Burning Ring of Fire
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Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 2
Agreed! The various badlands in the Alpha Quadrant, while differing in size, intensity and danger, will always challenge a ship and its crew. Glad to see the Dauntless boldly going, etc., etc. I am intrigued by the "Bermuda Triangle" analogy. It adds an edge of mystery to the area beyond plasma storms and gravimetric shear. Good stuff! :thumbsup:
Agreed! The various badlands in the Alpha Quadrant, while differing in size, intensity and danger, will always challenge a ship and its crew. Glad to see the Dauntless boldly going, etc., etc. I am intrigued by the "Bermuda Triangle" analogy. It adds an edge of mystery to the area beyond plasma storms and gravimetric shear. Good stuff! :thumbsup:
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 2
Dnoth, LoneRedshirt, thanks very much. I wanted it to be similar to the Cardassian Badlands, but different at the same time. Guess it worked. But getting through the plasma storms will be the easy part
Dnoth, LoneRedshirt, thanks very much. I wanted it to be similar to the Cardassian Badlands, but different at the same time. Guess it worked. But getting through the plasma storms will be the easy part
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 2
I like that you're giving us more of the "exploring strange new worlds" (and phenomena) aspect of Trek here. Also, you've done a good job of shedding more light on Ynelavii society here. And we might have the Kursican version of the Bermuda Triangle.
Good stuff!
I like that you're giving us more of the "exploring strange new worlds" (and phenomena) aspect of Trek here. Also, you've done a good job of shedding more light on Ynelavii society here. And we might have the Kursican version of the Bermuda Triangle.
Good stuff!
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 2
Operations Centre
Starbase 535
Stardate 57338.3
Commander Lionel Logan stared in mute disbelief at the main viewscreen in the Operations centre. The Qang-class (or Chancellor-class) starships of the Klingon Empire were huge, holding 1500 crew and 1500 warriors. They were the most advanced starships that the Klingons had ever built, with a similar capability to Starfleet’s Sovereign-class. This particular one, the IKS Ditagh, had served Chancellor Martok’s new conquering program with great success. He could see that something had hit this ship badly, since oxygen was being vented from numerous hull breaches, and the port nacelle was dark.
‘Have an engineering detail coordinate with the Ditagh’s chief engineer. I’d like to see Captain Vikagh as soon as it is convenient for him,’ Logan said to his own Operations chief.
‘Aye sir, already have a team on it.’
‘Is Subcommander Sokal back aboard?’
‘Yes sir, the Talon docked almost an hour ago,’ Hassan Osden answered with a smirk.
‘Excellent, I want an update of whatever your engineers find.’
‘Commander, we’re receiving an encrypted message from the Independence, it’s a little faint.’
Logan turned back to the screen. ‘Put it up.’
‘What can I do for you, Captain?’ Logan asked.
‘I’m looking at a debris field comprised of Resoto merchant vessels and Klingon hull fragments, Commander. What the hell is Vikagh up to?’
‘How many ships?’
‘About six, from what we can tell. Has he been advised that the Resoto are all but extinct?’
Logan tried not to smirk. ‘Captain, the Resoto pirates don’t think that and they just learned not to attack Klingons.’
Aurelia narrowed her eyes. ‘They didn’t learn anything, there were no survivors.’
Logan was not particularly bothered by this, since he knew quite well what Klingon battle tactics were. ‘The Resoto will learn or they will die, Captain. The Klingons also know what it is like to fight the Resoto now. I don’t think they’ll be any more problems.’
Aurelia scowled. ‘I won’t be picking up the pieces, Independence out.’
‘That went well,’ Osden muttered. ‘Do you think the Klingons heard that?’
‘Of course they did,’ Logan replied. ‘Aurelia deliberately used a channel that the Klingons have decrypted. She’s a hothead and it’s gotten her into trouble before. She has grown up a lot in the last few years, but having your ship destroyed while you’re unconscious will do that.’
Osden shivered. ‘I heard about that, Command said it was a design flaw.’
‘I read the same report, Chief. Let me know when Vikagh wants to talk.’
‘How about right now, Commander,’ the Klingon captain said as he strode into Ops flanked by two young Starfleet security officers.
‘That will do fine, Captain. Follow me.’
Logan led Vikagh into his office and sat down behind the desk. ‘Before you say anything, I know that you heard the conversation I just had with Captain Aurelia, and I’m sure you will say that the Resoto fired first. Let me be blunt with you, Captain, I don’t care who fired first. Your ship was heavily damaged and a few hundred more Resoto are dead. There are less than fifty thousand Resoto left alive, many of them miners and pirates, doing what they can to survive. I don’t need you blasting their ships to pieces.’
Vikagh maintained his silence during the speech but as soon as Logan paused for more than two seconds, he spoke, his voice almost quivering with repressed anger. ‘I did not attack the Resoto vessels, Commander. I was on the way to the Belothi homeworld to conquer them for the honour of the Empire when I came across one vessel firing on the last of the six Resoto ships. Against my better judgement I intervened and look where it got me. I will gladly hand over all the sensor data I have for you to take a look at.’
‘I would appreciate that, Captain. These are trying times for us.’
‘Hmph. You’ll have the data within an hour. If you’ll excuse me, I need to send a hundred and seventy-three warriors to Sto’Vo’Kor.’
‘Not at all,’ Logan replied as the Klingon exited. He tapped his combadge. ‘Subcommander Sokal, could I speak with you for a moment in my office.’
‘I’m on my way,’ the Rihannsu replied with a lilt to her voice that he hadn’t heard before.
While he was waiting, he called up the sensor logs that Vikagh had just sent across and recognised the alien vessel immediately. ‘Logan to Sito, report to my office at once.’
‘On my way,’ the Bajoran intelligence agent replied.
Both of them arrived at the same time and he invited them in, recalling Vikagh as well. Once they were all seated, he activated the seldom-used holo-com and Rear Admiral Michael Owens appeared.
‘Captain, Subcommander, Commander, Lieutenant,’ Owens began. ‘I’ll be brief because I’m rather busy. I have taken over as sector commander for the Kursican sector and will be operating from Earth for the time being. It has come to my attention that the Cha’lav were responsible for the destruction of the Resoto merchants. Captain, Subcommander, Commander Logan will brief you on the Cha’lav situation. Commander, I want you to retask Independence to shadow any Resoto vessels they come across. If the Cha’lav do attack I want to deal them a crippling blow. I would to ask that since you both have cloaking devices aboard your ships,’ Owen looked directly at Sokal and Vikagh, ‘you attack if the Cha’lav appear anywhere in the sector. Unlike my predecessors, I’m fully cognisant of the danger they pose to the Federation and the rest of the galaxy and I intend to see that their plans are crippled permanently.’
‘I’ll inform Captain Aurelia immediately,’ Logan said.
‘I will assist you,’ Sokal added. ‘ch’Rihan is just as threatened.’
‘Once my ship has been repaired I will show them the true strength of the Klingon Empire.’
‘Admiral, this could well start the war we’re trying to avoid,’ Sito said calmly, though deep inside her subconscious, the Huntress was sharpening her blade.
‘Lieutenant, as far as I’m concerned, they’ve already declared war by kidnapping Federation citizens and attacking worlds under our protection. Captain, will the Klingons come to our aid if we press the offensive?’
‘Of course,’ Vikagh answered without hesitation.
‘What of Praetor Tal’Aura?’
