The Case of the Locked Doors, or Two of Our Commanders are Missing - Part III
Posted on Wed Aug 26, 2026 @ 11:05pm by Civilian Millie Draven & Lieutenant Commander Curtis Thibideaux & Lieutenant T'Lul & Master Chief Petty Officer Marion Sunday
1,595 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission: Jubilee
[PREVIOUSLY]
T'Lul noted that this was highly unusual. There was a chain of command. Yet, the top two were missing. Would Curtis also be missing? Slightly more rushed than the communications to the others, T'Lul called out, =^= Commander Thibideaux, this is Lieutenant T'Lul, are you there? =^=
[CONTINUED]
He was on his way to T'mpest’s office and was shifting through conflicting reports. Curtis could feel a sinking in his stomach and the security updates he was getting wasn't making him feel any better. Activating his comm, he said, "Mostly," he said. "What can I do for you Lieutenant?"
Mostly? T'Lul considered. She then considered it further, I think he thinks that he is being humorous. Best to ignore the comment for now. =^= I recently tried to contact the Commodore and then Commander Letsul. The computer indicates that they are not on the station. I see no logs that indicate that they have left. Therefore, I am... =^= the Vulcan searched for a word before settling on, =^= perplexed. =^=
Stepping from the lift, Curtis walked toward T’mpest’s office and paused, looking things over. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary and there were no alerts to indicate something was wrong. He activated his comm again and said, "T'lul. You and me both. Anything in either the Commodore or Commander's recent psychological evals that would indicate either or both might just flake out?"
T'Lul considered that. While she considered Letsul to be slightly off centered, a control freak, and potentially a person in need of a good deal of counseling, she could not in good conscious say that she would 'flake out,' as the Commander suggested. She did seem to have a predilection to be a busy body and work too much, so this would be out of the ordinary. =^=Nothing in their psychological profiles would indicate a predilection for 'flaking out,' as you call it. The contrary would be more in line with their ordinary behaviors. =^=
She waited for Curtis' response to determine her next actions.
"So," Curtis said as he worked through a mental checklist. "Being out of communication and not being locatable is more than just someone taking a day off without telling people. Something happened." That checked off the last of his boxes and he said, "Lieutenant, review their most recent medical scans and psychological workups. Compare their latest transporter patterns, though I'm thinking this must be something other than that. I want to cover all bases." Without really thinking about it, he said, "Make sense?"
"It is logical," T'Lul answered, which might be the highest compliment that a Vulcan could give a non-Vulcan. "I will review them; however, I do not think there will be anything anomalous in them," she replied with near certainty that only Vulcans could make sound definitive.
Millie arrived at the command center to find it in chaos. Something was clearly amiss and her first thought was something else had happened on the station. But when she tapped on the commodore's door, with no response, she began to worry. Putting her palm on the access pad, she slipped into T'mpest's office. It was empty. "Sammi? Where is the commodore?" she asked the plus pig sitting on the desk.
The pig looked up and cocked a head to one side. "Commodore Michaels is not on the station."
"Where is she?" As far as Millie knew, she had several appointments that morning. If there'd been a change, surely she would have received a message.
"Unknown."
"What do you mean, unknown? Where was she last?"
"In her quarters."
"And where did she go?"
"Nowhere."
"Then why isn't she here?"
"Unknown."
Millie sighed. "Sammi, find the commodore. Check with Geral Lasuma and Alanna Wells. Those are the two people most likely to know where she is."
"Geral Lasuma was in the commodore's quarters when she disappeared. She did not take a shuttle to the planet."
"Okay. Check all logs and see if you can learn anything. Let me know what you find. I'll...go talk to whomever is in charge." Millie needed something to do, and this was a start.
She closed the door and walked back into the command center and looked for the person currently in charge.
Sunday stood at the center of Ops with his hands behind his back. Reports streamed in as the search continued. Commander Thibideaux took responsibility of the search personally which left Billy in charge at Ops. He noticed Millie before she could speak. This was the one thing he did not want to happen. The less people that knew about the disappearances the better it was for everyone. "Ms Draven. Welcome to the CIC. I am sure you know by now that this is not the time nor the place for polite conversation."
