@captainnextweek liked for a starter
It was supposed to be a routine mission — but when was anything ever routine in the Delta Quadrant? What had started as a simple trip in a shuttle to collect samples from a Class 17 nebula certainly hadn’t ended on such a light note, Kathryn Janeway thought to herself as thick white smoke billowed through the cabin of the small craft. Her head THROBBED as the woman sat, coughing hoarsely from smoke inhalation. Something had gone wrong, but she couldn’t remember any strange readings on sensors. No gravitation eddies, no incoming ion storms, and no hostile ships. So why was the shuttle in such bad shape —– and where was Lieutenant Paris? There was no sign of him on the shuttle, the seat beside her abandoned.
There were lights flashing all over the console. The impulse engines were down, as were shields, but other main systems such as navigation and communications seemed to be intact. Environmental controls indicated some damage, the extent of which she wouldn’t know without running further diagnostics. Leaning forward with a groan, the ache at her temples intensifying with the movement, she scoured the console for sensor readings, trying to establish just what had caused the damage —-
—- only to find that the navigational sensors marked her present location another 50,000 light years closer to Earth. Strange. Some sort of sensor malfunction, most likely. At least the communications system was still functioning.
❝ Janeway to Voyager. ❞ No response. Her head was spinning, and she noticed a sharp pain in her chest —- probably a broken rib or two, an injury with which she was unfortunately familiar. She widened the frequency of the transmission to broadcast on all the standard Starfleet channels.
❝ — This is Captain Janeway of the Federation Starship Voyager. My shuttle’s been damaged. If anyone can hear this, please respond. ❞