‘She and I disagree on much, Admiral, but the protection of ch’Rihan must be a priority.’
Owens nodded. ‘I will expect a full report at the end of each day. Lieutenant Sito, I’d like a word in private.’
Sito stood but did not leave the room. ‘I’m being reassigned?’
Owens frowned but nodded. ‘I see no reason for you to remain here since I will be dealing with your operative. You’re being reassigned to the Sutherland. A shuttle will be arriving in the next day or so.’
‘Thank you, Admiral.’
‘Don’t thank me; Captain Shelby is the one pulling the strings.’
Sito smiled. ‘All the same, thank you,’ she replied and left the office.
‘Inform Captain Dhrex that the Cha’lav may be trying to finish the job they started with the Resoto, Owens out.’
Logan sighed. ‘Chief, I want you to bring me everything we have on the Cha’lav, two copies. This isn’t a secret any longer.’
‘Aye sir, be right with you.’
‘Who are the Cha’lav?’ Vikagh asked.
Logan sighed. ‘Ten years ago a woman from the thirtieth century appeared and told us that the Federation would lose a war with the Cha’lav in her time. At the time we had never heard of them and didn’t believe what she was saying. Starfleet’s Department of Temporal Investigations debriefed her for months and she was able to provide detailed information about the Dominion threat but they decided not to tell the Federation—or the rest of the galaxy—because history had already recorded those events. Most of what she told us did happen, with a few unforeseen changes that her history was a bit vague on.’
‘The Dominion threat could have been neutralised,’ Sokal said, ‘and saved billions of lives.’
‘But the future would have been altered,’ Logan replied. ‘We have a Temporal Prime Directive that forbids us with interfering with time and while it has been broken a few times, it is there to protect our very future.’
‘You have not answered my question,’ the Klingon said, rising from his chair.
‘The Cha’lav want nothing more than to dominate the galaxy like they have dozens of others. They have a universe-spanning empire and we’re the next galaxy on the list. According to the woman from the future, they started their attack the same way the Dominion did, by trying to destabilise the major galactic powers. This time, however, they have taken a different approach by starting a civil war on one world and committing genocide on another. We narrowly stopped them committing genocide on several worlds in this sector.’
‘We will erase them from existence, a taste of their own medicine,’ Vikagh replied.
‘No!’ Logan said. ‘We will not stoop to their level. Our aim is to stop each wave of attack as it happens and prevent them from getting a foothold in this galaxy, like the Dominion did.’
‘And then?’
‘I’m not at liberty to discuss the next stage in the plan, I haven’t even been given full authorisation to give you all this information, but since we’re asking for your help I felt it necessary to provide you with as much information as I possibly can regarding the Cha’lav threat. All I ask is that you keep this information from Praetor Tal’Aura and Chancellor Martok for the time being, at least until President Satie has told them herself.’
‘I have no love for the Praetor and she has already denounced me as a rogue, so you have no fear on that score, Commander.’
‘I don’t need to contact the Chancellor for every decision to be made,’ Vikagh replied. ‘Besides, if honour is to be served, I can call on plenty of other Klingons.’
Logan nodded as the door chimed. ‘Ah, Chief, excellent. Pass them out will you,’ he added as the doors opened.
‘Commander, Ambassador Aulyffke wishes to speak with you, he says it is urgent.’
‘If you’ll excuse me,’ Logan said to the others.
They left the room with their padds and barely a glance at him and the former leader of Kursica entered, his robes trailing behind him. ‘I thought you were going to deal with the rebels?’
‘Ambassador, I have repeatedly told you that we cannot interfere with your internal squabbles and providing weapons to either side would also be in violation of the Prime Directive.’
‘We’re on the verge of civil war, Commander.’
‘I’m here to assist you in gaining entry into the Federation, but you seem to be getting further away from that. Open a dialogue with the rebels if you want them to desist, or take them by force. I don’t really care what you do. We’ll provide medical assistance if necessary, but that’s all.’
‘I’m going to contact the Federation Council with this, you’ll be gone inside a week.’
‘That is your prerogative, Ambassador. If you’ll excuse me, I have my own war to prevent.’
Operations Centre
Starbase 535
Stardate 57338.3
Commander Lionel Logan stared in mute disbelief at the main viewscreen in the Operations centre. The Qang-class (or Chancellor-class) starships of the Klingon Empire were huge, holding 1500 crew and 1500 warriors. They were the most advanced starships that the Klingons had ever built, with a similar capability to Starfleet’s Sovereign-class. This particular one, the IKS Ditagh, had served Chancellor Martok’s new conquering program with great success. He could see that something had hit this ship badly, since oxygen was being vented from numerous hull breaches, and the port nacelle was dark.
‘Have an engineering detail coordinate with the Ditagh’s chief engineer. I’d like to see Captain Vikagh as soon as it is convenient for him,’ Logan said to his own Operations chief.
‘Aye sir, already have a team on it.’
‘Is Subcommander Sokal back aboard?’
‘Yes sir, the Talon docked almost an hour ago,’ Hassan Osden answered with a smirk.
‘Excellent, I want an update of whatever your engineers find.’
‘Commander, we’re receiving an encrypted message from the Independence, it’s a little faint.’
Logan turned back to the screen. ‘Put it up.’
‘What can I do for you, Captain?’ Logan asked.
‘I’m looking at a debris field comprised of Resoto merchant vessels and Klingon hull fragments, Commander. What the hell is Vikagh up to?’
‘How many ships?’
‘About six, from what we can tell. Has he been advised that the Resoto are all but extinct?’
Logan tried not to smirk. ‘Captain, the Resoto pirates don’t think that and they just learned not to attack Klingons.’
Aurelia narrowed her eyes. ‘They didn’t learn anything, there were no survivors.’
Logan was not particularly bothered by this, since he knew quite well what Klingon battle tactics were. ‘The Resoto will learn or they will die, Captain. The Klingons also know what it is like to fight the Resoto now. I don’t think they’ll be any more problems.’
Aurelia scowled. ‘I won’t be picking up the pieces, Independence out.’
‘That went well,’ Osden muttered. ‘Do you think the Klingons heard that?’
‘Of course they did,’ Logan replied. ‘Aurelia deliberately used a channel that the Klingons have decrypted. She’s a hothead and it’s gotten her into trouble before. She has grown up a lot in the last few years, but having your ship destroyed while you’re unconscious will do that.’
Osden shivered. ‘I heard about that, Command said it was a design flaw.’
‘I read the same report, Chief. Let me know when Vikagh wants to talk.’
‘How about right now, Commander,’ the Klingon captain said as he strode into Ops flanked by two young Starfleet security officers.
‘That will do fine, Captain. Follow me.’
Logan led Vikagh into his office and sat down behind the desk. ‘Before you say anything, I know that you heard the conversation I just had with Captain Aurelia, and I’m sure you will say that the Resoto fired first. Let me be blunt with you, Captain, I don’t care who fired first. Your ship was heavily damaged and a few hundred more Resoto are dead. There are less than fifty thousand Resoto left alive, many of them miners and pirates, doing what they can to survive. I don’t need you blasting their ships to pieces.’
Vikagh maintained his silence during the speech but as soon as Logan paused for more than two seconds, he spoke, his voice almost quivering with repressed anger. ‘I did not attack the Resoto vessels, Commander. I was on the way to the Belothi homeworld to conquer them for the honour of the Empire when I came across one vessel firing on the last of the six Resoto ships. Against my better judgement I intervened and look where it got me. I will gladly hand over all the sensor data I have for you to take a look at.’
