Creature of the Night

Posted on Tue Oct 27th, 2026 @ 11:45am by Commander Alex Flynn & Captain Rovak & Commander Intharia T'Zor & Lieutenant Rune Thul & Lieutenant Lovan Dimitri & Master Chief Petty Officer Gaz

2,527 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Shifting Shapes [4-5]
Location: Hazmat Lab - Delta Dock - DS13
Timeline: MD28

Intharia T'Zor arrived at the hazmat lab within two minutes of being called. "What's happening?" She asked Ensign Meche, who had signalled her.

"We've been running through the auxiliary testing regime ma'am, and one of the totems has had a strange reaction." The young Trill said.

"Strange is our raison d'être, Ensign. I'll need a clearer definition." T'Zor asked.

"We're up to the more pataphysical testing. Culturally and religiously significant objects, exposure to the totems. Number four seems to have had an averse reaction to the religious icons we exposed it to."

"What sort of reaction?" T'Zor asked.

"Well, it moved. Out of the way. Like it was avoiding them."

"What do we know about number four?"

"There's a long-haired man on it. Almost looks like a Starfleet uniform he's wearing. But the signal inside is different to the others we've opened so far. Normally we get a general reading on the physical state, but with this one it's like there isn't one. Like he's insubstantial."

Intharia let out a sigh. "This is going to be interesting. Which is the last thing we want from these totems. Get the XO and Lieutenant Thul down here."

Alex was just wrapping a meeting with Ulloriaq about lab allocations when the message came through. Her heart sank a little when the word 'totem' was mentioned. These were always a coin flip.

A phaser on his hip, Thul and two other security officers, as one can never be too careful, entered the Hazmat Lab. Another totem was opening, thankfully nothing else was pressing Security at the moment. Thul had already arranged more Security to came later as he walked over to T'Zor. He waited for her orders.

T'Zor thanked Flynn and Thul for coming so promptly, and explained the situation. "I know our standing orders are to observe only, but this is particularly strange. It's like the totem is averse to religious iconography. And the contents, at least what our sensors can read about them, are unlike what we've seen elsewhere. I think we might need to open it."

"'Need to' is perhaps strong. But new life, new civilisations and all that. Let's see what the Captain has to say. Mr Thul, in the meanwhile, get a team down here." Flynn said.

"Aye," Rune replied as he turned to nod as his subordinate by the lab door who tapped their combadge to call for the rest of their team who should be on this deck. The second team is ordered to join them in at least 2 minutes, 1 minute if red alert is triggered.

"Flynn to Rovak. One of the totems is doing something funny. T'Zor thinks we should open it. I don't disagree. I'm looking at the scans here. It's like there's no body inside. Just... something else."

There was silence at the other end of the line. Rovak didn't respond immediately. "I leave this matter to your discretion, Commander. Keep me informed of anything important." The Captain said.

"Understood, sir. I'll keep you apprised. Flynn out." Alex tapped the badge on her chest, and refocused on the task with a deep breath.

Gaz had been in the area, and wandered in to see what all the hubub was about. Being Harbourmaster meant not many people knew what his job actually was, and fewer still thought to question him in any given circumstance.

< hr >

"I didn't notice that there's a picture on the front of the Totem," Rune's comment was genuine surprise. He thought back to each time and realised he had been watching from the other side.

"Yeah. He's pretty, whoever he is." Alex observed.

The totem sat in the centre of a confinement array, a large ring about three meters in diameter with everything they needed to analyze, secure, and affect the totem, and if need be, its inhabitant.

The lab's emitter array focused the energy they knew disassembled the totem devices, and as expected there was a bright flash as the totem tore itself apart, followed by a settling haze. The forcefields raised from ceiling to floor as the team responsible for releasing the inhabitant watched, waiting to see the long-haired man whose image was engraved on the outside.

For some moments nothing could be seen inside the forcefield save a cloud of grey mist that did not immediately dissipate as normal. Instead it seemed to pull inward into a column, that solidified into a man.

