The Vanishing

Posted on Sun Jan 11th, 2026 @ 3:18am by Lieutenant Commander Emilio Navarro
Edited on on Wed Jan 14th, 2026 @ 8:07am

2,438 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: A New Sheriff in Town
Location: The Cultist Compound, Deep in the Mendocino Woodlands, North of San Francisco
Timeline: Seven Days Prior to Joining Starbase Mohave

It was 6 pm.

Over the last two hours, Navarro had briefed the chain of command on everything that had transpired today. The gravity of the situation was so immense it has prompted an immediate response.

Three marine squads and a security team
were ordered to find and arrest Captain Lake and her associates. Navarro’s security team would handle the formal arrests, while the Marines would help handle any offensive actions.

The sound of engines soared louder and louder as three Marine transport craft and one security shuttle took to the sky above Fort McDowell. Their course was set for the heart of the Mendocino Woodlands, roughly 150 miles north of the fort. The trip would take about fifteen minutes.

As the four shuttles cut through the darkening sky, San Francisco in the distance shrank behind them, swallowed by the fading gold of sunset. The light vanished quickly, replaced by encroaching darkness. It was a fitting omen for what lay ahead.

Minutes passed in tense silence. Below the shuttles, the forest hid their destination. The weight of the coming fight pressed down on them.

The pilot’s voice crackled over the comms inside the lead shuttle, where the marine in charge, Marine Captain Burns, sat.

“ETA five minutes.”

“Understood,” Burns replied.

All four shuttles, in a roughly tight formation, hummed louder as they neared the target. The forest below was dense, dark, and unforgiving.

“Final approach. Prepare for landing,” the pilot announced to Burns and the rest of the team. The lead shuttle was about ten seconds ahead of the rest as it finally saw the landing area.

A massive clearing appeared. It was an unnatural scar carved into the wilderness. Green smoke already blanketed the area, deployed by a reconnaissance team that arrived ahead of the shuttle.

Just beyond the clearing stood the compound. It was no simple hideout. It was a fortress. It appeared to have thick walls reinforced with metal and composite layers, partially buried in the earth. The structure descended underground, likely riddled with tunnels and chambers designed for secrecy and defense.

“Jesus,” Burns muttered. “You see that? Where the hell did they get the time and resources for that without anyone noticing?”

No one in the shuttle responded as the cultists at the compound saw the shuttles almost immediately in the sky, heading toward them. Panic rippled through the cultists' ranks. Shouts rang out, and alarms rang throughout the compound.

“Here we go,” Burns said as he tightened his grip on his weapon.

As the shuttle transports began their final thirty seconds of flight into the clearing to land, fire erupted against them. Energy blasts and projectiles streaked upward, some striking the hulls with sizzling impacts. The transports shuddered but held.

Captain Burn’s shuttle hit the ground hard under heavy fire. The fire came from a few yards north of the clearing, where a small cultist outpost with about a dozen cult members was based. They were the first to engage the Marines.

The rear hatch of Burn’s shuttle blew open. Marines poured out in all directions to create a defensive perimeter.

Pulse fire lit and reflected off the surrounding area as the Marines returned fire toward the outpost.

Marine Captain Burns came out and sprinted for cover as energy beams tore through the air, splintering trees and earth.

“Take cover!” Burns shouted.

Burns, a Staff Sergeant, and two Marine aides dove behind a large piece of fallen tree.

Phaser and rifle fire were going and coming. A marine cried out as an energy blast struck his leg.
He was immediately dragged back toward the transports for cover.

Another marine was hit in the chest, thrown backward by the force as a medic rushed toward him to render immediate aid.

The following two marine transports landed as additional marines sprinted out to reinforce the front line.

A phaser rifle blast hit the front window of the second shuttle, and the glass exploded. The pilot, still in his chair, was struck in the shoulder and passed out in shock. A marine inside the shuttle grabbed him and took him down to the floor to protect him and render aid.

“All units push forward twenty yards!” Burns ordered over the comms. “We need to create additional space between the shuttles and the enemy.”

The Marines incrementally pushed while laying down suppressive fire. The cultist suppressed as well and gave the marines a difficult time.

The final shuttle transport landed with the final reinforcements, Navarro, and his security team. They immediately went for cover near Burns and waited for the Marines to clear the landing.

Marine Captain Burns got on the horn.

“Command, this is Burns,” he transmitted. “Heavy resistance encountered. Requesting additional reinforcements and medical support.”

