Prologue - Gibraltar's lost logs

Captain RoBobby McMillan's Personal Log.
Stardate 72323.6
Two days after the destruction of the USS Malta.

I don't believe it. I still don't believe it. The USS Malta, gone. Destroyed. Thankfully, its crew is safe.

Kieran just contacted me with the news. He was upset, and understandably so. To lose one's ship... it's one of the worst nightmares any starship captain can have, and Kieran's in the middle of it now. There will be a board of inquiry, of course... standard protocol when a ship has been destroyed. I've sent a message to Starfleet Command already, volunteering to be on that board. Hopefully they'll let me. Kieran has not only been my XO in the past... he's also a close friend. I cannot in good conscience let him stand trial, without doing my utmost best to convince the board that there were extenuating circumstances. Whatever those were.

Several starships are being sent out to help with the salvation of the Malta wreckage. Unfortunately, the Gibraltar won't be part of that taskforce, as much as I would want us to be. According to Starfleet Command, the Gibraltar is needed elsewhere, studying the Jo'gon nebula's gas emissions. Seriously... they could at least have come up with a more plausible excuse to not send out the Gibraltar. I can read between the lines: they know about my friendship with Kieran, and they're afraid I might tamper with the evidence to make sure Kieran and his crew are found to be innocent at the upcoming trial.

And I'm ashamed to admit, they might have a point. I know Kieran, I know his crew. Many of them used to be my crew. I would go through hell to help them.

Sadly, there's not much I can do for them now. Still, I'll definitely be at Kieran's hearing. Even if I can't be on the board of inquiry, I'll definitely be there to support him and his crew. For now though... I guess it's time to get underway and study that nebula...




Captain RoBobby McMillan's Personal Log.
Stardate 72353.9
Twelve days after the destruction of the USS Malta. 

Well, Starfleet Command just got back to me. I've been denied a seat on the board of inquiry. No surprise there. At least this time they were honest about the reason: they felt that I couldn't be impartial. Ah well, it was worth a try.

They did however, invite me to be there. After all, Kieran might want to call me up to the stand as a character witness. Kieran already contacted me about that, as well. I made him a promise: I'll be there. And I intend to keep that promise. Kieran's my friend. I won't let him down.

It shouldn't be hard to be on time, either: the Gibraltar's mission in this area of space is almost complete. We've studied this nebula as much as we can. Nothing interesting, except for a slightly larger amount of chroniton particles than was expected in a nebula this size. We'll stay around for a couple more days, just to be thorough... but I think even the Science department is running out of stuff to do. The rest of the crew is just bored. Except Commander Sardek, of course. But then again, I don't think I've ever seen him display any kind of emotions.

Well, I'd better check in on the Bridge again. There might still be some particles we haven't analysed.

Heh. I miss the days when science assignments like these would still excite me...



USS Gibraltar, Senior Officers Meeting transcript
Stardate 72361.2
Fifteen days after the destruction of the USS Malta. 

McMillan:
Alright. I've called you all here because... well, you know the reason. Two hours ago, a strange pulse started emanating from the nebula, and it's engulfing the Gibraltar. Hull integrity is dropping rapidly. Any effort so far to stop it, has been unsuccessful. I want options, people.

Science officer:
Well, we've tried everything, Sir. Sending a deflector pulse back at the reversed frequency of the pulse didn't work. Alternating those frequencies, didn't work either. Changing our shield frequency and sending out particles to counteract the pulse, all resulted in the same: no change. And we still cannot find out where this pulse is coming from, or why it's targeting the Gibraltar.

Engineering officer:
Hull integrity is approaching critical, Captain, even with the Structural Integrity Field as high as it is. We've transferred all the power we can spare to the SIF and the shields, and then some... but it doesn't seem to be making any difference. We're looking at a complete hull disintegration in fifteen minutes, perhaps less.

Tactical officer:
Even firing our phasers and torpedoes at the direction of this pulse, didn't have any effect.

