A Simple Break... Through?

Posted on Fri Feb 14th, 2025 @ 12:18pm by Avalon [ADMIN NPC] & Lieutenant Commander S'hib & Lieutenant JG Maxine Mckull

Mission: Season 6: Episode 5: A church beyond heaven
Location: Hangar, U.S.S Elysium
Timeline: MD4, 1600 hours
636 words - 1.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Max's eyes were sore.

She had been scanning through the Elysium's database for hours, trying to find any signs of a missing person. Or rather, of simply a person who existed. But it was proving just as fruitless as searching her own memory. Evidence suggested the existence of somebody, but even the computer didn't know who.

Max decided she needed to take a break. To regroup, think about her next move. Clearing her terminal, she approached the replicator and stared at it in consideration before requesting, "Ginger tea, one sugar."

The requested beverage appeared in a nondescript thermos with a soft heat sleeve and a handle, which Max took with ease. Holding it, she lifted the beverage to her face and let the scent and heat wash over her. She closed her eyes a moment, stepping away from the terminal, and decided to go for a walk.

While she preferred to run, walking was also nice because it let her move on autopilot, without thinking much about where she might be going. And as it happened, today she found herself standing in the vast, cavernous space of one of the Elysium's hangars, surrounded by small shuttles of all kinds...

Including one she didn't quite recognize. She knew it should be there... yet she couldn't remember anything else. Approaching it, she examined the sleek hull with a hawk's eye, before spotting some writing on one side.

"Queen Anne," she repeated, darting her eyes around. "Avalon, what am I looking at? Can you tell me anything about..." she gestured vaguely at the shuttle before her.

Avalon appeared. "This vessel has been on board for many years. It is the Queen Anne and its owner... unknown. No record of who brought it aboard." The AI stated.

"No record..." Max repeated to herself, peering at the artificial constructs before her. Just like they couldn't remember anything, there was no trace of their mystery pilot in the computer. But one couldn't remove the physical evidence, apparently.

"Thank you for your assistance, Avalon. Please inform the Commodore and Captain Taylor I may have discovered a lead and am in the process of investigating it," Max requested.

The AI nodded and vanished to do her task.

Max considered for a moment before reaching out to tap her communicator. "McKull to Commander S'hib," was her simple opening hail. She suspected that if she, the head of the department was looking into the existence of this mystery person, security would have the entire department on it. She wondered if they knew about this shuttle...

There was a bit of a pause, leaving Max standing there in silence before S'hib replied.

"Lieutenant?" He said as he hurriedly swallowed the food he was eating. "I'm sorry. You caught me trying to finish my lunch. How can I help?"

"I believe you should report to the hangar bay as soon as possible, sir. I have discovered a vessel which I cannot account for," Max stated plainly.

"I see, I'll be there shortly, S'hib out."

---
ten minutes later
---

"Lieutenant! What's this about an unaccounted ship?" S'hib barked as he marched across the shuttle bay, his deep voice booming around the large space.

Max was unbothered by the sudden entrance. In the ten minutes since she'd spotted it, she had gone closer to investigate the Queen Anne, circling its small frame several times and looking for any clues. Now, she stood by the shuttle bay doors, watching it from afar. With ease, she droned in a monotone, "Look," gesturing to the vessel in question.

As she watched S'hib she continued, "Avalon has no record of this vessel, the Queen Anne. I am certain I have seen it before, yet cannot recall why, how it came to be here or whom it might belong to. Does this sound familiar?"