Pegasus Mission 05: "The Haunting of the Gryphon"

Mission Summary

On 21504.01 the shore leave of the Pegasus crew was urgently cut short. Upon leaving Star Base Bravo the explained reason was that the new arrival Ambassador Sanor was requested to mediate in talks between the Bralen and the Rondel and the Ambassador needed a vessel which could get him to the Bralen system quickly and securely and one that could act as neutral ground for the two parties. These two systems had been at war for over 100 years and in recent years felt it was time to put the war to an end. The risk for the Pegasus was that the two systems were inside the Romulan Neutral Zone, but the risk was thought fair if the two systems could find lasting peace.

Two days into a three day journey the Pegasus encountered a strange reading two light years off their course. The reading was discovered to be the USS Gryphon, last heard of fifty years ago as having disappeared during a deep space survey. An Away Team was formed and an investigation was carried out. During the investigation it was discovered that the Gryphon had lost its crew to a subspace rift. Ghostly apparitions of the former crew were sighted at different times throughout the vessel. A rift formed and grew a short distance from the Gryphon. This rift presented a risk to the Away Team and the Crew of the Pegasus and attempted to ensnare them in visions of their worst nightmares.

The age of the Gryphon and the years without maintenance made attempts to move the Gryphon away from the rift impossible and endangered the lives of the Away Team. The Away Team made their escape using a shuttle found in the Gryphon's shuttle bay. Due to the high level of chroniton particles found in the Gryphon the vessel was fired upon with antimatter infused torpedoes in order to collapse the rift. The Pegasus made it to the Bralen system and talks went smoothly, though peace is always a tenuous thing.

Due to an unnamed Vulcan illness Captain Tokat had to return to Vulcan with Ambassador Sanor, this left Commander Gregg in command of the Pegasus until they returned to Star Base Bravo.

Logs

Commander Edward Gregg, First Officer

Star Date 21506.18

First Officer’s Log

Stardate 21506.18

Shore leave had been incredibly uneventful and thankfully cut short for a diplomatic mission. After centuries of fighting the Bralen and Rondel appear to be ready to talk peace. Our V.I.P. for the talks is a Vulcan by the name of Sanor. He seems to be very much the traditional Vulcan. Tokat’s response to his presence feels off. Possibly it has something to do with his recent shore leave, just another thing to follow up on if I can remember.

About two days into our journey to Bralen VII, in the Neutral Zone, sensors indicated a large metallic object two light years off our course. With the Pegasus 18 hours ahead of schedule it was decided there was time to take a look. Granted we’d have turned aside out of a sense of duty even if we weren’t ahead of time.

Initial theories that the object was a vessel have turned out to be correct. The vessel in question is an Ambassador Class ship called Gryphon. It appears to be in good condition for its age, but what it is doing drifting out here has yet to be discovered.

End log.

Star Date 21509.09

First Officer’s Log

Stardate 21509.09

An Away Team was assembled from the different departments to go to the Gryphon in an effort to discover why the Gryphon was out here. Upon arrival in the Gryphon’s Mess Hall the scene that greeted the Away Team would not have gone amiss on the Marie Celeste and it certainly did not mesh with what I had been expecting.

There were the typical plates of half eaten food and no signs of struggle or disturbance. As investigations continued the lack of bodies added to the eerie feel of the ship. Initial scans of the Gryphon indicated that the core was still active and this had proved true as life support, lighting, artificial gravity and most of the other systems are in surprisingly good working order.

The Captain was called away to placate Ambassador Sanor whose meditation has been interrupted by ‘some thing’. I have divided the remaining Away Team members into two groups, sending one group to the Bridge while I have led the other group to Main Engineering.

So far I’ve found no evidence to indicate what has happened to the crew of the Gryphon. The state of the Gryphon appears to be preying on the minds of the Away Team as the crew have been unresponsive on occasion. As the investigation continues it currently remains an unpleasant mystery in need of a solution.

End log.

