(Author's Note - WINNER! of the October Challenge - Space Adventure. )

"Captain's voice log, 2354, mission day 75.

We finally pushed into the zone where the Astragalus recorded the anomaly. So far, we only found empty space. I was always sceptical about the Astralagus' reports and everything seems to support the theory this was all a big hoax and our mission a wild goose chase..."

"Cap? Need you on the bridge now. Eve registers an extensive asteroid field. And... oh my god!"

Captain Avery left her quarters at a run. What the hell had happened? Lieutenant Ohu was her oldest crew member at forty, normally the most stoic of officers. When was the last time she had heard her voice raised?

Avery burst on to the bridge to be met with a flurry of excited chatter.

"Captain! It's a ship! See? There... amongst those large asteroids."

Avery strode across to plant her feet in front of the large screen which wrapped around the bridge, giving the impression that they were all gazing out a large window. Asteroids of all shapes and sizes hung motionless in the black of space, but she instantly saw what her crew was talking about.

"Is it one of ours, Cap? I thought Starfinder was supposed to be the only human ship out here," queried Navigator Drey, then added doubtfully, "But it doesn't look like a Tentaklite vessel."

"No, I'm pretty sure it's a human ship, it looks too much like Starfinder to be anything else."

"It looks old... see how the metal has corroded? Takes years for that to happen," said Ohu, more soberly.

"Is Eve picking up any life-signs?" asked Avery. Eve was the crew's nickname for their ship's computer, and Avery had soon picked up the habit.

Drey checked her console board. "Negative, Captain."

"Still, I think we need to have a closer look. Lindstrom, could you check records for any ships missing in this area?"

"Checking now, Captain."

"And Ngaio, prepare the shuttle for launch. We need to investigate this in person."

As her crew scurried to obey, Avery stared at the screen and frowned. Surely that was one of the latest models? To the best of her knowledge, only five such ships had been completed and inaugurated into active service. How could one possibly be out here, caught in an asteroid belt at the edge of the galaxy, in what was to all intents and purposes, unchartered space? And looking as if it had been here for years.

"Shuttle is ready for launch, Captain." Second Pilot Ngaio's voice came over the communit at the same moment that Lindstrom turned in her chair to report that there were no ships declared missing in this quadrant. At least, not for the last fifty years.

"Is it real, Captain?" asked Khan, her Chief Pilot, suddenly. "Or an illusion? After all," she explained quickly as everyone turned to stare at her, "we are out here to investigate an anomaly. Isn't this the area where the Astragalus reported their instruments went haywire?"

"Well, whatever it is, Eve is registering its presence, too," said Drey, looking down at her console board. "The chemical breakdown matches exactly what you'd find in one of our space ships. Except—there's no sign of life."

"Captain?" Ngaio's voice came over the communit again. "Who do you want me to take in the boarding party?"

Avery felt a tingle cross the back of her neck. She wasn't entirely sure whether it was caused by excitement or possibly foreboding, but there was no way she was going to hand this opportunity over to someone else.

