[Begin Act 1] Fleet Captain Addison MacKenzie - Where the Dark Things Are

[Addison MacKenzie]

//
Captain's Log, Stardate 240301.01

After enjoying a period of robust shore leave on Ferenginar, Starfleet recalled us to Deep Space 33 so that the Artemis could receive much-needed upgrades to its offensive and defensive weapons systems. While under the supervision of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers and staff at DS 33, the senior staff and I, along with a skeleton crew, were tasked with transporting the USS Karnack, an old, barely functional Saber-class starship, to a specialized shipyard on the edge of the Borderlands where it was to be decommissioned.

What began as a routine escort has become a matter of survival.

While en route, cascading navigational failures pushed us into the Callis system, a region long-marked as restricted by Starfleet. The cause for the restriction quickly became obvious... The system is dominated by a planetary anomaly: a dense ring of hyper-ionic plasma storms encircling a lone world, designated the Charybdis Maelstrom. The storms generate constant electromagnetic saturation, punctuated by violent spikes capable of overwhelming warp, shields, and internal power distribution, even on a serviceable ship.. Communications ceased almost immediately. Starfleet is unreachable.

A direct plasma surge overloaded the EPS grid and crippled the ship. With systems failing sequentially and no ability to clear the storm, we were forced to take shelter inside the planet's unusually strong multi-layered magnetosphere. Starfleet records warned against entry. They were correct.

We initiated a controlled atmospheric glide. Structural failure followed within minutes.

Evacuation protocols were initiated under partial power. Escape pods launched blind, without telemetry or guidance. At least three pods survived entry, though landing zones are scattered across vast distances. With the electromagnetic interference saturating the surface, no standard Starfleet equipment is operational. Tricorders, weapons, medical technology, communicators, and other powered tools are all disabled. Any survivors must rely solely on what they carried physically and their own ingenuity. There will likely be no easy rescues, no quick fixes, and no way to signal for help.

Initial sensor scans before the total systems loss detected numerous hostile lifeforms on the surface. Fast. Coordinated. Aggressive. The planet appeared barren from orbit. That assessment was fatally incomplete.

Our objectives are no longer exploratory. They are simple and unforgiving: survive, learn, adapt, and reconnect. Reuniting the crew, assuming they survived, will likely take days, if not weeks. When Starfleet realizes we are overdue, they will search for us... Rescue may still be possible, but only if we survive long enough for them to find us.

One thing is certain: this world does not want us here. Whatever hunts in the dark is patient, relentless, and numerous. Victory is not achievable. Endurance is.

End log.

\\

---

Fleet Captain Addison MacKenzie, M.D., Ph.D., FASFS
Commanding Officer
USS Artemis-A

Executive Council Member

V239601AM0