Stardate 21510.06

First Officer’s Log

Stardate 21510.06

The investigation into the Gryphon took a supernatural turn before the Away Team left the Gryphon’s Mess Hall. While waiting for the turbolifts to arrive Ensigns Moriarty and Crystillin had been scanning the Mess Hall and had an encounter. I went to see what the commotion was about and after looking at the scenery for a while I saw ghosts. Not exactly moving, but they were there like a brief after image. It was very much a blink and you miss it moment, until the moment came round again.

With a little encouragement the Away Team divided up and went to their assigned locations to continue the investigation. Lieutenant Powell and I arrived in Main Engineering. It was the same as the Mess Hall. No sign of any remains and from the condition of the vessel this appeared to be her first mission. Ship’s records were either in poor condition or barely enough to be called a log. There was an unpleasant sensation when I went near the Bussard Collectors. Yet another mystery to add to the list.

The Gryphon had encountered a rift and hadn’t been able to escape. Ensign Moriarty had theorised that tetryon particles from the rift had been attracted to the Gryphon’s warp core and prevented their escape. This turned out to be accurate. After analysis of the Bussard Collectors it was discovered that it was filled with chroniton and tachyon particles. Both are native to subspace and indicate that the Gryphon had spent time inside the rift.

The contents of the Bussard Collectors were used in an attempt to flush the tetryon particles out of the warp core. The result was a longer encounter with the ‘ghosts’ on the Bridge and according to Pegasus an anomaly appeared near the Gryphon. The unpleasant sensation is currently filling Main Engineering and it might have gone further. Hopefully all the mysteries can be solved before the situation becomes a serious threat.

End log.

Stardate 21512.15

First Officer’s Log - Private

Stardate 21512.15

After the ‘ghosts’ had disappeared the Away Team began to experience headaches. The worst seemed to be in the Gryphon’s Main Engineering, but I had not been able to get a verbal confirmation from the rest of the Away Team. I encouraged Lieutenant Powell to attempt to get the Warp Core of the Gryphon restarted in an attempt to get away from the anomaly, unfortunately between the age of the Gryphon and the tetryons that had not been removed by flush fires started around Main Engineering.

Those Officers in Main Engineering, including myself suffered minor burns and inside the EV suit felt like cooking baked beans in the tin. The Gryphon’s fire suppression system had gone inert after fifty years of no maintenance and when Ensign Crystillin arrived to acquire bits for his pattern enhancer to boost his comm. device it was discovered that the portable extinguishers had gone the same way.

The fire and smoke made communication next to impossible. I urged the officers I could find towards the entrance to Main Engineering and we were almost out when Lieutenant Powell in some highly misplaced sense of heroism push myself and a couple of Officers through the open door and attempted to put out the fire by throwing an extinguisher into the fire, gesticulating that Ensign Crystillin should throw in as many as he could find and close the door, then he ran off do something equally stupid.

Not my proudest moment but I gave him an earful over my comm. when I had caught my breath. I encouraged Ensign Crystillin and those present to get to the Bridge and to check if the impulse and the self-destruct systems were still working. After a short while Lieutenant Powell arrived ready for a fight. We holstered our respective weapons and before words could be exchanged a weird nightmare vision knocked out the Away Team.

Safe to say I woke up first. Sadly that meant having to move Lieutenant Powell into an open turbolift and get the two of us up to the Bridge. After my arrival on the Bridge the Away Team began to slowly wake up. The anomaly had transformed into a rift. At its current rate of growth getting the Gryphon into the rift will not be a problem. With a bit of creativity Ensign Crystillin has set up a remote trigger for the self-destruct system. Not sure if he’s missed his calling in another department but we may have a renaissance man on our hands.

I am currently sitting in a shuttlecraft with most of the Away Team. Midshipman Zan was able to get one working with the help of an Engineer and Powell is attempting to open the shuttlebay doors, safely. The Pegasus is still ahead of schedule but talks on Bralen VII aren’t going to be much fun and I have to have a few conversations with people before that. Lieutenant Powell is a self-absorbed idiot and despite my preferences I can’t demote an Officer for a character flaw. At best he’s a work in progress, a lot of work.

Encrypt and end log.