Helmsman:
It'd be a simple case of just moving out of the way, but the pulse immediately disabled our engines when it hit us. We've been trying to get them back online, but we just didn't have any luck with that either.

McMillan:
Come on people, think. There's got to be something we haven't tried...

XO:
Yes... evacuate the ship.

McMillan:
What?

XO:
Nothing we have done so far, has had any effect. For the last two hours, our hull strength has been dropping steadily. We have done everything by the book, and more. Whatever this pulse is, it is clear that we cannot stop it from our end. With every other option unavailable to us, the only logical course of action is to evacuate the ship.

Helmsman:
You've got to be joking!

XO:
Vulcans do not make jokes, Lieutenant.

Helmsman:
But how would you know that the shuttles and escape pods won't be caught in that pulse too?

Science officer:
Actually... when we sent out a shuttle to try to tractor the Gibraltar to freedom, the pulse stayed focussed on the ship. It completely ignored the shuttlecraft.

XO:
Precisely. Based upon the pulse's previous behaviour in the last two hours, there is no reason to believe that it will change its target.

McMillan:
As much as it pains me to admit it... you're right.

Helmsman:
Captain!

McMillan:
I'm sorry Lieutenant, but Commander Sardek is right. In less than ten minutes, the hull will rupture. I will not have my crew die just because I was too stubborn to admit defeat to this... whatever this pulse is. We'll evacuate the ship. I'll inform the crew. Thank you all... and dismissed.


USS Gibraltar, Captain's Log
Stardate 72361.3
Fifteen days after the destruction of the USS Malta. 

Captain's Log, supplemental.
Captain RoBobby McMillan reporting for the final time.

This will be my final log on board the Gibraltar. I'm transmitting this log to the evacuation shuttle's memory core directly as I'm making it, to keep track of the Gibraltar's final moments. 

We have been unable to stop the pulse's deterioration of the hull. In just a few minutes, the hull will buckle, and the Gibraltar will be no more. Evacuation is completed: my departmentheads have informed me that the final shuttle has just left the ship. I will be departing the ship soon, via the last escape pod left here at the Bridge. From there, the small fleet of escape pods and shuttles will leave the nebula, and head to Federation space.

I guess it's time for me to go too. For the record, I'd like to state that my crew has served above and beyond the call of duty.

Goodbye Gibraltar. You will be missed.

Computer... end log.


Shuttle Erikson, XO's log
Stardate 72361.3
Fifteen days after the destruction of the USS Malta.

This is Commander Sardek reporting on the events that have transpired in the last few minutes. We had all left the Gibraltar, except for the Captain, who felt very strongly about saying goodbye to the ship. He signalled us that he was just  taking the escape pod left for him, when the pulse's intensity and colour changed. A white flash occurred, and there was no trace of the Gibraltar, Captain McMillan, or the pulse that had been enveloping the ship for two hours.

I have assumed command of the evacuation fleet. I did manage to get some sensor data with the shuttle's limited sensors, but with that task completed, the most logical course of action is to leave the nebula now. Captain McMillan's orders were clear: we need to get the crew to safety. I am certain though, that Starfleet will come back here, to determine what exactly happened.

Commander Sardek, XO USS Gibraltar, out.


Admiral Mendez, official statement.
August 2396
13 months after the destruction of the USS Malta.

Over a year has passed, since the accident in which the USS Gibraltar and Captain RoBobby McMillan went missing. In that time, Starfleet has sent several science expeditions to the Jo'gon nebula, to find out what happened. All investigations came back negative, though.

A year is a long time. And while we aren't giving up on McMillan, we cannot afford to send in new science expeditions. It is time we faced the facts: Captain McMillan is not coming back.

It is my solumn duty to hereby declare Captain RoBobby McMillan, Missing In Action. Our thoughts and prayers go to his friends and next of kin.

Admiral Mendez, out.



The USS Gibraltar *will* be back...