‘I would appreciate that, Captain. These are trying times for us.’
‘Hmph. You’ll have the data within an hour. If you’ll excuse me, I need to send a hundred and seventy-three warriors to Sto’Vo’Kor.’
‘Not at all,’ Logan replied as the Klingon exited. He tapped his combadge. ‘Subcommander Sokal, could I speak with you for a moment in my office.’
‘I’m on my way,’ the Rihannsu replied with a lilt to her voice that he hadn’t heard before.
While he was waiting, he called up the sensor logs that Vikagh had just sent across and recognised the alien vessel immediately. ‘Logan to Sito, report to my office at once.’
‘On my way,’ the Bajoran intelligence agent replied.
Both of them arrived at the same time and he invited them in, recalling Vikagh as well. Once they were all seated, he activated the seldom-used holo-com and Rear Admiral Michael Owens appeared.
‘Captain, Subcommander, Commander, Lieutenant,’ Owens began. ‘I’ll be brief because I’m rather busy. I have taken over as sector commander for the Kursican sector and will be operating from Earth for the time being. It has come to my attention that the Cha’lav were responsible for the destruction of the Resoto merchants. Captain, Subcommander, Commander Logan will brief you on the Cha’lav situation. Commander, I want you to retask Independence to shadow any Resoto vessels they come across. If the Cha’lav do attack I want to deal them a crippling blow. I would to ask that since you both have cloaking devices aboard your ships,’ Owen looked directly at Sokal and Vikagh, ‘you attack if the Cha’lav appear anywhere in the sector. Unlike my predecessors, I’m fully cognisant of the danger they pose to the Federation and the rest of the galaxy and I intend to see that their plans are crippled permanently.’
‘I’ll inform Captain Aurelia immediately,’ Logan said.
‘I will assist you,’ Sokal added. ‘ch’Rihan is just as threatened.’
‘Once my ship has been repaired I will show them the true strength of the Klingon Empire.’
‘Admiral, this could well start the war we’re trying to avoid,’ Sito said calmly, though deep inside her subconscious, the Huntress was sharpening her blade.
‘Lieutenant, as far as I’m concerned, they’ve already declared war by kidnapping Federation citizens and attacking worlds under our protection. Captain, will the Klingons come to our aid if we press the offensive?’
‘Of course,’ Vikagh answered without hesitation.
‘What of Praetor Tal’Aura?’
‘She and I disagree on much, Admiral, but the protection of ch’Rihan must be a priority.’
Owens nodded. ‘I will expect a full report at the end of each day. Lieutenant Sito, I’d like a word in private.’
Sito stood but did not leave the room. ‘I’m being reassigned?’
Owens frowned but nodded. ‘I see no reason for you to remain here since I will be dealing with your operative. You’re being reassigned to the Sutherland. A shuttle will be arriving in the next day or so.’
‘Thank you, Admiral.’
‘Don’t thank me; Captain Shelby is the one pulling the strings.’
Sito smiled. ‘All the same, thank you,’ she replied and left the office.
‘Inform Captain Dhrex that the Cha’lav may be trying to finish the job they started with the Resoto, Owens out.’
Logan sighed. ‘Chief, I want you to bring me everything we have on the Cha’lav, two copies. This isn’t a secret any longer.’
‘Aye sir, be right with you.’
‘Who are the Cha’lav?’ Vikagh asked.
Logan sighed. ‘Ten years ago a woman from the thirtieth century appeared and told us that the Federation would lose a war with the Cha’lav in her time. At the time we had never heard of them and didn’t believe what she was saying. Starfleet’s Department of Temporal Investigations debriefed her for months and she was able to provide detailed information about the Dominion threat but they decided not to tell the Federation—or the rest of the galaxy—because history had already recorded those events. Most of what she told us did happen, with a few unforeseen changes that her history was a bit vague on.’
‘The Dominion threat could have been neutralised,’ Sokal said, ‘and saved billions of lives.’
‘But the future would have been altered,’ Logan replied. ‘We have a Temporal Prime Directive that forbids us with interfering with time and while it has been broken a few times, it is there to protect our very future.’
‘You have not answered my question,’ the Klingon said, rising from his chair.
‘The Cha’lav want nothing more than to dominate the galaxy like they have dozens of others. They have a universe-spanning empire and we’re the next galaxy on the list. According to the woman from the future, they started their attack the same way the Dominion did, by trying to destabilise the major galactic powers. This time, however, they have taken a different approach by starting a civil war on one world and committing genocide on another. We narrowly stopped them committing genocide on several worlds in this sector.’
‘We will erase them from existence, a taste of their own medicine,’ Vikagh replied.
‘No!’ Logan said. ‘We will not stoop to their level. Our aim is to stop each wave of attack as it happens and prevent them from getting a foothold in this galaxy, like the Dominion did.’
‘And then?’
‘I’m not at liberty to discuss the next stage in the plan, I haven’t even been given full authorisation to give you all this information, but since we’re asking for your help I felt it necessary to provide you with as much information as I possibly can regarding the Cha’lav threat. All I ask is that you keep this information from Praetor Tal’Aura and Chancellor Martok for the time being, at least until President Satie has told them herself.’
‘I have no love for the Praetor and she has already denounced me as a rogue, so you have no fear on that score, Commander.’
‘I don’t need to contact the Chancellor for every decision to be made,’ Vikagh replied. ‘Besides, if honour is to be served, I can call on plenty of other Klingons.’
Logan nodded as the door chimed. ‘Ah, Chief, excellent. Pass them out will you,’ he added as the doors opened.
‘Commander, Ambassador Aulyffke wishes to speak with you, he says it is urgent.’
‘If you’ll excuse me,’ Logan said to the others.
They left the room with their padds and barely a glance at him and the former leader of Kursica entered, his robes trailing behind him. ‘I thought you were going to deal with the rebels?’
‘Ambassador, I have repeatedly told you that we cannot interfere with your internal squabbles and providing weapons to either side would also be in violation of the Prime Directive.’
‘We’re on the verge of civil war, Commander.’
‘I’m here to assist you in gaining entry into the Federation, but you seem to be getting further away from that. Open a dialogue with the rebels if you want them to desist, or take them by force. I don’t really care what you do. We’ll provide medical assistance if necessary, but that’s all.’
‘I’m going to contact the Federation Council with this, you’ll be gone inside a week.’
‘That is your prerogative, Ambassador. If you’ll excuse me, I have my own war to prevent.’
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
USS Weisskopf
In orbit of Ynelav VIII
Stardate 57338.9
Captain Dhrex scratched his chin as he stared at the massive Jovian-sized bulk on the viewscreen. He hadn’t wished to leave the system completely after being banished by Minister Furan. The man had taken the government by force, and since it was Starfleet policy not to interfere with the internal squabbles of planets, even those petitioning for Federation membership, Dhrex had little to do but sit back and wait to see what happened. He couldn’t stay for much longer, since the last message from Starbase 535 had been of an urgent nature regarding the Cha’lav, but he could not just let these people get swept under the galactic rug. He turned to Andrew Banks, who was equally bored of the view.
‘Commander, fancy a trip down to the surface?’
