USS Columbia captain goes missing as crew discovers Earth sleeper ship

M-18138512 — As a search and rescue operation is launched to find Captain Whittaker of the USS Columbia, a mysterious Earth sleeper ship has been discovered alongside the wreckage of the USS Belle.

Contagious excitement filled the corridors of the USS Columbia (NCC-85279) as they embarked on their new assignment in the Sagittarius Reach, a region of space located along the Galactic Barrier, that up until recently was off limits to both Starfleet and Federation personnel.
The Columbia will be the only Starfleet presence in the area, operating alongside a Federation science team, headed up by renowned scientist Professor Olivia Sellards. Sellards has been appointed the Lead Scientist of Dehner Base, a newly constructed research facility on Delta Vega I.
Mere hours into their new assignment, Capt. Whittaker along with two other members of the crew departed the Columbia aboard the captain’s yacht, the USS Kumari. The excitement came to an abrupt halt, as a short while later contact was lost with the Kumari, with all attempts to contact the yacht proving futile.
Not giving up on their captain, the Columbia began a search operation of the area, locating an uncharted planet, known by its designation as M-18138512, on the edge of the Reach, where several signals, including a possible Starfleet distress signal, were detected.
Arriving in the system, the Columbia found severe magnetic interference plaguing the planet, making the atmosphere impenetrable to scans, resulting in three away teams being dispatched to search for the missing yacht.
Whilst waiting for news from the teams, the Columbia picked up another series of signals from a nearby asteroid field. Investigation of the asteroid field led to a shocking discovery, the wreck of the USS Belle (NCC-71619), a Steamrunner class ship that had departed Dehner Base several days ago. It is not yet known whether there are any survivors.
Further investigation of the asteroid field revealed another startling find, the SS Monticello, a 20th-century Earth sleeper ship, although further details are yet to be released.
“I’ll be glad when we find the capt’n and get outta this accursed place,” stated Petty Officer Bazize to the FNS reporter. “Whole system gives me the creeps.”
With the search underway for Captain Whittaker and the enigma of the USS Belle and SS Monticello to unravel, there appears to be more to system M-18138512 than previously suspected.
Written by Jarred Thoran