He appeared human, and was tall with long raven black hair tied into a tail down his back, held in place by an ornate silver clasp. He had handsome features, and his eyes were the color of storm clouds after the rains had passed. He wore a Starfleet gold uniform, with two pips at his collar. From head to toe his appearance was immaculate, not a hair our of place, not a wrinkle in his uniform, and his boots shined as if they'd just been polished. The ring finger of his left hand was encircled by a band of some black and red material that was not metallic but appeared woven.

His gaze swept across the room and the people assembled there, and those who met it could feel a slight pull in that gaze, as if they looked upon something fascinating that held their attention. He seemed calm, unconcerned, even as he saw no familiar faces and recognized the forcefield containment around him. He turned his gaze at last to the highest ranking officer present and spoke.

His voice was even, calm, and in some way soothing to those who heard it as he simply asked, "Where am I?"

"You're in a hazardous materials laboratory on the starbase Deep Space 13. In the Dreizhen System, Beta Quadrant, Galactic Sector JM-455, Milky Way Galaxy. Any of that make sense to you?" Alex asked the rather striking man. She hoped Thari was taking notes. Was that uniform he had on his, or was he somehow copying them?

The man mulled over her answer for a moment, his gaze sweeping the assembled faces once more. Nothing indicated he was anywhere he was familiar with, even though the place names he recognized.

"Indeed," he said. "I am familiar with that location, although I haven't been there in some time...." He focused his gaze once more on the Commander. "I am Lt. Lovan Dimitri, assistant Ops Chief, USS Nova. And I am admittedly a bit confused as to how I got here." He folded his hands behind his back and took an at ease stance as he took stock of these people with more than just his eyes.

"You're Starfleet." Alex said more as a confirmation to herself than a question. "You've emerged from what we call a totem, it's a small storage device that's able to contain the essence of a being despite being not much bigger than your hand. You're the fourth individual we've recovered from them in the last few months." Alex explained.

"Oh, and I'm Commander Alex Flynn, First Officer of this station. Tell me, your Starfleet, and the government it serves, how would you describe their general ethos?" She asked, knowing full well from reports of other universes found beyond their anomaly that not every Starfleet was good people.

He smiled then, a disarmingly charming smile. "Well met, Commander. I am not from the Mirror Universe, if that's your concern," he said. "And I can tell that neither are you." His smile faded then as the rest of what she'd said sunk in. "Another universe... not again..." he murmured in dismay. "The last thing I remember was we had encountered some sort of spacial anomaly and were drawn in... then I was here."

Alex wanted to let the unanswered question go, to wave him through, to not even bother with the standard quarantine. But then she caught herself. There was something magnetic about him. She tried to look between his eyes rather than into them. "This station is in orbit of a planet situated near a spacial anomaly that links universes together, jumping between them on a regular schedule. From it we've learned that there's more possibilities than the reality of the Terran Empire. One man's mirror is another man's... other side.. of the mirror. So, please, where you come from, what do they believe?"

"Yes, I'm familiar with the anomaly you describe, there is one where I came from as well," he said. If he noticed her avoiding his direct gaze he gave no indication of it. "The primary goal of Starfleet is the peaceful coexistence of all sentient life, and the exploration of the galaxy with the goal of seeking out such life. That developing civilizations be left to develop in their own way without interference. That conflicts are better resolved through diplomacy rather than force whenever possible. And that all sentients are equal, and their individual rights and freedoms be respected." He observed her as he said all this, weighing her reaction to his words as much as she weighed his.

"Okay. That's a plus. We're sympatico there. And from what all our other guests have told us, they don't remember how they ended up in the totems either." Alex relaxed slightly, feeling the tension evaporate. But still, she had to force herself not to look into his eyes. "We're doing all we can to try and get our multiversal guests home, but unfortunately we're currently at the mercy of the anomaly when it comes to extrauniversal travel destinations. So unless you have any knowledge about it you can share, you might need to bear with us."

Alex was about to order them to lower the forcefield and release him immediately, but caught herself. "We're going to need to put you into quarantine quarters for 48 hours, just to make sure there's nothing our sensors missed we have that's a threat to you, or vice versa. Actually, on that subject, your scans don't read like those of a typical humanoid. How would you classify yourself, in terms of species?"