Banks looked nonplussed for a second before he realised which surface. ‘May I remind you, sir, it is against regulations to interfere in the internal politics of any civilisation.’
‘I wasn’t planning to interfere. I want to know more about the Seer but I can’t very well do that from up here, can I?’
Banks sighed, knowing his commanding officer had a plan that skirted the rules. Most of them did but were kept in check by the late Captain Drummond. ‘What did you have in mind, sir?’
‘I want a three person team, with all of them surgically altered to look like Ynelavii. They need to get into the shrine, read the scrolls and find out who the Seer is likely to be.’
‘A duck blind mission?’
Dhrex smiled and it stretched across his face. ‘Exactly.’
‘We have to get permission from Command to perform a duck blind mission, sir.’
Dhrex turned to his new tactical officer. ‘Kareni, what was the problem you spoke to me earlier about? Our subspace antennae need to be replaced and the industrial replicators are malfunctioning?’
Lieutenant Commander Kareni Renn grinned slightly. ‘Yes sir, could take hours to fix and repair both systems.’
‘Then we might as well do something while we wait.’
Banks knew he was fighting a lost cause but felt the need to do things by the book, his biggest failing according to Dhrex. ‘I want it officially noted that I object to this operation.’
‘So noted,’ the Denobulan replied with a wave of his hand. ‘Select three officers who most closely resemble Ynelavii civilians in height, weight and physical characteristics – but no bridge officers unless there is no other choice. I want to give the junior officers a chance to shine.’
‘Even on such a dangerous mission?’
‘Especially on such a dangerous mission. “Risk is our business” as old Jim Kirk used to say.’
‘Yes sir, I’ll have a shortlist on your desk within the hour.’
‘Take care of it, Commander. You want to sit in this chair some day, you’ll have to be able to make the tough decisions.’
Banks sighed. Dhrex was not normally so twenty-third century in his behaviour but had slipped into it without Drummond to keep him on the straight and narrow, and Banks was now the only one who had a chance to keep it from going too far—not that he was doing a good job of it so far. ‘Aye sir, I’ll get right on it.’
Banks was thankful that there were no yeomen around for Dhrex to torture. It took almost two hours to actually get three crewmen willing to be surgically altered to pass as Ynelavii and another three to get the surgeries completed. Since giving the order, Dhrex had retired to his ready room and left Banks in charge, which wasn’t too much of a chore since it was a small crew, but it was making the former tactical officer wonder if the Denobulan cut out for command. While the two officers and one crewman headed for the transporter room, Banks returned to the bridge to speak with his new captain.
‘They’re ready to beam down, sir.’
‘Who have you chosen?’
‘Ensign T’Larr, the Exobiologist; Master Chief Petty Officer Elizabeth Banks, our transporter chief—and my wife—and Crewman James Chan, a warp specialist from the engineering team.’
‘And they all fit the general parameters of Ynelavii people?’
‘Closer than anyone else on board, sir.’
Dhrex nodded, the humour he had shown earlier had gone. ‘Go and give your wife a hug before she leaves.’
‘Sir, is there anything wrong?’
‘You’ve noticed?’
Banks neglected to mention that all of the bridge crew had seen the change in his behaviour from when he ordered the entire Ynelavii archives returned to the office of the usurper and asking for this mission to go ahead to now. ‘Yes sir.’
‘While I was speaking with you I received a text to the console beside my chair, in a Denobulan encryption code which hasn’t been used in over two hundred years. It was from my son and bypassed all the ship’s communications and security protocols.’
Banks made a note to tighten them but kept his face neutral. ‘What was it about, sir?’
‘One of my wives, my first wife actually, Geesel, was aboard a civilian transport vessel heading for Deneb IV when it was destroyed by an unknown ship. My son sent me the sensor logs of the alien vessel hoping that I could tell him who killed his mother.’
‘And?’
‘The vessel is similar to that of Cha’lav battle cruisers, albeit smaller, possibly a scout of some kind.’
‘So the Cha’lav are attacking elsewhere, have you informed Commander Logan and Command?’
‘I have, and they are sending the Corps of Engineers’ ship T’Pora to investigate.’
Banks opened his mouth to ask another question, why a Corps of Engineers’ ship was being sent instead of a ship of the line, but another question formed in his head. ‘Wasn’t Deneb IV the first planet the Enterprise-D visited after being launched?’
Dhrex looked up. ‘I don’t know, was it?’
‘The Farpoint mission, Captain, where Captain Picard first encountered Q?’
The Denobulan’s eyes widened in recognition. ‘Of course, how could I not remember. Geesel was going to be a teacher at the rebuilt Farpoint Station. She mentioned it in a letter to me some time ago.’
‘Perhaps there is something to this new Cha’lav attack,’ Banks replied.
‘I will contact Logan and Command, thank you for bringing me back from the brink, Andrew. Now go and give your wife a hug before she throws you out.’
Yes sir,’ Banks said and left the ready room briskly.
He didn’t like sending his wife into danger on a mission he thought was foolhardy but it was the nature of the job.
CHAPTER THREE
USS Weisskopf
In orbit of Ynelav VIII
Stardate 57338.9
Captain Dhrex scratched his chin as he stared at the massive Jovian-sized bulk on the viewscreen. He hadn’t wished to leave the system completely after being banished by Minister Furan. The man had taken the government by force, and since it was Starfleet policy not to interfere with the internal squabbles of planets, even those petitioning for Federation membership, Dhrex had little to do but sit back and wait to see what happened. He couldn’t stay for much longer, since the last message from Starbase 535 had been of an urgent nature regarding the Cha’lav, but he could not just let these people get swept under the galactic rug. He turned to Andrew Banks, who was equally bored of the view.
‘Commander, fancy a trip down to the surface?’
Banks looked nonplussed for a second before he realised which surface. ‘May I remind you, sir, it is against regulations to interfere in the internal politics of any civilisation.’
‘I wasn’t planning to interfere. I want to know more about the Seer but I can’t very well do that from up here, can I?’
Banks sighed, knowing his commanding officer had a plan that skirted the rules. Most of them did but were kept in check by the late Captain Drummond. ‘What did you have in mind, sir?’
‘I want a three person team, with all of them surgically altered to look like Ynelavii. They need to get into the shrine, read the scrolls and find out who the Seer is likely to be.’
‘A duck blind mission?’
Dhrex smiled and it stretched across his face. ‘Exactly.’
‘We have to get permission from Command to perform a duck blind mission, sir.’
Dhrex turned to his new tactical officer. ‘Kareni, what was the problem you spoke to me earlier about? Our subspace antennae need to be replaced and the industrial replicators are malfunctioning?’
Lieutenant Commander Kareni Renn grinned slightly. ‘Yes sir, could take hours to fix and repair both systems.’
‘Then we might as well do something while we wait.’
Banks knew he was fighting a lost cause but felt the need to do things by the book, his biggest failing according to Dhrex. ‘I want it officially noted that I object to this operation.’
‘So noted,’ the Denobulan replied with a wave of his hand. ‘Select three officers who most closely resemble Ynelavii civilians in height, weight and physical characteristics – but no bridge officers unless there is no other choice. I want to give the junior officers a chance to shine.’
‘Even on such a dangerous mission?’
‘Especially on such a dangerous mission. “Risk is our business” as old Jim Kirk used to say.’
‘Yes sir, I’ll have a shortlist on your desk within the hour.’
