Pre-Warp Illusions
Posted on Sun Jan 25th, 2026 @ 10:40am by Treon Brevor
1,037 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
Destiny's Son
Location: SS Starburst
=/\= Bridge, SS Starburst =/\=
Josua paused for a second, looking at Treon. In that brief moment, it felt like déjà vu—just like the times they had sat in the Captain’s Ready Room aboard the USS Destiny, a proud Prometheus-class ship. It was probably bigger than the Starburst’s entire bridge. It had been a long time, yet somehow it felt as if it were only yesterday.
They were sitting by the navigational console, though the ship was currently piloted by the computer. The central screen only showed the streaks of stars that marked the ship’s flight in warp.
On the small screen between them, the image of the Seridi was clear—tall and slender, bronze-silver skin with elongated dark eyes and faint bioluminescent lines at their temples. Treon glanced at it and asked, “Where did you get all this information?”
Josua leaned back slightly.
“I brought it with me. Starfleet gave me access before I left.”
He paused, then added, “Now, before I go into too much detail—Treon, what do you think of them?”
Treon was still stuck on the former question.
“Starfleet checked out this planet?”
Josua shook his head slowly.
“Not the way you’re imagining. Years ago, a science vessel was in the sector, tracking an unrelated anomaly. Serid Prime happened to sit near the edge of its survey range.”
He gestured toward the display.
“They ran passive, high-resolution scans. Enough to confirm a pre-warp civilization, basic cultural structures, physiological data. No landing parties. No contact.”
Treon frowned slightly.
“And then?”
“And then the ship was recalled,” Josua said quietly.
She looked up at him.
“Recalled?”
“A distress call,” he replied. “Another Starfleet vessel was attacked several light-years away. Priority override. The science mission was aborted.”
He let that sit.
“The data was logged, classified, and archived. No follow-up. At the time, there was no reason to stay.”
Treon picked up the PADD and studied the Seridi again.
“So we know they’re pre-warp. How far ahead is their technology?”
Josua considered the question before answering.
“Late industrial. Mechanical and optical systems, extensive use of natural energy sources. No electronics as we define them. No subspace communication. No warp capability. Advanced enough to sustain complex societies—but quiet enough to remain unnoticed.”
He met her gaze.
“They weren’t a priority.”
Treon set the PADD aside.
“But we don’t know why Piper’s there…”
She exhaled softly.
“Interesting. So first we need to figure that out.”
Josua didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he reached forward and called up another file on the same display. The Seridi image faded, replaced by a grainy, long-range capture—clearly taken from extreme distance.
A stone courtyard. Seridi figures gathered in loose formation.
And among them, unmistakably human, stood a man in a long white garment. Older. Leaner. But familiar in a way that cut straight through time.
John Piper.
At the center. Not restrained. Not hidden.
Josua turned slightly toward Treon.
“Starfleet picked up traces they couldn’t explain,” he said quietly. “Enough to justify a closer look. That’s when this came back.”
He let the image remain between them.
“Do you recognize him?”
“Of course,” Treon said, looking up at Jos. “He might have a good reason—”
She paused mid-sentence.
“What kind of traces?”
Josua answered without changing the image.
“Patterns,” he said. “Repeated observations from a passive probe. Large gatherings forming at the same sites over time. The same off-world individual present in every instance.”
He paused, then added, almost neutrally:
“And subtle energy fluctuations. Nothing artificial. Nothing they could even measure themselves. But always in the same regions. Always where those gatherings take place.”
He kept his voice level.
“No technology. No emissions. Just behavior—and a natural energy source that suddenly started to matter.”
Treon leaned back in her seat, considering the main viewscreen.
“Still, we have to talk to him first. Understand his side of things.”
She looked back at Jos.
“We can’t pretend to be Seridi. Even if we had the ability on the Starburst—which we don’t. We can’t do anything too fancy, medically speaking.”
The Seridi were too tall and too thin. Even if they altered their appearance to look similar, it would be obvious they were foreigners.
Josua inclined his head slightly.
“I agree. We can’t pass as Seridi.”
He reached forward and minimized the image without clearing it completely.
“I brought four mobile projection transmitters,” he continued. “Experimental. Starfleet never intended them for extended missions.”
His tone remained calm, precise.
“They don’t alter biology. No genetic masking. No medical intervention. It’s a localized visual overlay only—an illusion, not a transformation.”
A brief pause.
“They hold while walking, standing, moving naturally. There’s no restriction there.”
He added, deliberately:
“Speech doesn’t interfere with the projection. The field remains stable. But the voice isn’t altered. We’ll sound human. Off-world. Foreign.”
He glanced once more at the frozen image of Piper.
“So they don’t make us Seridi. They just keep us from immediately looking like we don’t belong.”
Josua turned his attention back toward Treon, leaving the rest unsaid.
Treon smiled. “I see you’ve got everything covered…”
She considered it for a moment. “You and I go, with Lerik. Venn stays with the ship—just in case anything goes wrong. We can always call him in later, if needed.”
On a Starfleet ship, a mission like this would have involved a much larger away team, with officers assigned to monitor them at all times. Treon hoped she was not making a mistake.
Josua nodded slowly.
“I tried to think ahead,” he said. “Not just about what we might find—but where this could go wrong. Cultural misunderstandings. Visibility. The risk of doing too much, too fast.”
He drew a quiet breath.
“That’s as far as preparation gets you. The rest depends on judgment.”
He straightened slightly, the last trace of hesitation gone.
“I’m ready.”
"Good." Treon nodded. She gave the navigation controls one last look and then got to her feet. "Let's try out those projectors of yours."
=/\=
Rear Admiral Josua Frost
Starfleet (Detached Service – Inactive)
&
Treon Brevor
SS Starburst
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