JENATRIS CLOUD – The USS Astraeus has discovered the nearly abandoned USS Aldrin and has arrived at Ceti Station to search for the remaining Aldrin crew, all while fending off a mysterious attack.
“I think we were all very excited when we found the Aldrin,” stated Ens. Patrick Callahan. “However, for a lot of us, that changed when we found out that only fifteen people were still on the ship, and eight of those had been killed by some kind of attack.”
The mystery deepened when the crew of the USS Astraeus, NCC-70652, discovered that some of the deceased crewmen were victims of homicide. Although the Aldrin had visible damage, especially in the warp nacelles, Astraeus’ First Officer, Cmdr. Serala, noted that the ship bore no other indications of combat damage.
Serala led a small away team to the Aldrin while LtCmdr. Raga took a second team to the engineering section to investigate. Both teams found survivors, including Aldrin’s Commanding Officer, Capt. Serena-Marie Wallace. She advised that she had evacuated non-essential personnel to Ceti Station due to the damage sustained. The ship had also been exposed to the effects of the gasses in the Jenatris Cloud, known to produce hallucinations and, in rare cases, psychopathy. This exposure was theorized to be the cause of the homicides. After retrieving the remaining crew, Capt. Mei’konda Delano ordered the Astraeus to proceed to Ceti Station to locate the rest of the Aldrin’s crew.
Upon arrival, the crew discovered that the station’s protective barrier had partially collapsed, exposing large sections of the station to the Jenatris Cloud. Taking precautions, Serala led another away team to the station to search for the missing crew. “It’s like walking into a maze filled with unknown dangers,” commented Lt. JG Thompson, a member of the away team.
Meanwhile, Delano and the Astraeus were attacked by a large, unmanned vehicle, which struck them with an unknown energy weapon, causing power disruptions throughout the ship. This attack resembled what Wallace described as happening to the Aldrin. Fortunately, the Astraeus’s superior shielding allowed the ship to fare better, but Delano ordered the ship back from the station while they attempted repairs and formulated a strategy.
With two crews now on the Chon station and the Astraeus in temporary retreat, the fate of the away team and the missing crew remains uncertain. “The situation is tense, filled with unanswered questions and unexpected challenges,” said Jason Strepp, cashier at the nearby Donut Worry! shop. “It was crazy, I tell you. Just crazy!”
Written by Serala
