USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

Mission: Lost and Found (JM)
Time: Waiting for Rescue
Location: Personal Quarters, USS Sirion (Deck Three, Forward Section 2)

ON:

Personal Log

I am writing this via padd in hopes that I will be able to submit it whenever I am again on a ship not crawling with Borg.

I cannot believe that it all happened so fast, they seemed to come out of nowhere. Well, to be more precise, they exited a transwarp conduit not far from our location, which meant that we didn?t detect them until they were right on top of us. Soon, I was barricaded in my room and all of a sudden, everything has been turned upside down, again.

That ship I keep seeing out my window, the one in the nebula, it has to be a Federation ship. So far, I have been able to make contact with someone up on our own bridge, which means they either sent a boarding party or there are still Sirion crew that are alive up there. Whatever the case, all is not as dark as I had originally thought it to be.

The first thing I?m going to do when I get off this ship is have a nice, hot shower. It?ll be good to get cleaned up for a change, and maybe have some real food to eat instead of these ration bars, which I?m running low on anyway. I hope whoever finds me won't mind getting a big hug.

OFF

<Lost and Found>

<<Main Bridge, MD04, 0015>>

Personal Log: Lt. JG William Shulz

Burning the midnight oil again, it would seem. I was surprised, and to be honest, a little afraid, to hear that the Borg have made their way onto the Sentinel. We haven't heard from Captain Lange in awhile and I can tell that most of the crew are getting nervous. It is quite a daunting prospect. Though I haven't heard from the captain herself, rumor is that there might be another Borg ship in the area. Even a Prometheus can't take on three Borg ships on its own, especially in the condition the Malinche is in.

<pause>

Boy am I starting to feel it. I haven't slept well since the Borg assimilated the Sirion and now that I'm 'safe' on the Malinche, I'm working overtime. Not that I'm complaining, the work has to be done or we'll be sitting ducks. I'm trying to improve sensor efficiency, but the problem is that the nebula is interfering with our sensors and the damage done by whatever problems the ship experienced before my arrival doesn't help at all.

I'm hoping to hear from the science department soon on what they've been able to find out. Hopefully we can get these sensors up and running in time to be able to detect any other vessels in the area...and search our ships for Borg as well.

<pause>

Well, back to the grindstone. When this is over, I think I'll be sleeping for a week.

End Log.

<<Lost and Found Shoreleave ? Operations Office, MD03 1015>>

Personal Log ON:

Okay, so I didn't sleep for a week like I thought...just an entire day.

Just trying to get some work done today. I know I?m on shoreleave, but I can?t spend all my time in the holodeck. If I?m planning on staying on as chief operations officer, I have to prove I can handle it. That means being proactive.

I?ve managed to secure all the equipment and supplies that have come aboard. We had to replace the stuff we used in the nebula. Though I was happy to see that my personal belongings made it over as well. I was afraid I was going to have to start collecting all over again.

Got a call from Jake today; he says classes are going well. I?m glad he?s putting forth the effort at the Academy. It?s going to make him into a great officer one day, that?s why I sponsored his entry. Sometimes I think he?s watching over me more than I?m watching over him. I don?t know if I?ll be able to see him before he heads off, but I?d like to if at all possible.

I plan on heading down to engineering sometime today to meet the chief engineer and his staff. In my experience, our two departments will be working very closely with each other as time goes on. Come to think of it, I should swing by sickbay too?haven?t been in there since I came aboard and I?m sure the CMO would like to give me a check-up, for the record.

Maybe if I get everything I want done today, I could slip away to the holodeck again for some nice sightseeing?perhaps a castle or something. Who knows? At the same time, I?ve got a nice stack of PADDs I need to get to the XO. It might not be as easy as it sounds.

You know, one thing I?ve noticed, everyone seems to be taking this last mission in their own way. I know I still think about it sometimes, the days I spent waiting, hoping to be rescued, praying that the Borg wouldn?t find me. I guess I wasn?t attached enough to the Sirion to really feel the loss that the crew of the Sentinel felt?but I know it must be difficult for them.

Well, time for me to get going. I?ve got so much time and so little to do?

Wait, strike that?reverse it.


End Log

<<When in Rome - Main Engineering, USS Malinche, MD03, 0300>>

Personal Log ON:

I don't believe in ghosts, not even gremlins. If you ask me, it's all a bunch of superstition. I'm sure that, at the bottom of all these system failures, there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for it all.