‘Take care of it, Commander. You want to sit in this chair some day, you’ll have to be able to make the tough decisions.’
Banks sighed. Dhrex was not normally so twenty-third century in his behaviour but had slipped into it without Drummond to keep him on the straight and narrow, and Banks was now the only one who had a chance to keep it from going too far—not that he was doing a good job of it so far. ‘Aye sir, I’ll get right on it.’
Banks was thankful that there were no yeomen around for Dhrex to torture. It took almost two hours to actually get three crewmen willing to be surgically altered to pass as Ynelavii and another three to get the surgeries completed. Since giving the order, Dhrex had retired to his ready room and left Banks in charge, which wasn’t too much of a chore since it was a small crew, but it was making the former tactical officer wonder if the Denobulan cut out for command. While the two officers and one crewman headed for the transporter room, Banks returned to the bridge to speak with his new captain.
‘They’re ready to beam down, sir.’
‘Who have you chosen?’
‘Ensign T’Larr, the Exobiologist; Master Chief Petty Officer Elizabeth Banks, our transporter chief—and my wife—and Crewman James Chan, a warp specialist from the engineering team.’
‘And they all fit the general parameters of Ynelavii people?’
‘Closer than anyone else on board, sir.’
Dhrex nodded, the humour he had shown earlier had gone. ‘Go and give your wife a hug before she leaves.’
‘Sir, is there anything wrong?’
‘You’ve noticed?’
Banks neglected to mention that all of the bridge crew had seen the change in his behaviour from when he ordered the entire Ynelavii archives returned to the office of the usurper and asking for this mission to go ahead to now. ‘Yes sir.’
‘While I was speaking with you I received a text to the console beside my chair, in a Denobulan encryption code which hasn’t been used in over two hundred years. It was from my son and bypassed all the ship’s communications and security protocols.’
Banks made a note to tighten them but kept his face neutral. ‘What was it about, sir?’
‘One of my wives, my first wife actually, Geesel, was aboard a civilian transport vessel heading for Deneb IV when it was destroyed by an unknown ship. My son sent me the sensor logs of the alien vessel hoping that I could tell him who killed his mother.’
‘And?’
‘The vessel is similar to that of Cha’lav battle cruisers, albeit smaller, possibly a scout of some kind.’
‘So the Cha’lav are attacking elsewhere, have you informed Commander Logan and Command?’
‘I have, and they are sending the Corps of Engineers’ ship T’Pora to investigate.’
Banks opened his mouth to ask another question, why a Corps of Engineers’ ship was being sent instead of a ship of the line, but another question formed in his head. ‘Wasn’t Deneb IV the first planet the Enterprise-D visited after being launched?’
Dhrex looked up. ‘I don’t know, was it?’
‘The Farpoint mission, Captain, where Captain Picard first encountered Q?’
The Denobulan’s eyes widened in recognition. ‘Of course, how could I not remember. Geesel was going to be a teacher at the rebuilt Farpoint Station. She mentioned it in a letter to me some time ago.’
‘Perhaps there is something to this new Cha’lav attack,’ Banks replied.
‘I will contact Logan and Command, thank you for bringing me back from the brink, Andrew. Now go and give your wife a hug before she throws you out.’
Yes sir,’ Banks said and left the ready room briskly.
He didn’t like sending his wife into danger on a mission he thought was foolhardy but it was the nature of the job.
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 3
Hmmm...the Cha'lev seem to be striking deeper--confidence or desperation? Why do I get the feeling too that Dhrex might be in over his head? You also did a good job handling Sito here. Looking forward to more.
Hmmm...the Cha'lev seem to be striking deeper--confidence or desperation? Why do I get the feeling too that Dhrex might be in over his head? You also did a good job handling Sito here. Looking forward to more.
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 3
Cha'lav, man, it's an A not an E.
Ok, thanks for the nod about Sito, hard to get that right after all she's been through.
You think that the Cha'lav are confident? or desperate? and Dhrex might be over his head?
You'll have to wait and see. Since I'm writing three series simultaneously, I'll return to Burning Ring... after writing the next parts of Star Trek: Sub-Rosa and Star Trek: 500.
Cha'lav, man, it's an A not an E.
Ok, thanks for the nod about Sito, hard to get that right after all she's been through.
You think that the Cha'lav are confident? or desperate? and Dhrex might be over his head?
You'll have to wait and see. Since I'm writing three series simultaneously, I'll return to Burning Ring... after writing the next parts of Star Trek: Sub-Rosa and Star Trek: 500.
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 3
I'm continue to be impressed by the sheer scope of this story and the rising Cha'lav (hope I got that right
) threat.
A lot of things are happening here and you do a great job of balancing the different story-lines carefully.
Also nice to see Owens making a cameo. :thumbsup:
I'm continue to be impressed by the sheer scope of this story and the rising Cha'lav (hope I got that right
) threat.A lot of things are happening here and you do a great job of balancing the different story-lines carefully.
Also nice to see Owens making a cameo. :thumbsup:
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 3
*Whistles innocently*
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 3
USS Dauntless
The Kursican Badlands
Stardate 57343.4
Astar clutched the arms of her chair, making her knuckles white, as Larson manoeuvred the ship around another plasma eddy. According to the sensors, when they worked in this soup, the Dauntless was approaching the centre of the Badlands. The plasma storms were supposed to be thinning out, not getting worse. Two days of continuous piloting for the flight controllers was taking its toll and the fact that they had stayed at full alert status was not helping. She glanced to her left to see Commander Wright effortlessly maintaining his position and cursed him. He was a complete enigma to her and his service jacket was just as strange. It seemed that a little over eight years ago he inexplicably changed. Since then, a number of his former commanding officers had been killed and he had been the prime suspect in each one, but nothing could be proven and so he had been let go, but the question hung over his head like the proverbial Sword of Damocles. The only clue she had to his behavioural change was the fact that a few weeks prior, he had been missing for a few hours on a planetoid before being rescued by shuttlecraft. Nothing was ever said but it was the most likely source of the problem. But she had no idea what it was.
‘Captain, we’re approaching the centre now,’ Larson called as the plasma storms thinned from excessive to negligible in mere seconds.
Wright was looking at the console between them. ‘Interesting. This region is far larger than the Badlands appear to be from outside the plasma storms. According to the sensors, the region contained within the plasma storms is almost eighteen cubic light years.’
‘How is that possible?’
‘I’m not sure,’ Mahtani said, ‘but my people are working on it.’
‘Look at the subspace topography,’ Larson turned away from the helm as the ship entered clear space. ‘It’s a mess. Overlapping areas of subspace have warped normal space.’
Astar stared at her helmsman. ‘Planning on a switch to subspace science?’
He smiled. ‘No sir, my father thought it best not only to learn how to pilot a starship, but also what allows one to fly at warp speeds.’
‘Smart man,’ she replied and turned to Mahtani. ‘Well?’
‘The six dimensions of subspace are so convoluted here, Captain, that I’m not even sure our warp drive will work. I’d like to run some tests before we go to warp.’
‘Granted, get on it. I want astrometrics to give me a full picture of the Badlands as soon as possible. Commander,’ she said turning her exec, ‘I want this ship ready for anything. Gonzales, be on the lookout for anything, no matter how unusual.’
‘Captain, I’m detecting a debris field two hundred billion kilometres ahead,’ Gonzales frowned, ‘also picking up metals and biological matter.’
