All Talk
Posted on Mon Feb 16th, 2026 @ 11:40am by Lieutenant Alena Alessa & Commander Peter Horn & Commander Hiro Sommers-Yoshida & Lieutenant Commander Liam Reynolds & Lieutenant JG Abrasax & Glinn Vaaet Pazon
3,082 words; about a 15 minute read
Mission:
Episode 9: Across Time
Location: Deep Space 21
ON:
Commander Hiro Sommers-Yoshida stepped into the wardroom a few minutes early, as he always preferred. The room still carried the Cardassian architectural lines, angular shadows, recessed lighting, the faint metallic austerity, but Starfleet’s presence had softened it over the years. Fresh replicator panels. Warmer illumination. A framed star chart of the Briar Patch, installed after the Copernicus’s return from Lethe. A reminder of how much still lay uncertain.
He allowed himself a quiet breath, grounding the moment. This would be the first full senior staff meeting since Starfleet Command finalized the quarantine status on the Lethe system. Everyone at this table had been touched by that decision—some directly, some by the ripple effects it cast across the station.
Hiro took his seat at the head of the table, fingers lightly brushing over the embedded terminal as it activated. He kept his posture open, steady. Calm breeds calm, his mentor had once said. And after Lethe, they all needed steadiness.
Doctor Vaaet Pazon entered the wardroom not long after the Captain, immediately walking up to the Starfleet issued Replicator terminal. He had been surprised by all of this, really, to see so many Cardassian features outlined with those of the Federation. It was a lot to take in, but he'd always been more a fan of the Federation that his own people.
"Fish juice," the Cardassian directed the replicator terminal, a throwback to his native culture. The large mug started to materialize moments afterward, the golden energy of the array building the drink for him.
Picking up the cold beverage he greeted their leader, "Captain."
Hiro nodded once. “Doctor. Glad you can join us.”
Lieutenant jg Abrasax yawned wide as he entered the wardroom. Overwork on the beacon and subspace analysis had half consumed the Science department's shift rotations. With a child missing, motivation wasn't lacking in the slightest. They just weren't progressing at the rate Abrasax or any of his colleagues wanted.
"Hello," Abrasax said, he almost bumped into a chair, it was empty so he recovered semi-gracefully as he rotated it around to sit in it. Adrenaline spiked because of it, he smiled at anyone who watched him.
A very anxious looking Vulcan walked in and made straight for a nearby seat. The hand holding a mug seemed to be trembling and he made no effort to hide it. Between a very pregnant wife and a missing son, Peter was getting (and allowing himself) precious little rest. "Anything?" He asked, hoping there might be news.
Abrasax felt for Peter, and no amount of asking will make things happen faster. He sighed after a few moments. Before he was about to remind the executive officer with those words, a memory recalled about the Beacon. "No, what is strange was that several sections of the Beacon seemed to be Starfleet in origin, I have the computer still running comparisons. It will take some more time, I'm afraid."
He frowned. "I hope there aren't any classified subspace technology projects that possibly have been responsible for what is going on?" Abrasax glanced back to the table. "Yet there were chronotons when the Beacon arrived," he held his head, lacking sleep had already caught up with him and some of his staff, "so perhaps time or multiverse displacement could be involved somehow. Didn't Deep Space Nine get visitors from the Mirror universe, not to mention the Enterprises of old? And your own experience with time displacement," he said to the group.
Having overheard the discussion, the Cardassian Doctor interrupted, "What is this Mirror universe you speak of? I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar."
Hiro leaned forward slightly, folding his hands atop the table as he addressed Pazon’s question. The Cardassian’s interruption was not unkind. Simply direct, hungry for clarity, and Hiro welcomed the grounding shift it created in the room.
“It is a parallel reality,” he explained calmly, meeting Pazon’s eyes. “One in which counterparts of ourselves exist.. but often with drastically different temperaments or moral inclinations. In some historic encounters, those counterparts behaved opposite to what we consider typical for them in our universe.”
