"Escape Hatched"
written by David Moody
Captain Lenti Utex

The officers rushed into the room, filtering around the Captain’s chair to find appropriate berths, steering clear of the diminutive view screen's line of sight. Lenti Utex sat at the head of the conference table, fairly trembling with bridled anger, staring into the viewer. Lieutenant Ray sat to his left, Commander Revos, second officer, to his right. TogHa, Frobisher, and Lieutenant Galah from operations also gathered themselves around the table.

“I appreciate your promptness,” Utex said in a hushed tone. He looked pointedly at the Acting Operations Chief, a S’rulien woman. “All of you,” he added, giving them a stiff, pursed lower lip.

For Lieutenant JG Driel Galah, this was her first staff meeting. Being nearly an underling beneath the Vulcan, and thus seemingly impenetrable, Operations Chief, S’Konn, she had never expected to be given the opportunity to sit in on a senior staff meeting. At least not so soon. Certainly not under these circumstances. She nodded solemnly at Utex’ words, then turned away from him to watch the viewscreen.

There was woman on the viewscreen, well, perhaps a humanoid in any case. Admiral Cerita Dowi was attempting to reassure Captain Utex. “ . . . have had several of my people, including an intelligence officer delving for information regarding the Vaiul,” she was saying. “We also have the USS LaGrange searching for Commander Kennit’s life signs on all planets and planetoid between the shroud and your present location in subspace,” she explained.

“I,” Galah began, stopping herself so as not to cut the Admiral off.

The miniature admiral stopped and chattered a moment before looking directly at the azure Galah and moving toward the viewscreen a bit more. As she padded rapidly forward on her tiny hands and hind legs, it gave her the appearance of merely being in a box inset on the wall, a cage if you will. Lieutenant Ray repressed a smile.

Utex shot a glance full of discomfort toward the operations officer. Presently, he began to speak, but Dowi’s drowned his words out.

“T-t-t-you had something to say, Lieutenant?” The Admiral chose this moment to take a sip from the tiniest up any of the crew had ever seen.

Lieutenant Ray’s mouth suddenly filled with air and an odd squeal of concern escaped him as he rapidly rose and vacated the room. Utex found a spot on his boot that he needed to attend to as Ray exited.

The Betazoid, Revos, inundated with waves of reaction and oddly inappropriate humor, chose this moment to peek out of the window at the giant empty doorway that rotated listlessly in space just beyond the ship’s peripheral. This conveniently caused the high back of his chair to hide the back of his head.

Driel seized the odd moment, and looked around at the crew in rapid succession before gathering herself. Her brows pursed as she spoke. She wondered if the crew had all suddenly gone mad or if she had somehow missed something. “I was wondering how exactly it is that we are in subspace, Admiral,” the blue skinned woman told her, the S‘rulien woman’s tawny eyes shining in question.

Dowi dropped to all fours on the console she stood, and turned a quick one eighty, chattering for a moment, apparently at someone off-screen. She turned back toward the viewer an explained. “Apparently this ‘Shroud’ you encountered provides a stable threshold for entering subspace. The Vaiul are a race of being that dwell in the particular level of subspace they have brought you into. According to our intelligence reports thus far, the Vaiul have been known to venture out of subspace from time to time for exploratory purposes. Never have they caused any sort of type incident nor expressed any malcontent with The Federation before now,” came the tiny, tinny voice.

Galah turned slowly towards Utex, who was a bit unsettled by the plaintive, wise stare her eyes perpetuated. “Then if we wish to leave this realm,” she explained. “We should merely need to invert our warp field dynamics and warp the ship itself instead of the space around it, correct?”

Lieutenant Ray chose that moment, to reenter the room, his face red for some unheard reason.

Utex, who had been sitting close enough to the door to actually have heard the reason, glared at the Chief Engineer. “Do you have our escape plan prepared yet,” he asked plainly.

Ray was caught off guard. “N-no, not yet,” he stammered. Reseating himself, he explained. “I thought we were focusing on getting the exo back, but I figured it must be something as simple as inverting the warp field or something to that effect since if we’re in subspace and we usually get into subspace by warping into it then maybe we should warp ourselves out of it since we normally warp the space around us to get in, right,” he rushed.

Utex looked to Lieutenant Galah. “I want you with Lieutenant Ray working out an escape route.”

“Captain I was in the midst of fabricating the new operations console,” Galah explained.

“Not your job,” he nodded. “For all intents and purposes, you’re our Chief until S’Konn is reissued his duty status.” He looked pointedly at Galah, then Ray. He allowed a look of impatience to cross his face, and raised his eyebrows. “You’re dismissed,” he said. “I want to be ready at a moments notice,” Utex finished.

As Galah and Ray rose to leave the room, he smiled at the Admiral on the viewscreen. “Thank you for your information, Admiral, I’m certain we’ll—“

The overhead comm spilled forth with the voice of Cadet Tal, “Captain,” she said. “Please excuse the interruption, but I think you’ll want to see this. “I’ve got an incoming transmission from someone named Krannik, or the Vaiul.”