‘Larson, set a course, half impulse. Full sensors, send out the SPRA probes and go to yellow alert. Stand by on shields and weapons.’
‘Aye sir,’ Larson and Gonzales replied as one.
As the Dauntless effortlessly forged ahead deeper into the Badlands, Mahtani focused on the readouts in front of him. Astar noticed him watching her and held in a smile. She had broken the cardinal rule of workplace romances before, when she was a department head several years ago, and it had backfired badly. Her lover had been promoted over her and then dumped her, and she had transferred off the ship to continue up the ladder. Even though that wouldn’t happen here, she was still weary of getting involved with anyone, at least until she had sorted out the numerous problems that her crew was stuck with.
‘Lieutenant ch’Maras, please make sure all damage control teams are on standby,’ she said to him, ice in her voice.
He had been treated quite differently since killing the civilians on the starbase but up until then, Astar had treated him almost the same. Now, however, she was being downright hostile to him. ‘Damage control teams were put on standby when we went to yellow alert.’
‘Good, I’d like you to coordinate them.’
‘Aye sir,’ he replied, saying nothing about the fact that it should be the first or second officer’s job to coordinate damage control teams. If he was to be a lackey then so be it. He didn’t even deserve to still be in the uniform but strings had been pulled.
Astar walked across the bridge to talk to him, seeing his antennae drooping against his skull. ‘Lieutenant, I know you feel that you don’t belong here, but I think otherwise. A permanent record has been placed in your file but that is all.’
‘My clan has disowned me, sir,’ he muttered in a whisper. ‘I have nowhere to go.’
She narrowed her eyes. ‘Did they not understand the full scope of events?’
‘It is irrelevant.’
‘Captain, we’re approaching the debris field,’ Larson said thankfully distracting her from the melancholy operations officer.
‘Slow to one quarter impulse. What are the sensors telling us?’ she asked as she retook her seat.
‘What you are looking at, Captain,’ Gonzales said as the viewscreen tightened on some of the debris, ‘is at least three Cha’lav warships and their multispecies crews.’
Astar stared at the viewscreen and sighed. ‘Are there any lifesigns?’
‘None, sir.’
‘Does it matter?’ Wright asked. ‘It isn’t as if they would rescue us, except maybe for interrogation.’
‘Commander, my ready room, now. Gonzales, you have the bridge. Begin a full investigation. I want to know where those ships came from and what happened to them. If their ship’s databases are still intact I want them downloaded into a secure section of the computer core.’
‘Aye sir,’ Gonzales said and didn’t wish to be the recipient of Astar’s wrath at that moment.
‘Captain, I am only voicing my opinion on the matter of their behaviour toward us.’
Astar narrowed her eyes. ‘If you want to have this discussion out here, that’s fine with me, Commander, although I suspect you’d much prefer to have it in private.’
‘Yes sir,’ Wright replied.
‘Good, then follow me.’
‘Danny, can you get us in a little closer to that engineering hull fragment, it looks like there might be some atmosphere still contained over there,’ Astar heard Gonzales say as she entered her ready room, closely followed by Wright, who looked like he was about to kill another commanding officer.
USS Dauntless
The Kursican Badlands
Stardate 57343.4
Astar clutched the arms of her chair, making her knuckles white, as Larson manoeuvred the ship around another plasma eddy. According to the sensors, when they worked in this soup, the Dauntless was approaching the centre of the Badlands. The plasma storms were supposed to be thinning out, not getting worse. Two days of continuous piloting for the flight controllers was taking its toll and the fact that they had stayed at full alert status was not helping. She glanced to her left to see Commander Wright effortlessly maintaining his position and cursed him. He was a complete enigma to her and his service jacket was just as strange. It seemed that a little over eight years ago he inexplicably changed. Since then, a number of his former commanding officers had been killed and he had been the prime suspect in each one, but nothing could be proven and so he had been let go, but the question hung over his head like the proverbial Sword of Damocles. The only clue she had to his behavioural change was the fact that a few weeks prior, he had been missing for a few hours on a planetoid before being rescued by shuttlecraft. Nothing was ever said but it was the most likely source of the problem. But she had no idea what it was.
‘Captain, we’re approaching the centre now,’ Larson called as the plasma storms thinned from excessive to negligible in mere seconds.
Wright was looking at the console between them. ‘Interesting. This region is far larger than the Badlands appear to be from outside the plasma storms. According to the sensors, the region contained within the plasma storms is almost eighteen cubic light years.’
‘How is that possible?’
‘I’m not sure,’ Mahtani said, ‘but my people are working on it.’
‘Look at the subspace topography,’ Larson turned away from the helm as the ship entered clear space. ‘It’s a mess. Overlapping areas of subspace have warped normal space.’
Astar stared at her helmsman. ‘Planning on a switch to subspace science?’
He smiled. ‘No sir, my father thought it best not only to learn how to pilot a starship, but also what allows one to fly at warp speeds.’
‘Smart man,’ she replied and turned to Mahtani. ‘Well?’
‘The six dimensions of subspace are so convoluted here, Captain, that I’m not even sure our warp drive will work. I’d like to run some tests before we go to warp.’
‘Granted, get on it. I want astrometrics to give me a full picture of the Badlands as soon as possible. Commander,’ she said turning her exec, ‘I want this ship ready for anything. Gonzales, be on the lookout for anything, no matter how unusual.’
‘Captain, I’m detecting a debris field two hundred billion kilometres ahead,’ Gonzales frowned, ‘also picking up metals and biological matter.’
‘Larson, set a course, half impulse. Full sensors, send out the SPRA probes and go to yellow alert. Stand by on shields and weapons.’
‘Aye sir,’ Larson and Gonzales replied as one.
As the Dauntless effortlessly forged ahead deeper into the Badlands, Mahtani focused on the readouts in front of him. Astar noticed him watching her and held in a smile. She had broken the cardinal rule of workplace romances before, when she was a department head several years ago, and it had backfired badly. Her lover had been promoted over her and then dumped her, and she had transferred off the ship to continue up the ladder. Even though that wouldn’t happen here, she was still weary of getting involved with anyone, at least until she had sorted out the numerous problems that her crew was stuck with.
‘Lieutenant ch’Maras, please make sure all damage control teams are on standby,’ she said to him, ice in her voice.
He had been treated quite differently since killing the civilians on the starbase but up until then, Astar had treated him almost the same. Now, however, she was being downright hostile to him. ‘Damage control teams were put on standby when we went to yellow alert.’
‘Good, I’d like you to coordinate them.’
‘Aye sir,’ he replied, saying nothing about the fact that it should be the first or second officer’s job to coordinate damage control teams. If he was to be a lackey then so be it. He didn’t even deserve to still be in the uniform but strings had been pulled.
Astar walked across the bridge to talk to him, seeing his antennae drooping against his skull. ‘Lieutenant, I know you feel that you don’t belong here, but I think otherwise. A permanent record has been placed in your file but that is all.’
‘My clan has disowned me, sir,’ he muttered in a whisper. ‘I have nowhere to go.’
She narrowed her eyes. ‘Did they not understand the full scope of events?’
‘It is irrelevant.’
‘Captain, we’re approaching the debris field,’ Larson said thankfully distracting her from the melancholy operations officer.
‘Slow to one quarter impulse. What are the sensors telling us?’ she asked as she retook her seat.