His voice remained steady, but he monitored Peter from the corner of his vision, his tremor, the tight set of his jaw. Hiro modulated his next words accordingly, precise but gentle.
“What Lieutenant Abrasax is suggesting, if I’m right, is that the presence of chronotons might indicate temporal instability.. possibly even cross-reality interference. From what I heard we do not have concrete evidence for that yet,” he added carefully, “but it is a known phenomenon in Starfleet history.”
He allowed a breath to settle between them before continuing, tone quieter but firm enough to re-anchor the conversation.
“Whatever the nature of this beacon, we will approach it methodically. And we will find your son, Commander. We are not treating any possibility lightly.” His gaze moved slowly around the table, including each of them, steadying the spiraling speculation before it could take root.
“Let’s keep our focus clear. Facts first. Then hypotheses.” He nodded once, returning the floor to the others.
Abrasax zoned out for a few moments and blankly stared across the table. Clearly sleep-deprived, the Science Chief suddenly found himself falling forward. Naturally, adrenaline spiked, and he accidentally slapped his hands on the table. He immediately blushed with embarrassment at his reaction and looked down at the table, his hands firmly still where they held him. "Sorry," he groaned.
"We also have the matter of the telepathic incursions," Doctor Pazon interjected, "we have several members of a former away team that are showing evidence of having been in contact with another life-form telepathically. I believe I may have a solution to what we are facing, but it will take a little time to prepare."
Peter had no doubt things were treated lightly, he knew people were working hard on finding his son. But the very idea his currently youngest, and brashest child might be stuck in a mirror universe was still very unsettling. He tried hard to modulate his features into the general Vulcan sense of impassiveness but from the looks he was receiving, he knew he was failing miserably. "Do you think the appearance of the probe, and the telepathic incursions may be connected?" He asked carefully, as he glanced between Pazon and Abrasax.
"I never rule anything out until I have all the available data, Commander," the Cardassian Doctor answered. It was certainly possible.
Liam had kept rather quiet having stood at the door from the moment that "Parallel reality" and "Mirror" had been uttered.
"I do," Liam said. "I have somewhat some experience with mirror and other realities which I would much rather forget," he cast Hiro a worried look. The man had lived through some of it. "Sorry I am late sir." he added taking a seat. "What is your solution doctor?"
"Somewhat is an understatement," Peter commented, then suddenly shift to his feet as a thought crossed his mind. "Nanites," he exclaimed. "There are only three people aboard who have nano technology in their blood, perhaps scan for them?" He looked around the table. "I was born with Borg nanites, because my parents are liberated Borg. My children have them too..."
The Cardassian doctor shrugged at the question, "Nothing so far has suggested nanites as the cause."
Alena just listened. She knew that things were changing. She didn't like that they didn't any real facts. She was still thinking of the she had, which had reacted to the beacon. "Sir Abrasax", she said. "Did you find any connection to my trinkets and the beacon?".
"Sir?" Abrasax blinked, his expression became amused. "We're the same rank Counselor, Lieutenant or Abrasax is good," he looked to Peter and Hiro. "Did you order such an investigation between the Counselor's trinkets and the beacon sirs? I don't recall getting that order, if so."
Hiro did not respond right away. He let the silence stretch for a moment, just long enough for Abrasax’s words to settle and for everyone to realize what had actually happened.
Then he gave a small nod. “That one’s on me.”
He looked to Abrasax first. “The request went out verbally, during the initial response, right after the beacon and the shuttle came in. Things were moving fast, and clearly it never made it onto your list.” There was no edge in his voice, only acknowledgement. “That’s not you dropping the ball. That’s the situation we were in.”
His gaze shifted briefly to Alessa, then back to the table. “We were juggling too many threads at once.”
Hiro straightened slightly. “So, let’s fix it. Abrasax, have your team run a full comparison between the beacon and the Counselor’s pendant and other trinkets. Materials, energy signatures, anything temporal or subspace-related. Loop Medical in where it makes sense.”