"I am not here for polite conversation, master chief. I'm the commodore's personal assistant and she is not here. Nor is she in her quarters or with Mr. Geral. She has several appointments this morning and I cannot find her." She raised an eyebrow and waited for Billy to give her some concrete information.
"Well that makes two of us. So, unless you would like to join the search you are going to have to tell those people who she has appointments with that she will not be making it. Beyond that you can leave the CIC we have work to do." Sunday was never polite, although he tried often. When she said that she was not here for polite conversation in a way that gave him permission to be himself.
Millie stood straighter, her expression still professional, but the glint in her eyes grew stronger. "I will not be leaving the CinC. I work here. More specifically, I am a civilian who works directly for the commodore. Therefore, I do not answer to you. I will be in the commodore's office, doing my job. I hope you will do yours."
She didn't wait for his reply. She knew she wouldn't like it. Besides, she did have appointments to reschedule and Sammi to consult. The plush pig would likely find more information than the master chief anyway.
Millie glanced around the command center, then went back into T'mpest's ready room to see what she could learn.
"Millie," the pig plushie turned to look at her as she walked in. "I have found nothing to indicate where the commodore went. According to her schedule, she has an appointment in twenty minutes."
Millie sat down in T'mpest's chair. "Check the security records for today. The commodore cannot simply disappear."
"I will check again." The pig turned to the computer monitor. A moment later, data began to scroll across the screen faster than Millie could read. "She was sleeping in her bed, did not leave her quarters, and is not on the station. Commander Letsul is also missing. With no record of transporter activity or shuttles with their signatures, this is a puzzlement."
The pig turned to Millie. "From what I've accessed from the main computer, there is only one possibility that would satisfy the parameters of this puzzle. The planet was previously inhabited by a race known as the Fae. While I can find no logical reason for it, it is likely that both Commodore Michaels and Commander Letsul are now on Pangaea. Has anyone checked the planet?"
Millie looked at Sammi for a full minute before responding. "Are they the ones that built the portals?" When Sammi nodded, she continued. "Who could we contact on the planet?"
"Lieutenant Commander Alanna Wells. Or Lieutenant Commander Jason Haines. Both are familiar with the fae." Sammi paused. "However, Commander Haines is currently in sickbay. I suggest, therefore, that you contact Commander Wells on Pangaea. She is in a science station called Bag End."
"Yes. I heard of it. Call her now. Let's see if she knows anything." Millie pulled up the day's appointments and began to cancel them, stating that the commodore was called away on important business. It would keep people from wondering until word spread. She hoped that wouldn't be too soon.
"I cannot reach Commander Wells," Sammi stated calmly. "The comet is causing too much interference."
"Of course it is." Millie sighed. "Try Colonel Means at Camp Puller." It was a large base and should have access.
But that, too, failed to go through due to solar disturbance. "Keep trying. If you get through, ask if the commodore was seen on the planet today."
Once she'd cancelled appointments for the next two days, Millie contacted Lasuma's, hoping to find Mr. Geral in his office. He was unavailable.
She again turned to the plush pig. "Sammi, is Geral Lasuma on the station?"
"Negative."
"Did he leave at the same time the commodore disappeared?"
"Negative. He left on his yacht after she was reported missing."
"Can you contact the yacht?" So far, her luck was zero, but it was worth a try.
"Negative."
Millie sighed. She hoped he'd gone looking for T'mpest, and if so, that he'd have more luck than anyone on the station had so far.
"Try to contact both Commander Wells and Mr. Geral. Let me know when you succeed. I'll be..." she looked around. "Here doing something." Right now, all she could do was keep busy. And hope.
A post by
Lieutenant T'Lul
Chief Counselor
Deep Space 5
Lieutenant Commander Curtis Thibideaux
Head of Strategic Operations
Deep Space 5
Millie Draven
Secretary/Assistant
Deep Space 5
Sammi
T'mpest's Plush Pig AI
Master Chief Petty Officer Marion Sunday
Chief of the Station
Deep Space 5
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