A reply came in two seconds.

“Roger. Reinforcements inbound. ETA twenty minutes.”

Burns turned to his Sergeant. “Gus, I need you to establish a field hospital here. Use the shuttles as cover. Secure the area and treat the wounded while we push forward.”

“Yes, sir.” Gus got up and left.

In a sudden, remarkable, and gutsy move by two of the cultists, one managed to take one of Burn’s aids by surprise and stabbed him in the arm. The cultist held the knife while the aid struggled to remain standing. Almost immediately, the cultist with the knife and the other who had not reached them were cut down by fire at nearly point-blank range.

The wounded marine was pulled back toward the shuttle. He was bleeding heavily but seemed to be stable and would make it.

Then came the final push toward the marine frontline, led by the remaining six or so cult members at the outpost.

The Marines held.

For the next 45 seconds, the entire field was silent save the sound of wind, birds in the distant, the cooling hiss of their energy weapons, and the injured at the rear of the shuttles receiving treatment.

The marine front line continues to scan the tree line and the small outpost for any additional movement, but nothing has moved or come.

Burns waited the full minute, then spoke over the comms.

“Marine Fire Teams: Dagger, Crimson, and Nightfall, advance toward the compound. You are to breach and secure the entrances.”

He continued.

“Marine Fire Teams: Lethal and Scarlett, secure the perimeter of the compound. Surround the sum’ bitch. No one goes in or out. Marine Fire Teams: Dragon and Shadow, hold the field hospital here. Understood?”

Orders were acknowledged by team leaders, who raised their thumbs. Every single one of them.

“Go.” He ordered, and all the marines received their orders, with most heading straight to the compound. The remaining six stood behind as ordered to protect the wounded and secure the site.

Just then, two additional shuttles landed with fresh marines.

Marine Captain Nicoles joined Burns. He was briefed, and they, along with Nicoles and his security team, advanced toward the compound together.

Fifteen minutes later, Burns, Nicole, Navarro, and a few aids met in front of the compound.

“The perimeter is secure,” a marine reported.

“Alright, prepare to breach the compound,” Burns responded.

Charges were already placed at the main entrance and two side access points.

Everyone was ready.

The charges detonated.

The doors blew inward with a thunderous crack, debris scattering across the courtyard.

“Marines. Secure the interior of the compound,” Burns commanded.

The assault began.

As the marines surged into the compound, Navarro and Burns led a smaller team deeper into the labyrinth of corridors, their weapons at the ready. The initial urgency quickly gave way to an eerie silence as they ventured farther inside.

The compound, which should have been bustling with activity, felt disturbingly empty.

Burns looked at Navarro, eyes narrowing.

“Where the hell is everyone?”

Navarro lifted his shoulders with no idea.

Burns senses on high alert.

“Something’s not right. Stay sharp.”

They pressed on with two marine aides close behind. The only sounds were boots striking cold metal and the distant echo of phaser fire. Other squads and teams were engaging the remaining cultists somewhere inside.

As they moved deeper, Navarro began to notice strange markings along the walls.

He slowed and squinted.

He realized they weren’t random scrawls. They were numbers and other symbols, and arranged deliberately.

“Burns,” Navarro said quietly as he pointed to the wall next to him.

“Look at this.”

The two marines with them spread out and held opposite ends of the corridor.

Burns studied the markings.

“Equations? Puzzles?“ Burns asked.

Navarro scanned them with his tricorder. Nothing.

“No readings,” he muttered. “And I was never a fan of logic puzzles.”

The place felt wrong.

“We keep moving,” Navarro said.

The symbols grew more frequent. The air heavier. The compound no longer felt like a base. It felt like a trap.

They reached a massive door at the end of a ramp further down the corridor. It was partially ajar and covered in the same symbols.

Navarro and Burns exchanged a look. This had to be where Lake, Cortes, and Ansol were hiding.

“Ready?” Burns asked.

Navarro nodded.

Together, they pushed the door open.

Beyond the door was a large, cavernous chamber.

The ceiling vanished into darkness above them as if the room was bigger than it seemed.

The walls were etched with symbols. But dominating the room was a large circular metal device at the far end. It had a small console inside with a small chair in front of it.

“What is this?” Burns asked as he stepped further into the room. He signaled to one of the marines to watch the door. The marine obliged and stood outside the room as a guard. The door closed.

Then suddenly the floor shifted.