However, it would appear that this latest turn of events has given others the proof that they need, for some more so. So far, this fear has done nothing but hamper our efforts at finding the real cause. Luckily, my fellow officers are not as inclined toward such bedtime stories.

Lt. Peters and I have been up since this all started, trying to track down the source, though with little success as of yet. I had to force a shutdown of all ship's systems to stabilize her this morning. Blew out a few EPS relays while I was at it...more work to do. At least I stopped us from continuing on that rollercoaster ride we had been on.

More than likely, the odd energy readings that had been detected in the asteroid field interfered with our systems. We will have to find a way to shield those affected systems so that we don't end up with a repeat when we restart everything.

OFF

<<When in Rome - En Route to Main Engineering, USS Malinche, MD03, 0945>>

Begin Log:

<yawn>

Wow, I really need to stop pulling the late nights...maybe I should reschedule ship-wide emergencies for a better time in the day.

In all seriousness, things have settled down for the moment, though I'm not sure how much Lt. Peters and I are to thank for it. We spent half the night chasing system malfunctions that didn't exist according to all diagnostics. Music blaring from the communications system was only one of our problems.

Then, it was as if a switch had been thrown...all the problems suddenly stopped...just like that. It seems like half the crew is thinking it's gremlins or ghosts or something. I'm still convinced that there is a rational explanation, though we just haven't found it yet.

Since we're limited to partial aft sensors as our only means of seeing what's out there, Lt. Peter's has suggested, and the captain has agreed, that we should perform a complete restart of the Malinche's computers. Hopefully, that will reset all the systems and purge whatever it is that is plaguing them, unless it's something external, such as an energy field of some kind.

hiss of doors

Well, time to get back to the grindstone...hopefully this works.

End Log

<<When In Rome - Secondary Computer Core, USS Malinche, MD03, 1600>>

Begin Log:

I just don't get it.

Everything was fine when we finished the computer restart and now there's...something...that's weaseling its way through our systems again. Maybe I'm just imagining it. I haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately and these readings could just be background interference. The fact that we haven't been able to track down a source lends credibility to that theory.

Then again, I'm not the only one who's been seeing them, despite the fact that the computer seems to have no memory of the readings. No wonder people think this region is haunted...sensor ghosts can be aggravating. This one seems like it's been through everything, but the trail goes cold before I can even get close to finding the cause. I don't even know if it's someone or something that's doing it.

My main concern is that whatever it is isn't inside the system, that it's an exterior source. That means that we could restart the core all we wanted and it would just keep coming back unless we could find a way to shield against it. I really don't want to spend this trip putting out system glitches...I might even start drinking coffee...ewww.

{Pause}

I only wish I knew...

End Log

<When In Rome>
<<Bridge, 1502, Day 4>>

Begin Log:

When I first rematerialized aboard the Malinche, I should have known this wasn't going to be a quiet assignment. Come to think of it, if I had known then how much overtime I'd be putting in, would I have taken the post? The answer may be yes...

As much as I (or others) may grumble about how Mr. Murphy seems to be stringing us along, I really do appreciate Captain Kersare's decision to allow me to stay aboard the Malinche. This being only my second mission aboard the ship, I can't accurately say that they're all this intense. Only time may tell that. Maybe, once we've gotten out of the Expanse and are on our way to Ivor Prime, I might take the opportunity to get to know more of my fellow shipmates. I've been working closely with Engineering since coming aboard, but I don't really know many of my fellow senior officers all that well, especially when off duty.

~pause~

I can see where people got the idea of ghost stories from when it comes to the Expanse. The captain hasn't said much, but I've noticed a few of the crew seem to be acting rather odd. That, combined with this EM radiation and the "legend" of the USS Rome...certainly ghost story material. We've been lucky enough to come across debris from the Rome. Thanks to Lieutenant Barrett's suggestion regarding the probes, we've been able to cut through the interference and get a better picture of what's out there. It isn't perfect, but it's a step up from where we were.

The sooner we find this buoy, the better. If the Rome (and other vessels) did meet their fate in this asteroid field, I'd just as soon get back on course for Ivor Prime. I don't think I'll get a good night's sleep until we put this all behind us.

*short laugh*

It'll probably take us that long to get everything back into working order. Summers (NPC) says I'm overdoing it, but I can't exactly sit back when there's so much work to be done. It's not that I don't trust my team...I just don't like sitting on the sidelines.

*chirping console*

Hmm...now what's this?