‘What you are looking at, Captain,’ Gonzales said as the viewscreen tightened on some of the debris, ‘is at least three Cha’lav warships and their multispecies crews.’
Astar stared at the viewscreen and sighed. ‘Are there any lifesigns?’
‘None, sir.’
‘Does it matter?’ Wright asked. ‘It isn’t as if they would rescue us, except maybe for interrogation.’
‘Commander, my ready room, now. Gonzales, you have the bridge. Begin a full investigation. I want to know where those ships came from and what happened to them. If their ship’s databases are still intact I want them downloaded into a secure section of the computer core.’
‘Aye sir,’ Gonzales said and didn’t wish to be the recipient of Astar’s wrath at that moment.
‘Captain, I am only voicing my opinion on the matter of their behaviour toward us.’
Astar narrowed her eyes. ‘If you want to have this discussion out here, that’s fine with me, Commander, although I suspect you’d much prefer to have it in private.’
‘Yes sir,’ Wright replied.
‘Good, then follow me.’
‘Danny, can you get us in a little closer to that engineering hull fragment, it looks like there might be some atmosphere still contained over there,’ Astar heard Gonzales say as she entered her ready room, closely followed by Wright, who looked like he was about to kill another commanding officer.
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 3
I'm enjoying the tensions between the officers here. It's looking like things might be escalating between Astar and Wright, and ch'Maras most definitely is not at his best now--especially as it's looking like this is going to be a bad time for brooding.
Good job keeping up the tension and interest!
I'm enjoying the tensions between the officers here. It's looking like things might be escalating between Astar and Wright, and ch'Maras most definitely is not at his best now--especially as it's looking like this is going to be a bad time for brooding.
Good job keeping up the tension and interest!
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 3
It doesn't bode well for a Captain to mistrust his or her XO. Wright certainly has a shady past - does he have a secret agenda as well?
Now the Dauntless finds the wreckage of three warships. The mystery deepens!
It doesn't bode well for a Captain to mistrust his or her XO. Wright certainly has a shady past - does he have a secret agenda as well?
Now the Dauntless finds the wreckage of three warships. The mystery deepens!
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 3
I have a nice little story planned out for him, don't write him off yet
I have a nice little story planned out for him, don't write him off yet
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 3
I'm giving you guys all the hints to know exactly what is going on with him, maybe too much, but none of you have even mentioned the possibilities.
I guess I'll just have to write faster. Having split The Pebbled Sea into a two-part pilot (so to speak), Burning Ring of Fire has become 1x03 and you will find out the truth about Wright in 1x05. The stories from now on will be around 30,000 words and I'm almost half-way through this one.
I'm giving you guys all the hints to know exactly what is going on with him, maybe too much, but none of you have even mentioned the possibilities.
I guess I'll just have to write faster. Having split The Pebbled Sea into a two-part pilot (so to speak), Burning Ring of Fire has become 1x03 and you will find out the truth about Wright in 1x05. The stories from now on will be around 30,000 words and I'm almost half-way through this one.
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 3
Yeah, I've been wondering about Wright for a while now. This character is truly odd ... in an interesting way. He killed all his previous commanding officers but is still walking around a free man? Wow ... how did he get another assignment. What's with this guy? Well I'm eager to find out more about him.
I did think Astar might've come down a bit hard on him in the last segment. All he did was voice an opinion but I guess I'm getting ahead of myself now.
Yeah, I've been wondering about Wright for a while now. This character is truly odd ... in an interesting way. He killed all his previous commanding officers but is still walking around a free man? Wow ... how did he get another assignment. What's with this guy? Well I'm eager to find out more about him.
I did think Astar might've come down a bit hard on him in the last segment. All he did was voice an opinion but I guess I'm getting ahead of myself now.
Re: Burning Ring of Fire - Chapter 3
Freighter Kolvoord
Ramajuan Salvage Yards
Stardate 57346.1
Nicholas Locarno was trapped.
An ion storm had caused a power surge in some of the derelicts and essentially magnetised their hulls, creating a barrier around his ship. He had no way to send a distress call through the ionised mess and even if he did it wasn’t likely to be answered by anyone with any morality. Not in this part of space. He sighed and began scanning for the ship that his client wanted, if he was lucky it would be close by and he could get the parts he needed before anything else went wrong. The ship was of an unknown design, even to the Federation database, and the language was like nothing he had ever seen. His client had given him whatever information he had on the ship—or whatever he thought Locarno should know—and told him to find a number of items on said ship that would allow him to increase his chances of winning a local election.
An insistent alert tone from the sensor display console gave Locarno hope. One of the ionised ships was actually the one he was looking for. Locarno had one cargo transporter on his freighter without any of the usual Starfleet-standard safeguards for biological transport and he really didn’t want to risk using it, meaning that he would have to link up to the ship if he was going to get aboard. It would require precision flying on his part since the ionised ship was moving in tandem with the others it was now connected to. He allowed the Kolvoord to be ionised when he was in position and the airlock showed a good seal. Grabbing a Starfleet-issue tricorder and phaser from a secured locker under the pilot’s console (thanks to Hajar), Locarno entered the airlock and made his way through it to the alien vessel. The language on the hull was exactly the same as that given to him by Dreno’L and he linked his tricorder to the Kolvoord’s hidden database provided him courtesy of Section 31.
According to the database, the language was one of the first encountered by the starship Voyager when it was hurled into the Delta Quadrant nine years before. Unfortunately, the database couldn’t be more specific since Starfleet had classified the information pending review before Section 31 could retrieve it all. It didn’t matter to him because all he was interested in was getting the parts and getting out of there. He heard an echo in his mind and whirled round to face an empty corridor. Using the tricorder, he was able to determine that what he needed was in the engine room of this ship and proceeded carefully. Something on this ship wasn’t as dead as it seemed to be and it was spooking him.
‘Help me, Nick,’ a voice called out in a whisper.
‘Who’s there?’ he asked, his voice echoing along the empty corridor.
‘My emergency transponder beacon’s not working, Nick. Help me,’ wailed the voice.
Locarno swallowed. He knew that Joshua Albert, his friend and fellow cadet killed twelve years ago was not here on this ship, but still he felt compelled to give the same response as he had done back then.
‘Keep trying, Josh…Joshua, activate the damned beacon…Cadet!’ His shouts echoed down the corridor.
‘Nick!’
It was the last word Joshua ever spoke before the five ships were destroyed. Everyone else had made it, but Josh hadn’t. Locarno never forgave himself for that error and it was his guilt which had driven him into the arms of Section 31 to give meaning to his life.
‘Who are you? What do you want from me?’ he asked as he continued toward engineering.
‘Why didn’t you help me, Nick?’ a ghostly apparition appeared in a cadet’s uniform ahead of him.
‘Your beacon didn’t activate, there was nothing I could do to help you. You know that,’ Locarno muttered, the words sounding hollow, even to him.
‘You could have told them the truth!’ the ghost of Albert scolded him.
Locarno stopped in his tracks, that one sentence bringing the walls of his psyche crashing down around him. ‘Don’t you think I know that?’ He yelled. ‘I had the opportunity to tell the truth but I couldn’t. I wanted to save my own ass and I nearly took all the others with me. If Crusher hadn’t forced it we might have got away with it but I was glad when the truth came out. I don’t think I could have accepted the lie. When faced with it, I took full responsibility. You were my crew and I failed you all.’
