The Second Dot
Posted on Fri Jul 31st, 2026 @ 7:10am by Captain Marc Kidd & Lieutenant Christopher Blake & Lieutenant Sarah Graesyn & Lieutenant Yvette Beauvoir & Lieutenant Siadra Molaur & Lieutenant Maya Canak & Senior Chief Petty Officer Dex Ravaro
Edited on on Fri Jul 31st, 2026 @ 7:22am
1,115 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Episode 3 - The One Who Got Away
Location: Bridge - Deck 3 - USS Artemis
Timeline: MD005 1000 hrs
There were the continuing sensor sweeps, Siadra keeping an eye out for the faint, decaying signatures she and Blake had been searching for, tracing the ship—or ships—that had been snatching kids.
She was also logging the other spatial phenomena they encountered. A meteorite drifted past. Something, though, caught her attention. It wasn't the usual piece of rock with traces of metal. It was something else.
All the voices in her head gasped in unison.
"Computer, make another scan."
She needed to be certain.
Icy chills raced up and down her spine, and Siadra shivered.
The computer confirmed the scan.
Her eyes widened.
"No... it can't be. All the way out here?"
Who knew how long the body had been drifting through space?
Swiftly turning from the screen toward the command chair, she gasped out,
"Commander!" The words came out with tones of shock. . "The sensors have just picked up something... I-I think it's a body! Fifty kilometers off the port bow!"
Siadra's voice quavered as she delivered the report.
Blake saw the blip on his screen. "Adjusting course to bring us within range of sensors and transporters." He ran his fingers over the console and tried to get the mental image out of his head.
Sarah was manning the engineering console at the back of the bridge and upon hearing the announcement from Siadra she typed in a sensor refinement to adjust for small objects and any trace of organic material. "See if you can get a better scan with that; Sending the adjustment to your station now."
Mariko’s attention snapped towards the science station. The unease that passed through her did not reach her face, but her hands tightened briefly against the arms of the command chair.
“Drop us out of warp. All stop,” she ordered, looking towards the helm. “Hold our position and keep us clear until Science has confirmed exactly what we’re seeing.”
Her gaze returned to Siadra’s display before she tapped her combadge.
“Bridge to Captain Kidd. Your presence is required.”
Marc stepped out of the Ready Room. "What do you have?"
Mariko turned slightly in the command chair to face him.
“Lieutenant Molaur detected what may be a body approximately fifty kilometres off the port bow,” she reported, keeping her voice steady. “I’ve ordered all stop while Science confirms the reading. Lieutenant Graesyn is refining the sensor sweep now.”
Her eyes flicked briefly towards the main viewscreen before returning to the Captain. “At the moment, that is all we know.”
"Thank you Commander, I have the Bridge." Marc said and sat in the center chair. He pressed a button to open a channel to Sick Bay. "Doctor Canak stand by to receive possible remains." Then turning toward Siadra. "Siadra, what do we have?" He resisted the urge to ask for the body on screen, no one truly needed to see that.
In sickbay, Maya had been going over shift rotations for the next week with Margaret when she got the message. She paused. Remains? In space? She tapped her combadge. "Yes, sir."
Then she saved and closed the file they'd been working on and stood. "Prepare a biobed for an autopsy." She just hoped it wasn't another child.
Siadra, thanks to Sarah's refinement took a closer look, she swallowed hard when the scans gave clearer information. Her heart sank further. She cleared her throat and turned slowly to Marc. "Captain, the body is male, and looks like he is preteen. The race is Betazoid."
In her thoughts she screamed How could anyone do that to a child! To a being who felt so strongly in their lives! She could hear soft hushed whispers in her mind, the only feeling she could get from the other hosts were of shock, and there was also anger.
Marc stared at the empty viewscreen. Another kid. What the hell is going on with this galaxy. he thought. Visibly, he simply exhaled sharply through his nose. "Thank you Lieutenant. Lieutenant Graesyn transport the body directly to the Autopsy Suite. Energize when ready. Yvette head down there and see what is going on. This may be another case." Marc addressed his Engineer and ESU Officer in a businesslike tone. However, inside he was crying. This was not the Federation that he wanted.
"Aye, sir." Yvette replied. Its always worse when its a child. She thought to herself as she headed for the turbolift.
Sarah put in the target coordinates and double, then triple checked the lock on the body. "Energizing now, Captain." She watched as the blip on screen vanished and then waited for a moment until the transport indicator flashed green and she released a bated breath. "Transport complete."
There was a sense of relief that rippled through Siadra, the young one being transported out from the cold. She stared at the console where the scan had pinpointed the body, trying to get her emotions under control. A single tear rolled down her cheek, not being aware of it for a moment. She brushed it away.
Marc watched the viewscreen and the emptiness it showed as the he knew the transporter cycled. His mind already worked to the report he was going to have to file to someone's family. Resolutely he sat in his chair, this may have been a heavy task. But it was one that someone had to do and he was certainly grateful that it was him and not someone who would handle it differently.
A Joint Post By
Captain Marc Kidd
Commanding Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Yvette Beauvoir
Tactical Officer, USS Artemis
Executive Officer, Emergency Services Unit
Starfleet criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Sarah Graesyn
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Siadra Molaur
Chief Forensic Science Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Christopher Blake
Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Maya Canak
Chief Medical Officer/Medical Examiner, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Commander Mariko Tao
Executive Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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