, "Course set sir."

 

      Just as the Caitian Captain was to give the order, an alarm sounded from the OPS station. Given the unique beeping pattern, it was clear that it was something not expected. Almost immediately, Jonston rose form his chair and looked back at Lieutenant Junior Grade Terio. The Centurion kept his focus on his station, bringing up several different screens to see what the problem was. After a few moments of silence, S'erio also rose from his seat and looked back. "What's wrong, Lieutenant?", he said in a slightly annoyed tone but one most wouldn't recognize.

 

      Terio failed to respond at first and then looked up at the Captain, "Internal sensors are showing that one of the pieces of cargo we beamed aboard is showing signs of rupturing." Already knowing teams were on their way to investigate, Jonston looked at his superior officer and sighed, "We did bring aboard several antimatter storage pods. They don't have any antimatter in them, but I believe they are filled with some type of hazardous chemical which helps keep the seals intact until they are filled at New Rigel." The response from the Captain was a simple sigh.

 

      The repairs the Cairo was scheduled to assist with on New Rigel were relatively simple in nature. However, they were also tasked with bringing supplies and other materials to the remote planet. Over the past several months, the planet's administrator had reported using up quite a few antimatter storage pods. As a result, new ones were needed. The transporting of such devices was quite routine these days, though in earlier centuries it had been a very hazardous process. Now, the pods were empty of antimatter until right before they were to be sent to the planet. This greatly reduced any chance of an accident on route.

 

      However, in an attempt to make sure the seals in the antimatter pods remained secure, internal pressure needed to be maintained. As a result, a compound labeled "XZT-33-H" was put into each. This chemical had no chance of causing an explosion but had the benefit of keeping the pods seals in place and acting as a cleansing agent to make sure the internal surface of the pods was smooth. Regretfully, an accident several years ago had shown that though it was not combustible, the chemical was a biohazard.

 

      Over the next few minutes the Cairo remained moving at full impulse as a quick investigation started to see what was wrong. In the end, Lieutenant Junior Grade Terio simply shook his head, "From what we can tell sir, it's only one container. Engineering teams believe the container might have been damaged before it got here." S'erio, who had moved to stand next to the operations manager's alcove, leaned on a bulkhead. "And what do they suggest we do? Your saying it hasn't breached yet, but once it does we're going to have a mess. Cleaning up that stuff takes several days and we don't have that much time," the Caitain asked.

 

      The Alpha Centurion nodded slightly and motioned to the viewscreen, "Well sir, Lieutenant Drew and Lieutenant Junior Grade Aerso agree that we should simply beam it off the ship." At this Johnson shifted his antenna and looked at the Captain, "If we alert Starbase 345, they can send a shuttle to retrieve it later." S'erio nodded in response, "Sounds like a plan to me. Let's get it done."

 

      Over the next three minutes, the Cairo would come to a stop and the cargo container showing a pending breach would be beamed off the ship. Materializing just aft, the container would also find company with a marker buoy...left to assist the recovery effort of Starbase 345. Seconds later, engineering teams would confirm the rest of the bay was secure.

 

      "Sir, cargo bay door is starting to close now," Terio said from his station. S'erio nodded and walked back to his chair, "Very well. Ensign Gusman, executive previously stated order." The helm officer nodded and entered in a series of commands. The computer acknowledged and the warp nacelles moved into their proper configuration.

 

      Jonston moved to his chair and sat, feeling the ship start the familiar hum seconds before entering warp. A second before he was expecting to watch the stars fly by he heard it. "Sir, we're getting some type of externally generated feedback along the warp field and...", Terio said. Before the Lieutenant could finish his sentence, all would go dark.