Chapter Text
The typical purring of the warp drive of the Fleet's dearest ship fills the bridge as, upon entering space, the crew hears the voice of Number One:
"Captain on the bridge," the commanding voice alerts.
The first officer and the captain swiftly move to their daily posts, while Ortegas rises from the command chair and takes the pilot's seat slightly ahead.
"Lieutenant Mitchell, it's time for a break."
Jenna nods at Ortegas's reminder, who takes control, making only a few adjustments to the control panel.
"What have we had in the last few hours, Ortegas?"
"Dust clouds, pockets of gas, and a minor hiccup with a sudden asteroid shower, but nothing that would concern Pelia down in engineering," Ortegas's voice maintains its usual enthusiasm. Admirable.
"Ensign Uhura?" Pike turns his chair to seek the figure with dark eyes who leans towards him.
"No unofficial communication, no distress calls either... our channels are clear, sir."
Pike's chair turns towards Una, who responds with a typical shrug.
"Don't make that expression," Una seems to read the thoughts of her superior even before he speaks.
"The command is yours, Number One."
Una sighs, as he enjoys the excitement of a good adventure, not just occupying the chair when there's not much to do on the bridge.
"Do you really think we'll have any news in the science lab?"
"I'll leave it to Mr. Spock to answer that when he gets there."
Pike stands and waits for Una to take her place. They exchange glances, and Una wonders if it was just her imagination, but to her, it seemed to last much longer than usual. The captain has been a bit more absent than usual since the last mission to rescue his crew from the Gorns. There may be no apparent physical aftermath, but it's easy to imagine that the pressure and everything he went through to rescue his comrades left wounds in his mind.
Una feels that there is much to talk about with the captain; nonetheless, for some unexplained reason, Pike hides behind a confident smile and his beautiful silver hair, avoiding any topic unrelated to work. Proof of this is that, instead of staying in his chair on the bridge and opening a direct channel to the science lab, he chose to go to Spock.
"Erica, maintain the course," Una said, crossing her long legs.
The elevator tube closes behind the first officer, who tries to ignore the feeling that Pike's eyes burned into her back. She hates not being able to understand what the captain is thinking because they almost never needed to express themselves. They were accustomed to each other's reserved ways; still, this time, she didn't feel that understanding. In the past few days, the captain seemed like an unexplainable nebula full of strange mysteries she had never seen before.
*
"Spock," Pike enters the room, observes the science officer with two silver trays on the front table, a padd in his right hand, and transparent protective glasses clung to the Vulcan's ears, making him an even more picturesque figure.
"Any progress?"
"In progress," he responds objectively. "Not very satisfying, but the properties of this material seem very promising. Are you familiar with the substance graphene on Earth?"
"My strong suit has never been science, but yes, I think I've heard of this material, although it is extremely rare."
"Yes, it is rare because on Earth it is easier to find substances like carbon." The Vulcan explains, "Graphene's properties go beyond being a good conductor of energy; it's also an excellent thermal conductor and lighter than conventional materials."
"So, is this graphene then? Did we roam space and make extensive collections only to find a rare Earth mineral in abundance in another location in space?"
"Not necessarily," Spock continues, intrigued. "The properties are somewhat similar, but if used incorrectly, this could potentially cause a chain reaction that, in contact with other materials in large quantities, like carbon itself, could simply cause an explosion that could devastate a quadrant."
"Should we be concerned?" Now Pike considers whether an immediate contact with April is needed for some kind of guidance. "The Gorn side of the treaty seems to have plenty of this mineral."
"It is unlikely that the Gorns are considering it at the moment." The assessment is based on the knowledge that the Gorns were not a war-seeking people, just instinctual hunters. "We have just come out of a dangerous conflict situation where they experienced a bit of our less diplomatic side. Furthermore, despite their fierceness, the Gorns are not a warlike race; they are just predators. So, after the treaty with the Federation, in quotes, with many terms, I don't think they will explore this material to threaten us with a territorial war."
"I like your confidence and logic, Spock." The captain pats the officer on the shoulder, and then the communication channel opens on its own.
"Captain Pike, sorry to interrupt your exploratory moment, but we are receiving an unusual radiation wave emanating from a sector a few light-years away."
The Vulcan's eyebrow rises to the captain, as if he were as intrigued as his superior through the latest updates from Number One.
Federation sensors are very sensitive and can detect a wide range of phenomena and objects in space. This includes the ability to detect ships at long distances, analyze the composition of planets, and even identify spatial anomalies, which is exactly what is being identified now.
Even though space is a vast place composed of infinite darkness, stars, and planets, in some places, everything seems silent, but there are a million events happening between galaxies at all times.
*
"We could let them investigate the anomaly," Lan'an suggests to the captain but still maintains concern in her tone. "Perhaps it would be ideal to issue a warning message."