"Ohu? You're in charge. Lindstrom, Drey and... Ramirez, you're with me. We're going across to see for ourselves." She spoke into the communit. "Ngaio? We're on our way. Ready for departure in ten."

~~~

Suited up, the four passengers strapped themselves into their seats on the shuttle as Ngaio went through the launch procedures. There was a brief wait as the air was eliminated from the docking chamber, then the external door in the side of Starfinder irised open.

"Shuttle ready for departure, Starfinder," Ngaio announced over the communit.

"Affirmative, Pilot," Ohu's calm tones responded. Sitting in the bridge, in the Captain's chair, Ohu felt a shiver of unease. Something wasn't right. Impatiently, she rolled her shoulders. She was too experienced to start getting superstitious now, but...

"Take care, won't you?" she added unexpectedly.

"Message received, Starfinder, and thank you."

Ngaio smiled to herself as she engaged the ion thrusters. That was sweet, normally imperturbable, her lover rarely let her softer side show in public. The shuttle slipped out of the mothership into space and the door in the hull closed behind them.

With five women packed inside, the shuttle felt suddenly crowded. Avery fixed her eyes on the viewer. The shuttle had no real windows, of course, but the illusion was comforting. People wanted to see where they were going. Asteroids always looked bigger from the shuttle, thought Avery, watching as they passed a particularly large one.

The derelict came into sight on the viewer, surrounded by a cluster of asteroids. Just as Avery was wondering how Ngaio was going to steer the shuttle through to the docking port, the shuttle gave an almighty shudder. The next second they were spinning out of control as Ngaio wrestled with the console unit.

"Fuck!" said Ngaio, "That one took out the thrusters!"

Her hands gripping the armrests, Avery swallowed back nausea as the craft tumbled through space. The last thing she wanted to do was throw up inside her suit. Instead, she focussed on the back of Ngaio's head, bent down over the console unit.

The controls were unresponsive. Ngaio fought down panic. The blow from the asteroid had sent them spinning away from the derelict, away from Starfinder. She engaged the emergency boosters but they provided only a small amount of power, not enough. She had to get them back on course. Somehow. An asteroid loomed up on her portside and she had an idea.

"Hold tight everyone!"

Ngaio steered the shuttle ever so gently toward the asteroid, calculating the angle. They clipped the side. The shuttle shook with impact and... changed course. Toward the derelict.

"That's what I call improvising!" said Avery in a shaky voice.

"Don't get too excited, Captain," warned Ngaio, "we're not there yet. And I think the first blow knocked out our external communication unit. I can't reach Starfinder."

"I should be able to restore the link once we reach the derelict," offered Communications Officer Lindstrom.

Nursing the shuttle, using as little power as she could to keep them on the right trajectory, Ngaio brought them to the docking port. She wondered if the others knew exactly how much danger they'd been in. Lucky the derelict was here to aim for.

"It's definitely one of ours, Captain," commented Ngaio. "Dock's just like the one on Starfinder. We shouldn't have any trouble connecting."

There was a gentle bump as the ships connected, then suddenly they were still.

"Good work, Ngaio!" praised Avery. "That was too close for comfort! We don't know the status of life-support on board, so keep your suits on," she added as they waited for the airlock to engage.

Avery was first out. She waited as her crew disembarked, staring around the bay with interest, but there was nothing in particular to distinguish it from any other docking bay.

As soon as Ngaio closed and secured the shuttle hatch, Avery opened the connecting door into the ship proper.

Walking down the empty passage, Avery was surprised to find how normal everything looked. There was no obvious damage, no debris—no bodies. It was just as if the crew had stepped out for a moment.

"Captain?" Engineer Ramirez was studying her scanner as she walked. "As far as I can tell, the ship is still operational, but it's in sleep mode." There was a note of wonder in her voice.

"And what does that mean, exactly?" queried Avery.

"All the maintenance functions, those that keep the ship and the engines viable, are still working. Just... those processes relating to life support have been turned off. The air and temperature standards are being maintained at the minimum level for an unoccupied vessel. The ship's computer would have instigated those procedures as soon as the crew... left."

"Can we tell when that was?" asked Avery as she halted outside the bridge.

"If the computer is still functioning properly, I should be able to give you that information shortly, Captain," answered Lindstrom.

"Let's see what the bridge can tell us," said Avery walking through. She froze in the entrance. A starfleet uniform lay flat on the floor, as if it had been dropped there.

"What the—?"

Drey walked quickly past her, checking the rest of the room. "There's another one here, in the Captain's chair," her voice sounded scratchy. "And the Pilot's... I count six."

Avery felt sick. It was only too evident the crew had not escaped from whatever disaster had befallen this ship. "Lindstrom, are you having any luck getting through to Starfinder?"

Lindstrom tapped her communit and frowned. "Not so far, Captain. Lieutenant Ohu, can you read me? Starfinder, respond please."

"Captain? You need to see this." Ramirez' voice was high-pitched, totally unlike her usual warm tones. Avery crossed to where she stood, frozen to the spot, pointing at what would have been the Captain's console. One word was engraved there.

"Starfinder."