He paused, then added, “Make it a priority next to the Beacon.”
Only then did he look toward Peter. Not to debate nanites, but to steady him. “Right now, we’ve got a lot of unknowns,” Hiro said more quietly. “That doesn’t mean they’re all connected. It also doesn’t mean they aren’t. We’ll figure that out, but we do it with data, not guesses.”
His eyes moved around the table, grounding the room.
“Things feel chaotic because they are,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we’ve lost control. It just means we haven’t sorted the variables yet.”
He nodded to Hiro and Peter. "Aye sirs," Abrasax turned and gestured towards Alena. "Apologies for not getting to your belongings' analysis, Counselor, I will get onto that once this meeting is over. Could you bring them to the Lab?"
Alena nodded. "I'll bring them as soon as possible. My increased telepathic range might give me a headache, but I will bring them when we are done here", she said. She felt a heat in her pocket. She had found a small trinket this morning. For a bracelet she had been given by her mother when she was 13. "I have another trinket to add", she added, lifting her left arm. The charm, a tiny set of wings, were glowing softly.
"I swear, if this has any connection to my mom and father, and their relationship, I will kick their butts into next century, if I can get hold of both in the same room", she muttered. The whole situation with her mother, possibly her father, and the beacon were giving her a headache. Because there were so many unknown factors.
Abrasax cringed a little at hearing Alena’s parents were not pleasant. “Perhaps if you put some distance between you and the trinkets, you may have some rest Counselor?” He offered sympathetically. He shifted back to the Executive Officer and his declaration about nanites. "Commander, I have to point out that Borg nanoprobes aren't a parent to child passable thing. Nanoprobes are programmed to assimilate and maintain implants. If they detected a fetus, they'd assimilate it immediately unless direct Medical counters were active. Now considering the Nanoprobes cannot complete the assimilation process a child could be monitored to prevent the formation of a cortical node. That allowed connection to the Collective but the child will be born with implants and their own Nanoprobe maintenance network." He glanced off imagining how such a situation would play out.
That said, apparently the Horns lived through it. Abrasax might have to keep an eye on the Horn family closely, to keep them safe of course, not to satisfy his Borg technology research ideas now that they were playing in his mind. "Borg nanoprobes are quite a unique sensor signature so I will focus our scans to that." Abrasax smiled as he hoped that would be helpful.
"Given that I was born with them, and depend on them as part of my immune system, I daresay you are wrong. My siblings too were born with them and depend on them. My children too are born with them. It is on record and can be verified by the chief medical officer. I have actually undergone severe consequences due to failing nanites, several times in the past. Also a fact I that due to them, my telepathic ability is enhanced in comparison to other hybrids, and I am actually very rarely ill." His words came out somewhat fiercely as he belied the science chief's statement.
"Use my nanites as a profile," Peter suggested at last, "though Ilyas's profile should be on file too...his are likely to differ a little from mine, but they should be comparable."
A barrage of questions came out of Abrasax. “Fascinating! Do you require regeneration? How did your organic body produce the technological nanoprobes? What injuries have you sustained that the nanoprobes have healed? Has the Chief Medical Officer got any of your family nanoprobes for study?” That’s when he paused as he’d got to a standing but leaning over the table with great intensity of interest about it all he got caught up in the excitement.
Abrasax blinked, slowly straightened, put his right hand to his chin while the left went under to support the right. Both hands had been about to pull him onto the table in the pursuit of knowledge. Though he wasn’t quite willing to call them Nanites as there was another group of nanotechnology created by a Federation scientist, they had the label of Nanites. He believed that didn’t mean nanoprobes cannot have the same label, he preferred to use the term the Borg gave their nanotechnology.
Abrasax nodded to Peter, he slowly sat back down from his outburst, this was new ground for Borg nanoprobes as it seemed they evolved somehow. He wondered if Starfleet Medical was on top of this. That said his mind brought Ilyas back to the forefront of his thoughts. "Apologies for my lack of decorum there, sirs.” He coughed to help calm himself. “To what extent has your family’s nanoprobes been examined, Commander, are there any I could do an analysis of to fine tune the sensors with?"