"We can't simply take our crew into an unknown zone that, in a certain way, belongs to a people who are slightly hostile to the Federation and Starfleet," Spock agrees with Lan'an, as there are indeed concerns due to the tension between the peoples. Besides, he still gets a headache every time he remembers what it's like to have diplomatic relations with that race while drinking a glass of sangria.
"Slightly hostile is a compliment," Érica rebuts.
"As a medical officer, I must say that this type of radiation seems nothing like what we've previously detected for known blockades in continuous use of our deflector systems. I haven't tested the contamination that has been spreading thousands of kilometers away from the point of origin yet, but it seems very much like it could trigger dangerously, like the use of biological weapons."
"What Joseph is saying is that if this continues, we don't know for sure what effects there might be on other beings through long-term exposure, even though so far no one has shown any worrying symptoms, as everyone knows, radiation is always a concern for silent diseases; it has brought various types of cancer to humans over the years." Chapel adds while pronouncing the data analysis in the form of graphs.
"We also can't forget what happened a few months ago."
"Kajtar IV," Lan'an contextualizes with some bitterness.
"Those darn Klingons gave us a big problem; they could have started another war. It seems that it's never enough for them; they are always looking for ways to get into conflicts with us."
"Érica," Pike adjusts his tone as a warning, after all, it's the second time the pilot has shown such irritation, stepping out of her role as an officer. "I understand the dissatisfaction with the war with the Klingons, but as the captain of the Fleet, I must remind every member of my team how dangerous it is to make only speculations, to create conspiracy theories as if they were trying to develop a biological weapon. We are Starfleet, and we are here to investigate this event. Una?" The captain seeks support from the first officer.
"What we're saying is that we will take the necessary measures, so the responsible parties will be duly punished, but until there's a conclusion to this case, it's best for everyone to follow orders, respecting the chain of command and conducting thorough investigations." Una returns the word to Pike.
"Ortegas, return to the bridge; Uhura, I need you to contact all the nearest ships and probe for any valuable information about what's happening. And make contact with April as Priority 1. Una, you take command of the bridge for now. Lan'an, I want a report on the origin of the signal, if there's any offensive Klingon point at the location."
Pike speaks, causing each name mentioned to begin to rise and move to a post.
"While you: M'Benga, Chapel, and Spock, I need any and all updated information on radiation and what to do about it, sent directly to my communication channel every 30 minutes. Dismissed."
The last group also leaves the room, leaving Pike waiting for April's call.
*
An hour later, Una enters the captain's room like a hurricane, devouring anything in her surroundings. "Definitely not!" The protest makes the man get up from his chair and look at the padd in the officer's hand. "You're going down with Spock to investigate, isn't that logical?'
"Spock is a science officer, and Vulcans, supposedly, as he constantly reminds us, are more evolved beings and biologically more resistant. Furthermore, based on the report from the medical team, any exposed organism may exhibit symptoms such as headaches, disorientation, and problems in the central nervous system."
"Any organism? Chris…"
"Una... I know what's going through your mind, so the answer is no. I won't let you go down alone."
"Chris, it's a risky mission, and the crew needs the captain. And for logical reasons, I must remind you that even though my organism is susceptible like yours, it burns radiation faster than a human. Besides, you can keep Spock as backup."
"I need you on the Enterprise." Una never disobeys him, but this time, she doesn't see a reason for him not to let her do her job.
It's the right choice.
"Chris…" She decides to sit in front of him with a pleading look. "You as the captain know who is best for each mission, but as your first officer, I have to be the guiding hand when I see something wrong. You know that sending me there is the best choice. No one has an immune system like mine, but you're hesitating, so I need you to at least tell me why."
"I won't risk the life of my first officer under any circumstances, Una, and I thought you should have gotten used to that by now. The circumstances point to a high-risk mission; after all, it's an unknown territory, the presence threatens the Klingons, and your organism can burn radiation faster. However, it doesn't make you immune, as you said, and we know little about how it reacts in large quantities in an Illyrian system."
Una doesn't know if she considers the words a compliment or an affront, as she never asked Chris to protect her, after all, assuming risks is one of the functions of any Fleet officer, and it's no wonder the dreaded Kobayashi Maru test is so feared.
"Very well, Captain, you may be right, but know that knowing your future is also not a statement that today you can't die, because every decision can change the course of history. And if you die down there or Spock, the future you think might happen will never come true…"
She gets up, straightening her uniform, and holds her gaze on the man.
"All the sacrifice you're willing to make will never be written if you don't think logically," she concludes.
"How can you be so sure it could go wrong?" The captain asks with apprehension.
"Rigel VII," is the reply.
Thus, the officer departs for the bridge, leaving Pike deep in thought. He won Rigel VII, didn't he? He found his way home, didn't he? But what if Una is right? What if he's not the right choice for the mission in a second test?
His mind feels strange, almost cloudy, so he shakes his head.
Damn! It's her who always seems to be ri
ght most of the time.
Now he knows that, as a commander, he needs a middle ground to solve that problem. Who will go on this mission?