Investigating the Mystery

".............. but I can tell you that there are going to be a lot of questions to be answered," Rashad said shifting her gaze back to the view screen

"Fine, Lieutenant. Don't tell me ! I want all senior officers in the Conference Room, NOW !" Devore said angrily. He hated not knowing, and this was angering him even more. He had the ability to know so much more but his Intelligence officer will not tell him. Devore stormed off into the conference room where he was the first. Moments later, the crew began filing in taking their appropriate seats.

Devore sat with his back to the other officers staring at the view screen that now displayed the *Utopia* in all its glory. With his back to the crew, he spoke. "All right. Here is the situation. The Leviathan has come across a ship that shouldn't exist, nor should it be here. I want some answers and I want them........." Devore spun his chair around and his mouth dropped. At the far end of the table, he saw the love of his life. The woman who he thought had been dead for years now as an angel was sitting where Dr. Clairidge once sat. "Sierra !"

"Hello Mark !" Sierra said with a large smile. Captain Devore got up and ran to her oblivious to the other officers in the room. Quickly he swept her in his arms and held her tightly. Lieutenant Devore held him just as tight.

"Sierra. I thought you were dead !" Captain Devore said through tears of joy. He pulled her away slightly and looked into her eyes that were filled with tears, however in those eyes hid a past.. a past of something that totally escaped the captain euphoria. "Where have you been? What have been doing ? What are you doing here ?"

"Uh sir ? Should we leave ?" Commander Harris asked with a smile. The reality hit him this wasn't the time or place for this. They now have another chance, a chance that was taken away so many years ago and he wasn't going to miss a thing. However there was an incident tabled and the captain must return not the man and husband. "Sierra.. I will talk to you after this is all over. I am just so happy to see you !"

"I am happy to see you again also Mark" Sierra said.

She sat back down as the Captain walked away. He reached Commander Harris and spun his chair around. "You knew she was on board and you didn't tell me ?"

"I am sorry Captain. When you were talking about her when we left Starbase 114, I did a little research and remembered that we had a new ships counselor coming aboard. Well, it turned out that it was Sierra Mitchell. She hadn't been going by Devore, so I went and talked to her just yesterday and well it turned out that she was indeed your wife." Harris said with a smile.

"Well, Commander, " Devore said. "Consider yourself on report for withholding such...." Devore looked over at Sierra who had tears in her eyes, "such important information."

"Yes sir." Harris said lowering his eyes in a mock fashion.

"Okay. Let's carry on." Devore said sitting down and returning to his commanding exterior. "I want to know everything there is on the *Utopia* like who what when and why ?"

"Captain, the why was classified from Starfleet command. I can tell you the general knowledge but it will be the same as is in the data banks." Rashad said.

"Okay. The lets have it. Computer, display all information about the *USS Utopia* registry number NCC-342888 NX."

<Those files are classified.>

"Damn it!!! Then unclassify them."

<Please restate command>

"Forget it." Devore was really upset now. He wanted to know how a ship that wasn't supposed to exist is here in the Beta Quadrant and what it was doing there. "Fine. We are going aboard."

"Captain !" ***The Shadow*** interjected. "That would not be prudent There is not idea what was going on over there and we don't know how dangerous it may be."

"That is why i am not going to ask anyone else to do it. I will go over alone." The entire senior staff objected verbally.

"Captain. No... I must remind you that away missions are to be led by the first officer, and further more..." Commander Harris said angrily.

"I don't care about protocol. I am going. you have the Leviathan Commander."

"Well sir if you are going to go, then I will go with you. No questions about it," Toran said.

"Fine."

"I may be of some assistance to you, Captain." *** The Shadow*** said. "Count me in."

"Anyone else ?" No one else volunteered. "Okay. Meet me in transporter room one."

Commander Harris stormed off to the Bridge. Immediately following the meeting, Lieutenant Devore, or Mitchell as officially recorded by the register, approached the Captain. "Mark. Please don't go. What if there is something dangerous over there? I just found you and now I might lose you again."

"Not a chance! Sierra I will be back! I promise. I have waited all my life for this moment, do you really think that I will let death cheat me out of this moment with you ?" Devore said. He looked around and noticed they were alone. "I have missed you so much."

"And I you."

Devore grabbed her and passionately kissed her. After a few minutes, he pulled away. "I will be back, I promise you !'

"I know."

The ***shadow*** was in his quarters searching, searching for the proper tools for the job. He had to protect the secret of the *Utopia* at any cost. Finally he found the PADD the contained certain bypass command functions that all Section 31 officers knew. *These command functions allow us to bypass all security lockouts and protocols and get into the core command center of the computer. Ironically, StarFleet relies heavily on the main computer and has given it thousands of terabits allocated for security measures but with this highly sensitive PADD, I could bypass it all with a simply command code that Section 31 knows solely. Which brings me to the next subject- Lieutenant Rashad. I may need to take care of her ?*

The *shadow* quickly gathered his Starfleet issue tricorder and headed to the transporter room, where they were waiting for him. "Sorry sir. I couldn't find my tricorder."

