The Apollo is dispatched to the location of the probe that was sent out – Sector Z-6 – by the Romulan neutral zone. Sensors there have picked up something that should not be there: a globe of phased tachyonic interference surrounding the whole planetoid. The probe’s sensors could not penetrate it at all, though the trail left by the trace deuterium stream from one of the freighters showed that it ended at the globe. While this may have warranted a more experienced vessel, the Apollo had the groundwork and exposure to what was happening to be the best suited. Starfleet was sending along another vessel: the Thames, to rendezvous at the Outpost. By expectation the Apollo will arrive first.

Upon arrival they met another ship, the Thames, there to support the Apollo in this mission. Initial sensor reports from the probe as they traveled there recorded an Orion Marauder ship approach and enter the distortion field. Otherwise the field has a way of refracting and breaking up the sensor beams yielding extremely broken and irregular results that were utterly unreliable. After a consultation with some of the command crew on the Thames, Captain Golding left her CSO, Lt Cmdr Ronald Dennison, on board to assist Science in this endeavor. Her part was to move to a picketing distance and monitor the system for any incoming vessels. The Apollo, meanwhile had scanned the definitions of the ship that had entered the sphere – a variety of shield harmonics and multi-phasic frequencies, to try to find a better way to scan through it. In the process of this the sphere ‘opened’ up by a particle beam within that dissolved a portion of it. Two ships, both Orion – a freighter and light destroyer – exited the sphere and set out on a course out of system. Upon exiting the destroyer’s shields clipped the edge of the opened circle causing a ‘break’ in the crystalline structure. Shards emitted from it in all directions. Moments later two from the Bridge disappeared after a virtual elongation in space. One of the ones who had disappeared was the Captain. In response to this the Thames sent over her XO to cover as picket duty was less critical than what the Apollo was likely to experience. For moments later they set out in a pursuit course after the two Orion ships. In a not so subtle pursuit of the two Orion ships the Apollo pursued them to a system surrounded by Federation space but was not part of the Federation: the planet Mudd. The Orion destroyer took up a position just outside Federation space while the Apollo did the same only within Federation space. The Freighter moved on toward the planet Mudd , a K class world with no life signs. As a precaution the Thames was called away to join them in a support role, though this was hours away. At one point in the standoff, the Orion destroyer fired upon the Apollo and moved away. The Apollo pursued, firing, noting the Orions to have a different variant of shield that focused energies to the strike point and reflected the beam away. In the midst of the battle the Orion freighter broke orbit and was departing the system.

Meanwhile, science has been trying to figure out how to put a translator on a Horta. This progressed well, taking in its oral and psychic meter readings. After a Vulcan mind meld with the Horta it was better able to communicate and the group working on him considered that the sense of smell may be part and parcel of its means of communicating. They have rendered the holodeck as an ad hoc home for the Horta and made it look much like its home. The Horta has also been coined the name ‘Amicus’. As it has been discovered through this and another mind meld with the Vulcan security cadet Naveen Narvak, the scent portion of the Horta communications is much like that of adding the adjective and emotion to a conversation and filling in much detail of the way they communicate. Within the lab they are attempting to devise a communication medium with which to emulate this scent to complete their translator device.

Security has been shadowing Treena, the resident Orion slave girl, and investigating an incident in a crewman's quarters. Medical and Counseling had been working to figure out the mystery of the Vulcan 'Agent' Serel who had been the self-confessed saboteur on board the Alexandra. Engineering has been conducting routine repairs and investigating a device found at the location of the explosion at a Jeffries junction not long after the ship launched. This was traced to be a standard diagnostic device. Additionally, the incident in the crewman’s quarters, one Crewman Chulner, who had just swapped with Crewman Tristan Fields, was found critically injured by a sabotaged sonic shower. A similar, albeit, military grade device was found in the shower though its self destruction hindered further attempts at studying it. A somewhat singed rabbits foot was found on the scene, similar to one found in the replicator and scene of the original explosion. After a sensor search for similar ‘devices’ one was found connected to a secondary data conduit leading to the computer core. This was dismantled, but not after finding out that it had been transmitting data at regular intervals. From a further search with the computer two ‘groupings’ of rabbits feet were located – one in the photon torpedo magazine and the other in a crewman’s quarters. Engineering and security are searching through the quarters for the rabbits’ feet while similar groups are in the magazine. Investigation is in place around one James Atkins, a engineer who had worked on the Apollo’s construction and who had been reported by Fields who also was there at the time. Atkin’s mother, an inspector there had tried to cover for her son and had been reprimanded and released under psychiatric care until her accidental death. James had been released from Starfleet after experiencing some psychological issues around these events.

Within the magazine a rabbits foot was found within a torpedo. Upon opening the casing a cadet was exposed to a gas that affected his breathing and sight. He was transported to sickbay. Scans showed the torpedo to be ‘activated’. Meanwhile, as the battle goes on with the bridge other problems arise. The shaking of the ship through the battle had nearly set off the molecular level in the activated torpedoes, requiring caution on the part of the Bridge in its battle to not inadvertently set off the booby trapped torpedoes. The CE and others are trying a bold and risky plan to beam the torpedoes away knowing that the dematerialization may upset the sensors in the torpedo trap and set them off and take the ship with it. Meanwhile in the corridors, Cadet Voort and others had come across a distraught crewman in the corridor bearing a phaser and who was ranting that ‘She was going to hurt them all and that it was his fault for trying to stop it’. Before he could explain further two force fields appeared and slowly, dungeon style, they began to move inward to ‘crush’ those inside. Despite the attempt at commanding it to deactivate it continued on. In a panic the crewman grappled with the security crewman there.

So the pieces are in place for a soon to be conclusion to this chapter in the tale – hopefully with the events happening at the same time. Science is working on the mystery of the sphere and potentially how to get inside by duplicating the graviton wave that had opened the hole from within. Scans from the probe are revealing a little more of what is inside the sphere surrounding Outpost IV. Medical is looking to help Inspector Chen with a kind of Andorian variant of osteoarthritis, and Treena is seeking the Counselor’s help regarding her place on the ship. . In sickbay on a slightly different timeline,Terrik strives to repair the serious injuries of Crewman Chulner from the sonic shower accident.

.. and as I saw i am still missing the ferret :p