He nodded. "That's to be expected, of course." He paused, considering his answer. "My physiology is... complicated. I would like to meet with your Chief Medical Officer to detail them to him or her as soon as possible. If it can be arranged I meet with them while in quarantine, that would be ideal."

He paused once more, realizing he hadn't really answered her question and from what he'd gleaned of her so far she would not doubt ask for more details. "My species has no name. The best description of us is a... non-corporeal entity. That's why your tricorders and sensors give you no readings. The Starfleet I just came from had all this in their databases, but I suppose there's none of my kind here other than myself yet..."

"Hello, I'm Lieutenant Rune Thul, Chief Security Officer. Are you like the Medusans who use encounter vessels?" Rune asked, he was curious and a non-corporeal were difficult to isolate and confine at the best of times. That said, this new being is Starfleet, that had to count for something. Right?

The magnetic gaze turned to focus on the new speaker. The black eyes gave him away as probably Betazoid. "No," he said calmly with a small smile. "I wear this form, which is my own."

Rune replied, "could you tell us about your career? Could you tell us where and when your Federation made contact with your people?"

"They didn't, really. They contacted me, in a way similar to the way you did. When I came through their gate I underwent a similar procedure of quarantine and once processed I was sent to Earth for further processing. I wished to join Starfleet, and so I had to become a Federation citizen and be educated on how things worked in their universe, which as far as I can tell is very much like this one."

He paused a moment as he thought back to that time. "Once I had gone through all the mandatory prerequisites I was allowed to attend the Academy, and since graduation I've served on two ships."

"Oh." Alex said with surprise. "So you're not a native of the universe you joined Starfleet in?" She clarified.

"No," he said. "I have actually traveled to quite a few different worlds and universes in my time. But these last two were the most technologically advanced. I rather like them." he smiled at Flynn once more.

"Okay. Wow. Let's put a pin in that for now. I think unless there's anything urgent, we should probably let you settle in. Anyone?" Alex asked the room.

"Are any of us familiar to you? Anyone you've run into before?" Gaz asked, speaking up for the first time. Not that there were a lot of them there, but they formed a fairly broad cross-section of Starfleet who would all likely be elsewhere by now if not for this very out of the way and unexpected assignment.

Lovan turned his gaze to Gaz as he spoke. He recognized the speaker as a Tellarite, although to his mind he appeared closer to an Orc, minus the tusks. "No, unfortunately," he said. "Not that it would matter, I imagine."

"As the Vulcans would say, fascinating," Rune said, "I'll be happy to show him to the Infirmary, Commander?"

"I think under the circumstances it might be best if we beam the Lieutenant from place to place for now. No offence Mr Dimitri, but the non-corporeal is a lot harder to keep track of than the corporeal. This way we're as sure that we can be that everyone is safe from anything any of us might be carrying without knowing it." Alex explained in a slightly apologetic tone to the middle of his nose, still avoiding the eyes.

"Very well, although I assure you pathogens and the like cannot pass between myself and others," he said, smiling slightly at her gaze avoidance.

"Alright. Do you have any special requirements for your quarters, Lieutenant?" Alex asked.

"No, standard quarters should be just fine," he said. "Although I do prefer it if I don't have any roommates if possible."

"Don't worry, quarantine is much more effective as a solo experience. Dr Iyel will meet you there. Did you have any questions before you go?" Alex asked.

He shook his head. "No, I've more or less been through this before. But thank you. I look forward to getting to know everyone here better in time."

"Welcome aboard Lieutenant," Rune smiled at the newcomers, "I will be visiting you while you are in quarantine to chat."

Lovan inclined his head in acknowledgment. "I look forward to it."

Gaz moved over to the large emitter-ring that surrounded Lovan. There was something he didn't trust about this guy. He was too... symmetrical. Like something out of a holonovel. He entered a few commands. "Transporter ready, Commander." He told Flynn.

"Alright Mr Gaz, one to beam into quarantine quarters." Alex told Master Chief. She felt a pang of guilt as he was beamed away. She shouldn't be looking at anyone like that these days. Time to brief Rovak and Iyel on the fun that awaited them.

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