*** *** *** *** *** *** Captain Amanda Greene tried to keep her expression relaxed, but the skin around her eyes and nose tensed into a wince. It was a habit she had to fight every time her ship came out of the Slipstream, never completely knowing what the black void of slipspace would suddenly morph into. Even after all these years it was still a nervous tick. From the pedestal beside her, Melissa, the ship's AI, peered curiously at her. "If you are worried about the brightness of the local star, I can have the viewport polarized." Greene smiled. "Yes, please," she breathed, masking her true discomfort. [i]Apocolypso[/i] was under three minutes out to the system where the slipspace anomaly had been reported. The ship was already running dark and silent, and the crew was in place, ready for action. Melissa was poised, seated cross-legged on her pedestal, and her gaze swept casually across the bridge. To Greene, she was an interesting AI. Melissa was the most advanced AI she had ever encountered, yet she still returned to child-like poses and mannerisms. [i]Perhaps it's something she'll grow out of,[/i] Greene pondered. Either way, she was efficient, fast, and helpful. In the past, she had dealt with AIs that had no initiative, only responsive programming. This next generation of UNSC AIs appeared to be very promising to Greene. "Fifteen seconds," the navigation officer called out. Amanda straightened in her chair and braced herself. "Three, two, one . . . ." Stars, both distant and near, blossomed into existence, with one brightly shining locally off to port. Three gas giants were within range of visual scanners and Melissa quickly brought up initial data in rectangular brackets based upon the previous ship that had discovered the slipspace anomaly. Density, range, mass and chemical makeup all filled the tiny windows that Melissa provided. A trio of moons that orbited the farthest gas giant held little data to reveal, and the reports began to come in. "Comparison data shows the same planet configuration," one officer said. "Slipspace exit was clean. We are holding steady," added another. Melissa stood slowly. "Captain, I'm not detecting any transmissions across any spectrums. Solar radiation [i]is[/i] partially clouding our sensors. To get an accurate reading of the rest of the system we'll need to begin a partial reconnaissance orbit. At the most sensible speed, it will take approximately 53 hours." She turned and faced Greene. "Shall I begin?" Frowning, Greene looked out the viewport. "Melissa, calculate the location of the slipspace anomaly according to the current orientation of this system. I want to know exactly where it happened and where that location is now. If it was close to a moon or planet, there might be a possibility of finding some aftermath, whether that is debris or radiation spikes." "Yes, ma'am." Greene looked over her shoulder and found Ensign Rolf Sorenson seated at her console towards the rear of the bridge. Her bright blue eyes blinked back tiredness. Being a "Second Officer in training", Rolf was eager to fulfill her duties and that of the absent Lieutenant Nicholas Hyde, and her presence on the bridge spoke of her commitment. "Melissa," she prompted, turning back around. "Go ahead and commence with the recon orbit." Greene activated her comm unit. "All hands, we'll remain at Alert Alpha until we know fully what's going on in this system. Secure decks 1 and 7." After a few moments, Melissa came back with the Greene's first request. "Captain, after calculating the planetary bodies' most likely orbits of several weeks prior, the anomaly would have happened closest to F342w's third moon, F342w 3L." On the main viewport, Melissa added additional data and a single green point illuminated the empty space just outside of F342w 3L's lunar orbit. It expanded into a green sphere that encased the nearby moon. Captain Greene squinted her eyes intently, hoping what she was about to order wouldn't lead them to their doom. "Make a direct course for that moon, full Stealth." The AI nodded and set the ship on its new course. "Captain?" Greene spun around in her command chair to see Rolf looking worried. She walked over to the ensign's station and stood beside her. "What is it?" she asked, her eyes tracing over the navigation data on Rolf's screen. "Captain," she began, her voice barely audible over the normal din of the bridge. "No disrespect, but are not our orders limited to 'holding station?'" Green leaned in closer. "We won't be detected, Sorenson. If it's the Covenant they won't be able to find us, and any Insurrectionist vessels are just as blind." Rolf swallowed, perhaps wondering how far she should press the issue. "And what if the anomaly was cause by something else entirely? An interstellar event or a new species we haven't encountered yet?" "For now, we're just going to recon the target area, nothing more until [i]Nagamo[/i] arrives." As she offered a brave smile and stood, she could sense a tingling in the back of her mind. The concept of the anomaly being caused by something completely unknown hadn't crossed her thoughts in a realistic sense, but it was a possibility. "I want a full sensors makeup on the entire system as we head in. Keep a tight beam on that moon and adjust course laterally every hour but remain on the same heading." Greene took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she headed back to her chair. [i]Galin Thorm, you better get here fast.[/i]