The apparition vanished and Locarno slumped to the floor, emotionally exhausted. A small part of his mind knew that whatever had caused the illusion was probably going to attack again, but nothing else could hurt him now. He’d bared his soul and essentially said goodbye to Albert after all these years, something denied to him at the time. After some time, he pulled himself up and reached the engine room. The specific metallic signature he is looking for is essentially a small part of the ship’s impulse engine and detaches easily. With that in hand, Locarno went looking for the next part and found it in a storage bay. With his treasure hunt two thirds completed, Locarno headed to the bridge to download the ship’s database. He took an extra copy for himself and then tried to return to his own ship but the doors to the bridge suddenly slid shut.
‘I’m leaving now,’ he shouts to the room. ‘You’ll be left alone once I’m gone.’
The bridge suddenly came alive and appeared to be fully manned by humanoids both male and female with Vulcan-like ears wearing military-style uniforms.
‘Who are you?’ a male asked, presumably the captain.
‘You’re not real, none of you are,’ Locarno answered. ‘Show yourself.’
The figures disappeared and the bridge became as lifeless as it had been. A small figure emerged from an equally small hiding place. Locarno squatted down to the young girl’s height.
‘Hi, my name’s Nick. What’s yours?’
‘Linnis,’ the girl muttered. ‘Are you going to hurt me?’
Locarno’s features clouded for a moment. ‘No,’ he said, smiling. ‘I’m going to help you.’
The girl smiled back and Locarno held out his hand.
‘Was it you making those people appear?’
She nodded. ‘I was protecting myself from the bad men who killed my mummy and daddy.’
‘I’ll take you away from the bad men, I promise.’
Locarno led the girl to his ship, reversed the ionisation to decouple it from the alien vessel and then took the long way out of the salvage yard, sending a signal to Dreno’L that he had the parts. Once that was taken care of, he would return to Starbase 535 and find out what the latest news was regarding the Cha’lav.
Freighter Kolvoord
Ramajuan Salvage Yards
Stardate 57346.1
Nicholas Locarno was trapped.
An ion storm had caused a power surge in some of the derelicts and essentially magnetised their hulls, creating a barrier around his ship. He had no way to send a distress call through the ionised mess and even if he did it wasn’t likely to be answered by anyone with any morality. Not in this part of space. He sighed and began scanning for the ship that his client wanted, if he was lucky it would be close by and he could get the parts he needed before anything else went wrong. The ship was of an unknown design, even to the Federation database, and the language was like nothing he had ever seen. His client had given him whatever information he had on the ship—or whatever he thought Locarno should know—and told him to find a number of items on said ship that would allow him to increase his chances of winning a local election.
An insistent alert tone from the sensor display console gave Locarno hope. One of the ionised ships was actually the one he was looking for. Locarno had one cargo transporter on his freighter without any of the usual Starfleet-standard safeguards for biological transport and he really didn’t want to risk using it, meaning that he would have to link up to the ship if he was going to get aboard. It would require precision flying on his part since the ionised ship was moving in tandem with the others it was now connected to. He allowed the Kolvoord to be ionised when he was in position and the airlock showed a good seal. Grabbing a Starfleet-issue tricorder and phaser from a secured locker under the pilot’s console (thanks to Hajar), Locarno entered the airlock and made his way through it to the alien vessel. The language on the hull was exactly the same as that given to him by Dreno’L and he linked his tricorder to the Kolvoord’s hidden database provided him courtesy of Section 31.
According to the database, the language was one of the first encountered by the starship Voyager when it was hurled into the Delta Quadrant nine years before. Unfortunately, the database couldn’t be more specific since Starfleet had classified the information pending review before Section 31 could retrieve it all. It didn’t matter to him because all he was interested in was getting the parts and getting out of there. He heard an echo in his mind and whirled round to face an empty corridor. Using the tricorder, he was able to determine that what he needed was in the engine room of this ship and proceeded carefully. Something on this ship wasn’t as dead as it seemed to be and it was spooking him.
‘Help me, Nick,’ a voice called out in a whisper.
‘Who’s there?’ he asked, his voice echoing along the empty corridor.
‘My emergency transponder beacon’s not working, Nick. Help me,’ wailed the voice.
Locarno swallowed. He knew that Joshua Albert, his friend and fellow cadet killed twelve years ago was not here on this ship, but still he felt compelled to give the same response as he had done back then.
‘Keep trying, Josh…Joshua, activate the damned beacon…Cadet!’ His shouts echoed down the corridor.
‘Nick!’
It was the last word Joshua ever spoke before the five ships were destroyed. Everyone else had made it, but Josh hadn’t. Locarno never forgave himself for that error and it was his guilt which had driven him into the arms of Section 31 to give meaning to his life.
‘Who are you? What do you want from me?’ he asked as he continued toward engineering.
‘Why didn’t you help me, Nick?’ a ghostly apparition appeared in a cadet’s uniform ahead of him.
‘Your beacon didn’t activate, there was nothing I could do to help you. You know that,’ Locarno muttered, the words sounding hollow, even to him.
‘You could have told them the truth!’ the ghost of Albert scolded him.
Locarno stopped in his tracks, that one sentence bringing the walls of his psyche crashing down around him. ‘Don’t you think I know that?’ He yelled. ‘I had the opportunity to tell the truth but I couldn’t. I wanted to save my own ass and I nearly took all the others with me. If Crusher hadn’t forced it we might have got away with it but I was glad when the truth came out. I don’t think I could have accepted the lie. When faced with it, I took full responsibility. You were my crew and I failed you all.’
The apparition vanished and Locarno slumped to the floor, emotionally exhausted. A small part of his mind knew that whatever had caused the illusion was probably going to attack again, but nothing else could hurt him now. He’d bared his soul and essentially said goodbye to Albert after all these years, something denied to him at the time. After some time, he pulled himself up and reached the engine room. The specific metallic signature he is looking for is essentially a small part of the ship’s impulse engine and detaches easily. With that in hand, Locarno went looking for the next part and found it in a storage bay. With his treasure hunt two thirds completed, Locarno headed to the bridge to download the ship’s database. He took an extra copy for himself and then tried to return to his own ship but the doors to the bridge suddenly slid shut.
‘I’m leaving now,’ he shouts to the room. ‘You’ll be left alone once I’m gone.’
The bridge suddenly came alive and appeared to be fully manned by humanoids both male and female with Vulcan-like ears wearing military-style uniforms.
‘Who are you?’ a male asked, presumably the captain.
‘You’re not real, none of you are,’ Locarno answered. ‘Show yourself.’
The figures disappeared and the bridge became as lifeless as it had been. A small figure emerged from an equally small hiding place. Locarno squatted down to the young girl’s height.
‘Hi, my name’s Nick. What’s yours?’
‘Linnis,’ the girl muttered. ‘Are you going to hurt me?’
Locarno’s features clouded for a moment. ‘No,’ he said, smiling. ‘I’m going to help you.’
The girl smiled back and Locarno held out his hand.
‘Was it you making those people appear?’
She nodded. ‘I was protecting myself from the bad men who killed my mummy and daddy.’
‘I’ll take you away from the bad men, I promise.’
Locarno led the girl to his ship, reversed the ionisation to decouple it from the alien vessel and then took the long way out of the salvage yard, sending a signal to Dreno’L that he had the parts. Once that was taken care of, he would return to Starbase 535 and find out what the latest news was regarding the Cha’lav.
