The Pinicon Belt

Devar notices the Doctor's unease, despite it being well disguised save for her subtle tail twitch. Sitting near her on the flight deck, he leans toward her hoping to say sometime to put her at ease.

"It's relieving to know that Lieutenant Aurin-Ah has outfitted the shuttle's cargo bay with reinforced containment units for the samples we acquire. This will give you a chance to scan all materials and assess them without physical contact."

A small smile doesn't quite reach her eyes, but Jayce can sense that his words help.
Thank you counselor. she laughs. I am just not over fond of shuttle craft, so much chance for something to go wrong.

Aurin's bright blue eyes squint as he sees the battered fuselage of the other shuttle drifting into view. He dipped his head back down to his console, trying to take a thorough sensor reading on it.

"Commander... the Captain said there had not been any manned exploration of this area, correct?"

Stoically Cole sat, in what by his claiming he now thought of as the command chair, observing as Luna expertly piloted the small(ish) craft through the dense field of floating rock, silently marveling at how the young woman almost seemed to instinctively anticipate the opening and closing of the flight paths. A series of strange flashes of light, caused the hairs of his neck to rise - much like in his youth when he always seemed to sense when predators were about - even before the battered runabout drifted into view.

Correct Lieutenant. The report mentioned probes only," he intoned, holding the viewscreen under an intense gaze as he responded to Aurin's question. The Aurelian's fingers deftly danced across the LCARS as the science chief attempted to scan the derelict ship, Cole shifting his attention to Aurin, his brow rising questioning.

"I recommend setting shields to maximum, Commander." This was an unexpected surprise, and one that Drake was secretly delighted to see.

Aurin-Ah allows the sensors to pierce the quantum interference long enough to scan the drifting ship, which bears the same name and registry number of the runabout that you are using! The only differences are that this new runabout has no one on board, and it resonates with a foreign quantum signature at the subatomic level, meaning it came from a different quantum reality. A thorough sensor sweep or further exploration of the runabout reveals that it passed through a quantum fissure, which allowed it to shift from one quantum reality to another

Devar looks at the view screen and the astonishing realization hits him. Asking Aurin-Ah, "Lieutenant is that our shuttle!?"

"A doppleganger shuttle?" Drake can't hide his astonishment at the scan results.

Taking control of one of the viewscreens, Aurin-Ah magnified the view of the shuttle, proudly displaying the Christa McAuliffe's livery and registration, and its own name, the Raven.

Aurin's voice was level as he reported the facts. There would be a moment to get excited once all the relevant information was presented. "All readings indicate a Danube-class runabout. Markings, materials, and construction pattern are consistent with the Raven. No life signs aboard. Quantum signature is off local amplitude."

His bright, solid eyes focused on the console, and the others could see him manipuating the tight beam scanning on port side viewscreen, taking careful readings. "There's a differential charge on the exterior hull, with clear patterns of propagation." The claw of one thumb ran over the edge of his beak as the other hand scrolled through the readings. "I believe it physically passed through some kind of quantum fissure - it wasn't phased wholesale from some other quantum level to our own... but it is, as definitiely as we can tell, from another reality."

He paused a moment, before returning both hands to the console. "Running a secondary scan now, sir, to make sure it is stable..."

She shivers, and rises slightly, craving her neck to get a closer look at the screen. She's heard stories like this, but thought them to be just that.
Scan the nearby debris. Perhaps they disembarked

Cole's eyes held the viewscreen in a piercing gaze, jaw firmly set, as Lieutenant Aurin-Ah's scans confirmed what he had already suspected.

"All stop," he ordered to his azure haired pilot, "We don't want to get sucked into whatever anomaly that shuttle did."

His eyes narrowed in contemplation at Doctor M'Ress's command, curious about survivors as well, while at the same time trying to not think about what survivors would imply.

Aurin-Ah's analysis tells him that the quantum interference is too thick for usage of transporters, but there is no impediment to donning EV suits and floating over without any substantial risk of being smashed by asteroids.

"At once, sir" Luna acknowledge the order and brings the shuttle to a complete halt.

She keeps a calm appearance though the sight of the other shuttle had her startled. The Raven hit by an asteroid. Was she going to make a fatale mistake? Impossible. It must be some other ship.

"There don't appear to be any... active phenomena, locally." He pulled his hands away from the keys, taking the final readings. "I suspect we could tractor it over and board safely, although I wouldn't want to use the transporter outside an emergency. If we can bring it online, or even just power their computer bank, we might find more information."

He looked back down to the console at the Doctor's prompting, "I can run a wider scan for life signs." The the distinctive tapping of his talons against the LCARS console once again ran in current beneath the thrum and beep of the runabout's bridge.

Continues scans determine that there is no active phenomenon, such as a tear in the space-time continuum, that explains where the craft came from, only the unusual quantum signatures. Whatever happened to the other Raven, you won't learn anything from your runabout.

"Lt. Vilchis," he ordered, "Bring us in close. Ensign Zarah, prepare the tractor beam and reel it in."

Cole surveyed the team through narrowed, discerning eyes, "Lt. Ah, scan for lifeforms and then prepare to disembark with me, Commander Devar, and Ensign Zarah.

Doctor, I'll have you stay aboard and prepared for any medical emergencies that I hope won't crop up. Lt. Vilchis ... keep us steady."

M'Ress is relieved and moves to a position where she can monitor the view screen. She is hopeful things would go smoothly. But she's been with Star Fleet long enough that she isn't optimistic. especially when quantum doubles are involved

"I'll take her as close as I can, XO" Luna says while edging the Raven closer to the destroyed Raven.

"Do you want me to go so close we could send a party over?" she suggests.

Devar nods in agreement with Commander Walker's order. He grab's a tricorder and dials in some settings. Though he doesn't often use one, in this situation of quantum flux particularly, a clear read of the physiological responses of any they may encounter could be useful.