The atoms of the three member away team began to rematerialize on board the Bridge of the *Utopia*. The transporter chief told them that decks one through six were the only ones that had any kind of life support. All others were exposed to different levels of hull breaches and theta radiation. theta radiation puzzled Devore. *Theta radioactive wasn't a by-product of the an antimatter/matter reaction so why did the *Utopia* have it ?*

As the away team flipped out their tricorders and phasers, the dank stale air burned their nostrils. The wrist lights illuminated major sections. On the bridge, corpse of various crew members littered different sections.

"Mr. ***Shadow*** check engineering. See if you can give us some power," Devore ordered.

"Aye sir."

"Captain look at this," Toran said pulling back what looked like the Captain. He was dressed in all black uniform with charcoal ascots. Looking around, Toran noticed that they all wore the same uniforms with respective ranks on their collars.

"They are Starfleet Intelligence. All of them, helm, Ops, even Security. This is getting weirder by the second." Devore said. Suddenly the bridge light came out faintly. "Good job, ***shadow***." "This is all I can get for you. Somehow power is be redirected to Deck three." ***Shadow*** reported.

"To what?" Devore said approaching his position.

"My tricorder is reading the power matrix has been redistributed to the..... Life support. Mainly to Deck three."

"Probably there are some survivors of what happened and can answer what they are doing here ?"

"Possibly sir."

"Okay. Mr. Toran you are with me. Mr. ***Shadow***, see if you can download the datalogs, and the captain logs." Devore ordered heading for the inoperable turbolift.

"No problem captain." ***Shadow*** replied. *He is so naive*.

The turboshaft had a ladder leading down that Captain Devore and Lieutenant Toran used to climb down. As they passed deck two they noticed that the door was welded shut by this side. "Captain did you see that ?" Toran said breathing heavily.

"Yeah I did. Wonder what happened. This is getting crazier and crazier every second. You okay old man ?"

"Fine captain."

"Looks like the name seems to fit you."

"Funny, ha ha ha !" Toran replied sarcastically. "Okay sir. Here we go, Deck three."

The two officers were able to pry the door open. On Deck three, the halls were littered with more bodies all uniformed the same way. Phaser burns scarred the bulkheads as the Devore pointed out to Toran. "By the phaser blast pattern it looks like full setting." Toran revealed.

"They must have been boarded."

"Sir.. there are no other bodies here but Starfleet." They continued on and came to what look to be someone's crew quarters. The door was closed and rustling could be heard coming from behind it. Devore motioned for Toran to take the other side of the door. Using their maglocks they had taken from the turbolift doors they attached them to either side of the doors and pulled them opened. As they did there was a phaser blast that cut through the air and hit the opposite side of the corridor. "Take that, and that, and that! " a man's voice said with each ribbon of phaser fire. Toran motioned to the Captain to crouch low. He did. Then he did a few other signals that Devore also understood. With a nod of his head, Devore rolled to the other side of the room while Toran waited a moment and did the same. They pointed their phasers at a Starfleet officer dressed in a green uniform. His rank wasn't noticeable from this distance, but as the defender pointed his weapon at Captain, Toran fired his phaser which was set on stunned and knocked him back.

Suddenly their was a noise, a red alert klaxon or sort of.

<Self destruct procedure initiated. Two minutes to self destruct. There will not be any more audible warnings.>

"***Shadow***, Report ?" Devore said as he tapped his combadge.

[Captain.. I think as I was downloading the information, I tripped the auto destruct.] ***Shadow ***said..

"Get out of here. Get back to the Leviathan"

[Aye sir]

"Devore to Leviathan three to beam out !"

[Captain. We can't get a lock.. There is too much Theta radiation present.]

"What ! There is no Theta Radiation here. Get us out of here !"

[We can't get a lock sir.]

"Escape pod !" The downed soldier said groggily.

"What ?" Toran said pulling his head up so that he could here him more clearly. "What did you say ?"

"Escape Pod.. We can use the escape pod."

"Let's go." Devore said putting the soldier over his shoulders in a fireman's carry and headed for the nearest pod. They got into the pod and jettison out into space. "Devore to Leviathan Listen to me . Beam three directly to sickbay and then set a course away from this spot maximum speed, any direction !"

[Aye sir!] Harris said.

Their atoms dematerialized as the three men sat in the crunched pod. The Leviathan accelerated to Warp 21 and disappeared as the *Utopia* exploded into a brilliant ball of fire. The mysteries of the *Utopia* now were forever sealed with now the only hopes of the revelation comes from this battle worn and unconscious soldier.