"Extensively, throughout my life and my career, even my parents have been monitored throughout their respective careers," Peter answered tightly, "and your questions can be answered another time, when matters are not so dire." He was clearly not secretive about it, even though he wasn't comfortable talking about such private matters either.
The Chief Science Officer bowed his head. "Understood, may I have your consent to have one of Ilyas' nanoprobes, Commander?" Abrasax requested with a serious expression.
"Yes, solely used for the purpose of locating my child," the executive officer answered.
The Cardassian doctor nodded curtly, not really engaging in the conversation. He listened to them as they spoke and was more than able to transfer over one of the nanoprobes.
Now that that was sorted the issue of telepathic invasions came back to Abrasax’s thoughts. “Doctor,” he prompted then added a little firmer tone. “Doctor, what do all the telepathic invaded patients have in common? I will dedicate some sensors to scanning for psionic emissions, hopefully we aren’t a victim of another Euryale. Can you give me any data to tune sensors?”
"The Away Mission," his answer was simple and direct. That was the only commonality that was found so far.
“Ah,” Abrasax nodded knowingly full well which away mission.
Hiro lifted one hand slightly, a quiet signal to slow the momentum of the conversation.
“We should be careful there,” he said. “We never actually confirmed that Euryale was killed.”
He glanced around the table. “Our sensors showed her ship probably did not survive the metreon explosions. Power failure, structural collapse. All sensor data pointed that way.”
There was a brief pause before he continued. “But that is still an assessment, not proof. We did not recover a ship or remains. So until we do, we treat her status as unknown.”
"I really do have to get back to my patients," Doctor Pazon reminded. "I will continue to keep you informed on my findings, Commander Sommers-Yoshida, as I have something to share. For now though, with your permission, I'd like to return the patients to active duty. I can monitor them using the cortical monitors."
"Of course doctor. And please share the nanites information with Lieutenant Abrasax," Peter acknowledged solemnly.
Doctor Pazon nodded again, "I'll have the information transferred over to you and a courier bring you one of the nanoprobes in a protected transfer case. Just be careful with it," the Cardassian reminded, "don't want any accidents."
“I do not mean any disrespect to anyone but I am eager to get back to work,” Abrasax glanced at each officer present. He felt like time was flying.
Alena nodded. "I'll bring the trinkets to you soon", she promised Abrasax. "I also believe I need to have yet another talk with my Ma". She already felt exhausted. "This whole thing seems to be a mess, from what I see, happening in my family. But to be honest? I do not care at present. Finding Ilyas and getting him back safely is, in my line of thought, what matters. I sincerely hope he'll be okay and back here safe and sound", she went on, glancing at Commander Horn
"That is kind of you," Peter acknowledged her words, "I should be with my wife, she is pregnant and should not be exposed to this amount of stress. With your permission doctor, I will bring her to sickbay later for a checkup." Her not knowing she was pregnant felt like a concern to him and he wanted to be sure the heart of his very existence was alright.
Abrasax smiled at Alena while he offered an awkward thumbs up he once witnessed back at the Academy. He wasn’t sure he was doing it right.
Hiro looked around the table, taking them in one last time. Tired faces. Determined ones.
“Alright,” he said, quietly but firmly. “We all know what needs to be done.”
He nodded once. “Science follows the beacon and the trinkets. Medical keeps watch and shares everything. We focus on facts, not assumptions—and we bring Ilyas home.”
He pushed his chair back slightly. “Let’s get back to work.”
Commander Hiro Sommers-Yoshida
CO DS21
Commander Peter Horn
XO DS21
Lieutenant jg Abrasax
CSO DS21
Lt Cmdr Liam Reynolds
Second Officer
Lieutenant Alena Alessa
Chief Counselor
Chief Diplomat
Glinn Vaaet Pazon
Chief Medical Officer
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