The USS Vallejo dropped out of warp just outside of the Nerathis system. Luckily, they had not encountered any blackout zones or unstable regions of space during their short detour from DS47. Outside the large bridge viewscreen, the starfield shimmered, and the faint glow of the nearby Mcallister Nebula was reflecting hues of purple and pink. The region seemed calm.

Captain Day Renora stood from her command chair at the center of the bridge crossing her arms across her chest. “Status?”

Lieutenant Geral Loran at Ops tapped his green fingers across his console, pulling up detailed scan data. “No signs of subspace instability. I am not detecting any sensor voids or blackout pockets. The space ahead seems quiet.”

“I am not a fan of quiet,” Commander Mehta said from his chair at Day’s right. “Especially not here. Try hailing the research team.”

“No response,” Loran continued. “Detecting no automated beacons, no comm chatter. Nerathis IV isn’t broadcasting anything.”

Day frowned. “If the system is stable, then something else is causing the silence. Maybe the research team fell victim to a planetary event or came down with some illness. Still, I don’t want us getting caught with our shields down. Loran, launch a class five probe. Let’s see what it tells us.”

“Aye, Captain.” The probe streaked out ahead of the Vallejo, a blur of blue light as its sensor feeds quickly began transmitting telemetry back to the ship. Loran displayed the scan feed on the viewscreen so the crew could watch its course toward their target. “Scans of the outer planets returning as expected… Coming within range of Nerathis IV now… Starting to get some interference. Telemetrics are degrading… hold on…”

The feed on the screen shuddered, the video fragmenting into broken frames of static and distortion. Just before the connection failed entirely, a blurred shape loomed into frame. A long, narrow, and heavily segmented shape. A vessel. In orbit.

“I’m enhancing that last clean frame,” Rax said from tactical. A moment later, a frozen image clarified on screen. It was still distorted, but there was no mistaking it, there was a vessel above Nerathis IV, and it wasn’t Starfleet. “Captain, I can’t determine exactly what type of ship that is, but by its size I would assume a science vessel or scout ship. Origin unknown, ships computers are unable to match to any known species.”

“Looks like we found the cause of the research team’s silence.” Day stepped down towards ensign Renn Tanara at the helm. “Ensign, take us in. One-quarter impulse, nice and easy.” She turned and walked back up to the center of the bridge, taking her seat. “Commander Rax, red alert, shields up, weapons hot. I want full continuous sensor sweeps as we approach.”

The Vallejo crept forward, every system, every crew member ready. The tension felt by the officers on the bridge grew with each kilometer they closed.

“Approaching outer sensor range of Nerathis IV now,” Renn reported from the Conn. “Relative velocity holding.”

“Maintain course,” Day replied. Loren, adjust sensor gain, I want to know who the hell that is in orbit. Are we detecting any life signs from the outpost?”

Suddenly, the lights on the bridge dimmed, then brightened again. A crackle hissed through the comm system.

“Interference is increasing,” Loran reported, his voice tightening. “Same degradation we experienced with the probe, just at a lower threshold. Subspace bands are starting to display some instability, I can compensate, but I’m starting to see some cascading errors in the lateral sensor array.”

“I’m getting scatter across the EM bands,” Kellan added from the science station. “Some of our returns are looping… displaying readings we already picked up. It’s like our scans are echoing off something.”

“Could it be the planet’s atmosphere?” Mehta asked.

“Possibly,” she replied. “But there’s definitely something else at play here too. Some kind of low-level resonance. I can’t pinpoint the source.”

Day stood up slowly. “We’re in the same soup that took out the probe. Let’s not assume we were immune because we have better shielding.”

“Captain, I recommend we maintain our distance until we can analyze this interference.” Rax said. “We push much further in and we might lose more than sensor clarity.”

“We’re already in it, Commander.” Day replied. “Renn, get us within 30,000 kilometers of that ship.”

As they got closer the image of the vessel in orbit started to get clearer. Blurs and distortions sharpened. The hazy shape began to sharpen, it was in view now, unmistakable and unsettling.

Loran narrowed his emerald eyes on his console. “Captain, I think I can narrow it down now. The ship’s design… It’s not a match for any known species, but cross-referencing with archived tactical records… I’m getting a tentative identification.”

Day turned. “Go on.”

“It’s Vaadwaur. Looks like a scout-class configuration; it appears to be heavily modified.”

“Vaadwaur,” Mehta muttered. “I haven’t heard that name in a while.”

“Well, now you have,” Day responded. “And we’ve found them in orbit of a dead-silent Federation research colony. Loran, hail them.”

“No response, Captain.” Loran replied, continuously tapping controls at his console, trying to overcome the sensor interference. “And I am not detecting any life signs on the ship.”

Day narrowed her eyes at the silhouette on the screen. “Could they be shielded?”

“It’s possible,” interjected Kellan, “but I’m not detecting any active shielding systems. Power readings are minimal, enough to maintain orbit, some background systems, but not much else.”

“Keep trying,” Day said. “Rotate Frequencies, try a narrow-band transmission. See if they might be listening on an obscure channel.”

She turned to Rax at Tactical. “Any signs of weapons?”

“Negative, Captain,” Rax replied. “She’s armed to the gills, but no weapons active, no sh…”

Again, the bridge lights dimmed to almost completely dark, then brightened back up to normal levels.

Captain Day’s combadge chirped just as the lighting was restored, “Valis to Bridge.”

“Go ahead.” Day replied.

“We are seeing interference waves in the EPS grid. Nothing critical at this moment, but it is odd. Something is feeding back into our systems. I am unable to identify a cause at this time.”

Day Straightened in her chair. “Alright, enough guessing. Time to get answers.”

She tapped her combadge again. “Day to senior staff, report to the briefing room.”