The crew of Atlantis had gotten used to their own boredom and their captain’s sullen mood ever since arriving and then finding themselves trapped at Betazed. And it was always worse after Fleet Captain Theodoras had been planet-side for any number of reasons over the last month. Trying to get the Meto Institute to see her, or discussions with the planetary defence forces. The worst had been when the planetary cabinet, matriarchs all of the great houses of Betazed, had summoned her to explain just what was going on at the edge of their system.

Repeatedly.

And so it was that the crew were not prepared for a near-giddy Fleet Captain upon her return from the surface this time. No sullen mood, no dour expressions, no warning looks from Fightmaster that said ‘run for your lives’. Instead what they were subjected to was smiles and speed a runaway torpedo would be envious of. The contrast was jarring for any who encountered the returnees from Betazed as Tikva made her way through the ship, headed for the conference room.

Rumour had spread throughout the ship already of the new arrival in system. Faces had plastered to windows to confirm with their own eyes, hearsay needing to be confirmed. And when visitors had arrived, that too had whipped through the ship like a particularly virulent disease. For all its size and vast crew, Atlantis was still a small ship. 750 people were not all that many in the grand scheme of the universe.

750 people who had nothing better to do than gossip as well.

Or gawk out windows at the USS Tizona as if they’d never seen another starship before in their lives.

“Sorry I’m late,” Tikva announced as she stepped into the conference room, smiling widely as she took in the visitors to her own ship who’d beaten her aboard. New faces could even be forgiven for, as the universe always saw fit, being taller than herself.

“Fleet Captain Tivka Theodoras, may I introduce Captain Sofia Santisteban.” Nathan’s introduction was accompanied by quickly accepting a mug from Sofia so she could free a hand for the customary handshake. “And Lieutenant Hezek Vidaa.”

Captain Santisteban had the same natural complexion as Tikva, the Mediterranean having left its mark on her lineage just the same. Dark hair and eyes, ease of expression and a genuine smile reminded Tikva of herself at that age. Confidence radiated from her, as it did from most starship captains. One didn’t get the centre seat by being meek after all.

That age? She’s like a few years younger at most.

Good looking though.

What is that shade of lipstick she’s wearing? It’s gorgeous.

She’s captaining a Saber! A Saber! We had so much fun with little Haida back in the day!

Enough of that!

Lieutenant Hezek Vidaa couldn’t have been more different if he tried. A tall, lanky Orion whose skin tone was one of the palest shades of green Tikva had ever seen on an Orion. It easily had to have been the equivalent of pasty-white among his species. Dark brown hair was a dishevelled mess, but with the near immaculate state of his blue-shouldered uniform, it had the look of a fight he’d been fighting with his own hair since forever, and not a statement on his deportment.

“Mighty fine ship you have there,” Tikva said as she turned Sofia’s hand free. “Bet she’s as fun to fly as she looks.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Sofia said, accepting her cup back from Nathan. “She’s not Atlantis, but Tizona has her charm.”

“Saber-class ships do at that. Served on two of themself. Loved both of them to pieces.”

Nathan had hosted their guests in the conference room, plying them with drinks and nibbles and no small amount of small talk, most likely. They’d contented themselves with standing by the windows, watching the world of Betazed spin away off to one side as Atlantis carried along in its orbit. But with a wave of her arm, the invitation to sit had been given and everyone settled into seats.

Nathan had set himself to Tikva’s left, while Sofia and Hezek opted for her right, the science officer shielding himself with his own commanding officer from the near-brass at the head of the table. His discomfort was palpable to Tikva, like tangy sour that stuck around longer than it should.

“As much as I’d love to sit and talk about the joys of commanding small ships, I’m going to cut straight to the point,” Tikva said, bolting the meeting out of the gate as quickly as she could. “But what news of the outside do you bring?”

“Going to have to disappoint you there, Fleet Captain.” Sofia continued to offer her smile with an added shrug to help break the news. “We’re just as much in the dark about this as you are.”

“Likely more so,” Hezek chimed in. “Tizona doesn’t have the same sophisticated sensors as Atlantis does.”

“How’d you get here then?” Tikva asked.

Sofia shrugged again. “We were on standard patrol when we hit the anomaly. Warp field collapsed on us with no warning whatsoever. Couldn’t form a stable field to save ourselves. Tried hailing Starfleet, sending out distress calls, but no answer. Then Hezek here noted that your ship had disappeared off our sensors. We’d watched you on long-range sensors speeding to Betazed and then poof, gone.”

“Didn’t take long after that to deduce something was interfering with our sensors as well,” Hezek confirmed. “From there it was easy to conclude none of our hails were getting out either. Around us, subspace was broken. And without sensors, I couldn’t tell for how far either.”

“So, faced with an unknown period of time heading away from the nearest populated system at full impulse, or a few weeks headed somewhere we might get some answers from, I opted for Betazed,” Sofia concluded. “Four weeks at impulse. Could have done the same trip in minutes if we could have just formed a stable warp field.” Now her frustration peeked out from the mask of smiles.

“We’re calling it the Slow Zone,” Nathan said wryly. “Nothing faster than light-speed out past 12 AU.”

“Slow Zone. I like it. But everything works fine inside the bubble?” Sofia asked.

“For the most part,” Tikva answered. “Most of the civilian subspace radios in system are running ruinously loud to be heard. Starfleet-grade warp drives need a bit more power, but are mostly fine. There’s a handful of ships otherwise that can putz around the system, the rest are all stuck at impulse.”

“And transporters are out,” Sofia added.

“And transporters are out,” Tikva confirmed. “Ship to shore at least. Betazed’s transit system seems to be working just fine. Shuttle pilots love to bitch and moan about not getting enough flight hours, but when you suddenly tell them they can and will be getting more-”

“They bitch and moan just the same,” both women said in unison.

Nathan guffawed at the pronouncement. “As a former shuttle pilot, I take offense at that. As a command officer, I would say it’s less bitching and moaning, more whining. Which I’m sure to make worse by asking how Tizona is for supplies, Captain?”

“We’re good, or at least we should be once we get a few basics from Betazed. Nothing critical, but it’s amazing how good for morale knowing replicators aren’t going to be rationed to stretch the reserves out for months on end.”

“We’ll open Atlantis up for your crew to unwind as well. I know how big the social spaces are on your boat,” Tikva said. “Your people must be on the verge of going a little crazy.”

“No more than usual for small crews.” Sofia’s admission was just stating a universal fact. “But I’m sure my people will appreciate a bigger lounge and the chance to speak to new faces.

“Captain, Fleet Captain,” Hezek said, finally finding his voice. “I’d like to liaise with Atlantis’ science teams as soon as possible. What readings I do have might not be as good quality as they are used to, but we did spend weeks in the…slow zone.” He didn’t so much speak the words as try to speak around them. “Hopefully quantity and direct exposure will help your efforts?”

“Now that sounds like a good idea,” Nathan answered, rising to his feet. Like a good XO, he knew his captain’s answer to the question posed and was just moving right along. “Let me escort you to Commander Camargo. No doubt she’ll be pleased as punch to speak with someone else. Anyone else.”

With both men gone, Tikva gave a wave, the unspoken permission to relax given. Sofia got the message and seemed instantly more at ease. “Okay, I do have a lot more questions, but I have to ask this one first. Does Tizona do the Saber Shuffle when pushing through warp five point five?”