OFF

<When In Rome>
<<Cargo Bay, 1530, Day 4>>

Begin Log:

It's sitting right in front of me, and yet I still have a hard time believing it. After all these years, lost amidst the asteroids, space debris, and radiation, it's sitting right here, still intact. If it weren't for what my own eyes and the tricorder in my hand confirming it, I still might not believe it. We're so close to finding out what really happened to the USS Rome and bringing some closure to a mystery that has been around for years.

I know the captain simply hasn't had the time to explain everything to us right now, but I have the feeling that Mr. Corrin (NPC) has some part to play in this mystery. Again, I cannot say how or why I know this, but I just do. Even now, he hovers near the edge, watching our every movement. There is a strange longing in his eyes as he stares at the recorder, as if it is the most precious thing in the universe.

Our priority is simple. First, we must establish power to the recorder. Then we need to confirm that the records are retrievable and in good condition. The radiation could easily have corrupted the data in the time it was drifting through space. Once that is done, then we can begin the long process of sifting through the data and finding answers to a lot of questions.

I can only imagine how much this will mean to the family and friends of those who perished in the loss of the Rome. The best thing we can do now is make sure that they did not die in vain. We must analyze the data and put it to good use. Who knows? One day, we may come to better understand this region. Soon, ghost stories may be a thing of the past.

End Log

[[Do As the Romulans Do]]
[[COps Office, USS Malinche, MD01, 1245]]

Begin Log:

Well, it sounds like we're finally getting on the road again. Captain Kersare issued the order for all personnel to return to the ship from shoreleave and, by the looks of the crowd in the mess hall, I'd say most of them are already back. Still, we're going to have to wait until tomorrow morning for the briefing to find out what's going on. That's not to say people don't have their suspicions.

It's been all over the news networks...impossible not to see, though I can tell Starfleet Command has been trying to keep a lid on it. Things have been escalating with the Elyshans for some time now. I've even heard some people talking about open war within the next six months. Starfleet's trying to be optimistic, looking for a diplomatic solution as always.

I can't say how I feel about it one way or the other. Of course I'd like to see things work themselves out. I didn't fight in the Dominion War like some of the crew have. The closest I got was the day the Breen attacked San Fransisco. I can remember the screaming and the thunder of the bombardment. If that is war, I don't think I want any part of it.

Then there's the rumors...they talk of the Elyshan's subspace technology. Subspace technology! Weapons. Shields. Even a cloaking device based on subspace technology. If the rumors are true...heaven help us.

I cannot begin to imagine the destruction even one of their battleships could cause with an arsenal of subspace weaponry. It would make the Dominion look like a peaceful house cat. I hear Starfleet's got its best scientists working on counter-measures and I pray they find something.

Chime

Aside: "One moment."

Well, perhaps these thoughts are best left for another, less busy time in my schedule. Duty calls.

End Log

"Another Voyage Home"

ON: [[Main Engineering, USS Malinche, Mission Day 05, 1458 Hours]]

Ordinarily, one might say things have finally started to settle down around here, but if there's one thing I've learned from my time aboard the Malinche it's that they never stay that way for long. It's not that I'm superstitious or anything...just that I've put in enough hours burning the midnight oil with Lieutenant Commander Peters to know what could happen if we're not careful. I've also heard there are at least three away teams on the surface including the captain herself, not to mention a rogue Romulan warbird that's certainly up to no good. The last thing I need is a visit from Murphy right now.

Most of the Engineering and Operations departments have been assigned to clean up the left-overs from our little time warp experience. You'd think it would be obvious by now how much added stress time travel puts on a starship. Thankfully, we came out of it a lot better off than we could have. The only systems which seem to have been most significantly affected are all associated with the engines...as opposed to weapons, shields, or transporters. Not that the engines aren't important, but I can't imagine trying to keep up with whatever the Romulans have planned down there without transporters or the ability to defend ourselves.

I must say I'm pretty impressed with how people have been keeping up lately, especially Warrant Officer 2nd Class Corrin (PNPC). Caleb's was such a help sorting out assignments earlier and he's really been bringing his best to the table. Sometimes I wonder how we're able to keep up this sort of energy or interest after having had some of the experiences we have. All I know is taking initiative like he has will definitely be going in my next report to Lieutenant N'rass.

Well, I better be getting back to the grindstone myself before Murphy does decide to pay us a little visit.

OFF

A Personal Log Entry By:

Lieutenant William Schulz (PNPC)
Chief Systems Manager
USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

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