Something was activated. Gears turned, lights flared, a deep hum growing louder by the second, deeper into the room.

“What did you do?” Navarro snapped as a holographic display erupted above the machine.

Numbers and shapes appeared in the display.

Seemed like the same symbols along the walls outside the room.

Then the ground broke apart. It turned to stone, and it floated in all directions. Now, there was nothing underneath but a black abyss.

“Stay on the blocks!” Navarro shouted as he leapt to the nearest block. Burns and the remaining marine aide with him followed.

The door burst open behind them.

It was Captain Lake, flanked by Ensign Cortes.

Navarro caught sight of the duo. The marine guard who was ordered to hold the door was on the floor motionless. He couldn’t tell if he was dead or just unconscious.

Lake sneered. “Looks like we have company.”

The marine aide fired his weapon, but nothing happened.

Nothing.

Weapons seemed to be dead in here.

“There’s some dampening field in here. Our weapons are useless!” Burns yelled to Navarro as Cortes moved instantly. Cortes jumped on the platforms and headed toward the marine aide. Defiant and careless, as if he had experience in this room before and knew how to handle it.

Cortes reached the marine and used his own body to slam into his. The marine fell into the void before. Disappeared.

“No!” Burns roared. He jumped onto Cortes’s platform and tackled him. They both fell onto another block, locked into a brutal stalemate.

Lake ignored them.

She focused on the puzzles, looking over the room. Navarro caught wind and saw her calculations. There was a method here, he didn’t understand it yet.

Lake jumped onto one of the platforms. Then another. Each one lit up blue.

With every solution, a platform was created, almost like a bridge that moved her closer to the device.

That was it. Navarro understood instantly. She was here for the device, and he had to stop her.

He turned to his own puzzles. They were simpler patterns. Symbols. Colors. Sequences.

He began to figure it out.

His platform started to build.

Burns and Cortes remained locked on separate blocks, neither able to advance without risking a fall.

Navarro and Lake raced. Mind against mind. Risk against risk.

The gap began to close.

Their platforms began to come together almost side by side as they made it to the final blocks.

They locked eyes. Both leapt.

They collided on the central platform where the device stood like a throne. They grappled fiercely. Navarro held back instinctively. He was trying not to severely hurt a woman.

Lake relied on cunning over strength.

Navarro hesitated.

It cost him.

Her knee drove into his groin. It knocked the wind from him and sent him sprawling onto the floor.

Lake turned and reached the controls on the device.

“No!” Navarro gasped.

The machine screamed.

Light exploded.

Lake and the device vanished.

Navarro remained focused on the empty space, chest heaving, sweat cutting through grime.

Across the room, Burns had a hunch and instinctively took out his sidearm and fired.

Cortes’s chest took the brunt of the blast. He stumbled back and fell into the abyss. Disappeared.

The room fell to a quiet calm.

The platforms reassembled into one massive floor.

Burns approached Navarro. “What happened? Where is she?”

“I don’t know,” Navarro said quietly. “But she’s gone.”

Reinforcements, two marine squads, poured in seconds later. The entire compound was now secured.

Navarro and Burns were escorted back to the landing zone.

Minutes later, they both returned to the landing zone. About a dozen Marines were injured in the assault and capture of the compound. Medics were just as many as two additional transports landed in the background, bringing in stretchers, bandages, and field supplies.

A rather large Lieutenant Colonel walked out of one of the newly arrived shuttles on his way to meet with Burns.

Burns and Navarro stopped at another shuttle ready to take off.

“How are we going to explain all of this to command?” Burns asked Navarro.

“We just explain the truth. Nothing more, nothing less.” Navarro replied as exhaustion hit hard.

Navarro continued. “But I want to say good work today. Thanks for the support.”

“No problem.” They both shook hands as Navarro boarded an empty shuttle alone. The doors closed, and the pilot initiated takeoff.

The shuttle lifted off.

San Francisco’s lights appeared in the distance.

Navarro activated his personal data padd.

⸻

Personal Log, Lieutenant Commander Emilio Navarro.

Today’s mission succeeded. And failed.

The compound was secured. The cult dismantled. Some intelligence recovered.

But Captain Lake and Ensign Ansol escaped.

She used a device beyond my understanding.

I'm going to forward everything to Starfleet Intelligence.

End log.

⸻

The pilot spoke. “Commander, Starfleet Intelligence agents will be waiting when we land.”

Navarro nodded.

 

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