“The Fault in Subspace”
The USS Khitomer hung at the edge of the Velos Expanse, where space rippled like disturbed water.
“Captain,” said Commander Joran Vel, leaning over the console, “I’m reading phased energy signatures. Artificial. Someone’s tampering with the anomaly.”
Before Captain Alira T’Var could reply, the ship bucked. Consoles flared.
“Warp core spike!” Chief Engineer Kiran shouted over comms. “Plasma conduits rerouted by command override. That was sabotage.”
The bridge froze.
Security dragged in the culprit within the hour: Lieutenant Veyra Sol, young Andorian, wide-eyed with shock. Her console had sent the command.
“I didn’t do this!” she snapped, antennae quivering.
“You’re hiding something,” Joran pressed, his Betazoid voice like a blade. “I feel it.”
“I’m hiding that everyone thinks I’m guilty,” Veyra shot back.
She was marched to the brig. Joran folded his arms. “She feels like a traitor.”
But Vulcans didn’t take feelings as proof.
T’Var studied the logs with Kiran. The sabotage path was airtight. Unless—
“The anomaly,” Kiran muttered. “Its emissions reflect signals back out of phase. If her scans bounced through it, the ship might’ve read the signal as hers.”
“Then she is innocent,” T’Var said.
Joran bristled. “But I felt—”
“You felt panic,” T’Var cut in. “Not deceit.”
They pushed deeper into the anomaly. Space flared—and a crystalline vessel unfolded out of the distortion.
“This is the Veloran Collective,” the hail snapped. “Why have you attacked us?”
T’Var raised a brow. “We did not.”
“You fired energy into our resonance lattice. We adapted it as defense. Your interference damaged both our systems.”
Joran’s voice dropped. “Captain—the so-called sabotage. It was our scans, reflected, twisted by their lattice.”
Not betrayal. An echo.
Once explained, the Velorans lowered their guard. The lattice, they revealed, wasn’t just defense—it shaped subspace itself, letting them travel without warp drive. More: it could stabilize dangerous anomalies, making exploration safer.
By week’s end, the brig opened and Veyra walked free—not disgraced, but commended. Her scans had sparked first contact.
“I thought my career was over,” she told T’Var, staring out at the stars.
“Instead,” the captain replied, “you’ve given the Federation a new ally.”
Joran approached, contrite. “Lieutenant—I trusted my senses too quickly. Fear can feel like lies.”
Veyra’s antennae tilted, amused. “Next time, Commander, let’s skip the brig.”
The Veloran vessel folded back into subspace, leaving only calm starlight.
“What began as betrayal,” T’Var said quietly, “was simply the first step toward understanding.”
The Khitomer turned into the dark, carrying proof that even mistakes could open doors.
WE&P by:EZorrillaMc.
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