Missing

Posted on Sat Nov 29th, 2025 @ 5:59pm by Senior Chief Petty Officer Sethan MD & Captain Zseeq & Crewman Zhan Kivrass

1,093 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Life
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: Three days after overdue shuttle

Captain Zseeq sat alone in his Ready Room aboard the Saratoga reading over the latest reports from their search teams. It had been several days since the away team was due to be back and, so far, there had been narrowly a trace of them anywhere. No runabout, no distress call, no wreckage, no nothing. It was like the galaxy opened up and just swallowed them in.

That would be par for the course for the Maelstrom though. Finding a wormhole - stable or not - wouldn't be too out of the ordinary for this forsaken place.

The Deltan backed away from the monitor and rested his back against the chair. He reached up and rubbed his eyes, trying to keep the sleep from them. Ever since the runabout was announced as overdue he didn't feel like he'd slept more than an hour a night. He didn't want to approve their trip to the conference, and he realized now he should've stuck to his guns and not approved their request.

"Bridge to the Captain."

Now he wished even more, "Yes Crewman?"

"Chief Sethan is here to see you," his Tellarite Yeoman reported.

"Send Sethan in, Yeoman," Zseeq answered as he pulled back into a more official pose.

"Yes Sir," Zhan answered, "Bridge out."

A raven-haired Vulcan walked slowly into the readyroom. Like the captain, he looked exhausted. Sickbay was busy and the CMO was absent, leaving him to manage things as well as looking after two young children. A task he usually balanced equally with his husband.

"Is there any news?" He asked as he approached the desk. The worry he felt was clearly displayed in his features, an unusual sight for a Vulcan to begin with. He knew his bond mate was still alive, but that's all he knew. There was that faint echo at the back of his mind, a remnant of their bonding ceremony. A faint presence that was always there, but given the distance there was no way to communicate. He sensed nothing.

Meanwhile Mneiha kept enquiring, more often now as days progressed, when her other father would be coming home. Unlike her parents though, the little girl hadn't shown any telepathic talents, which wasn't unusual given her heritage. But who knew, it might still manifest for telepathic talent among Romulans wasn't unheard of either.

Zseeq leaned forward toward his desk, pushing his weight against his collapsed together hands on the tabletop. "I'm sorry, Sethan, but so far we haven't been able to find the runabout. We've followed the path that the station reported them as taking after departure and there's no trace so far. To make matters worse, Starfleet pulled the Bradbury and San Francisco from their search grids this morning to return to their own missions. I've been given permission to continue the search, but I don't know how much longer Admiral Dazad will give us."

"We can't give up," Sethan insisted, "they're out there, I know they are. They're alive sir...I know this for certain. I wouldn't be here if Zhi were killed. Not in the condition I am now, anyway." Though he was convinced the away team was alive, he was still very worried. "Are they certain that the shuttle ever left orbit? What if they found something interesting and something is preventing them from telling us? What if they made the shuttle leave but they never did?"

Sethan's mind was awhirr with the most wild of ideas. He was almost out of his wits with worry. "What am I going to have to tell our girls? They're too young to understand. What of Doctor D'BrooNi's daughter?"

"We've confirmed readings with three vessels that also left the station at the same time as them. Their sensors confirmed the away team was aboard the runabout when it went to warp," Zseeq reported. "I know we haven't been assigned to the Saratoga long, but I want to assure you about something you may not know about me: I don't give up easily. We'll find them, it's just going to take us some time."

Sethan nodded anxiously. "How can they just disappear," he asked, "what if we're ordered away? We can't leave them." To see a Vulcan this upset and anxious was quite a sight, and somewhat disconcerting to witness if one was used to dealing with 'normal' Vulcans.

"We can cross that Bridge when we come to it," Zseeq answered honestly, not really excited for the implications of what would happen if they did get such an order. While he'd served with Admiral Dazad and may be able to talk him into giving them more time, he also wasn't sure how much leeway Dazad would give them either. Starfleet was in strung out shape right now and the Saratoga was one of their only capital ships. Really, he was surprised that they'd been assigned to the Maelstrom at all.

"Just remember that, as I said earlier, I don't just give up."

"Neither will I," Sethan vowed, "we will find them. They are still alive, and as long as I can still sense my husband, there is hope." He smiled sadly. "I wouldn't be here, if he wasn't alive," he explained, "I would be very ill, if our bond was suddenly broken. Anyway, I should return home to our children, and be with them as much as I can. I'll entertain them in the CMOs office when needed, with the doctor's absence I can't afford to take time off."

Zseeq nodded, thinking that the diversion would do some good for Sethan. "If that's what you feel is best, please proceed, but also don't push yourself too far too fast, Sethan. We'll find them, it just might take some time."

"I do," Sethan insisted, "I'm a doctor, and sickbay is where I belong. I'll just keep the girls with me and have a nurse watch them when I'm needed." He felt the need to repeat that even though he didn't really know why. "I know you'll find them," he added, "and I understand it may take time. But I won't ever give up as long as I know he's still alive. And I'll know as soon as that changes." He gave a sad smile. "With your permission sir, I need to get back." His impatience at being dismissed was starting to show, but he wasn't going to just walk out no matter how much he wanted to.

Rather than drag things out, Zseeq nodded crisply, "Permission granted, Chief. I'll keep you noted on anything that we find. Dismissed."

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