Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting. For those in the US, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It's always great to hear new voices, thanks for sharing your thoughts Admiralelm11. I haven't read any of the A Time To...books though I have the David Mack ones. Hopefully I'll get around to them one day.
Yeah, its going to be tough for Walker to climb out of the pit, but I've got faith in him. BrotherBenny told me that he used Harrison Ford for a model and I can't let Mr. Ford go out a bad guy (though I have to admit that I've been thinking of the kind of compromised character he played in movies like Presumed Innocent). I would like to thank BB again for allowing me to use his characters, they've really grown on me.
Dnoth, Chalandra is pretty unlikable, so you have my blessings to hate her
. Though I have tried to make sure that what she is doing and why is somewhat understandable.
CeJay, the situation is pretty dire on the Jem'Hadar ship but you know the old saying, its always darkest before the dawn.
*****************************************************
Imperial Romulan Cruiser Stiletto
Shadow-Class
Scarab Nebula
The Romulan soldiers rushed into the docking hold. “Are you certain that all systems had been shut down?” The Sublieutenant barked. The insignia on the harness strapping her chest identified her as belonging to the ship’s security branch.
“Of course,” The uhlan tersely replied, making sure to meet the fair-haired woman’s gaze. He was glad that his bronze helmet covered up the sweat sprouting on his brow. After his team had swept the shuttle, he had been ordered to stand watch. His shift was nearing an end and he had even been looking forward to the hard cot that served as bed on this cramped ship.
Until the sublieutenant had barged in, with eyes flashing and her words charged with accusation. It had quickly dispelled any tiredness from his bones.
His superior flecked her gray eyes back toward the circular door that led to the short tunnel connecting the Stiletto to the Starfleet vessel. Clamps and a magnetic field were holding the shuttle in place along the cruiser’s hull.
“Well, what explains this energy signature?” She waved the tricorder she held quickly in front of his eyes. He was barely able to glimpse at it before she whisked it away. She clipped it back to her belt.
“I..I…”
“Bah,” She snorted, brandishing her disruptor pistol. “Something, or someone is probably on that shuttle.” The officer declared. With her free hand she motioned the soldiers that had accompanied her to take up position around the door. “You,” She turned, pointing to the Uhlan. “You will take point. I’ll go in right behind you.”
Oh, so that’ means I’ll be your shield? He thought, but knew better than to ever say, or even allow such sentiment to show on his face. He nodded and took up position quickly, “Oh course.”
“Let’s go,” the woman snapped, as if she had given him the command hours ago. The uhlan pulled out his weapon and held it close to his chest as he approached the seal. His superior nodded and one of the other guards released the hatch. The door circled away with a hiss. The uhlan stepped into the tunnel, the frigid bite of space even breaching the air sealed corridor. He crouched, his gun at the ready. He could feel the sublieutenant’s heat at his back, and he imagined he could also feel her impatient stare jabbing into him from behind.
But it didn’t make him go faster. If he had made a mistake, if he had missed a stowaway aboard, his career was over. Just as surely as if life might be over if someone was lying in wait for them aboard the Starfleet shuttle. He was in no rush to find out.
He approached the silvery side of the shuttle and touched its cold metal skin. He found the emergency release lever and pushed it down. The door swooshed to the side. He crouched down further as he stepped inside, trying to make himself as little as a target as possible. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. He inspected the smooth paneled cockpit and saw that it was as empty as it had been the first time he had seen it.
“The energy readings emanated from the aft section, the transporter pad,” the sublieutenant’s words made him jump. He turned around with a start. The woman was still right behind him. The uhlan had become so engrossed in the search that he had forgotten the woman had been behind him.
She frowned, “This way,” she pointed with her pistol toward the back of the shuttle. Once again, he was forced to take point. He led the way through the narrow hallway leading to the vessel’s small transporter platform. An acrid smell arose from inside the alcove shielding the pad.
“What’s that smell?” The sublieutenant asked. The uhlan shrugged. “Go find out,” she ordered. Squaring his shoulders, he barreled into the alcove, waving his disruptor about, but the alcove was empty.
“No one’s here,” he said. But the woman wasn’t paying attention. She turned to another guard, a lanky, sallow-skinned, smooth paned man.
“Check the transporter records,” she ordered. He rushed to the standing console and began accessing it. “The rest of you, conduct another search of this vessel. Leave no deckplate unturned.”
“There was a transporter activation,” the guard said after a few moments, “though it appears that one or more phase coils have malfunctioned. It could’ve been the result of that.”
“Perhaps,” the sublieutenant said, rubbing her chin. “Or maybe someone was trying to cover up an unauthorized transport.”
“It is feasible,” the tall man replied.
Nodding, the woman pulled a communicator from her belt. She flipped it open. “Sublieutenant Melal to bridge.”
“What do you have to report?” It was Lt. Colonel Vakis. Her voice had always chilled the uhlan. It was so devoid of emotion, and strangely it was both at odds and symmetric with her cold beauty.
“I have found that transporter activation had occurred,” Melal said. “However it could’ve been the result of an equipment malfunction.”
“Perhaps,” Vakis’s voice bore the same skepticism. “I will dispatch an engineering team at once.”
“I await them,” Melal said.
“And I await your findings. And remember, patience is not one of my virtues. Vakis out.”
The sublieutenant turned back to him. “Resume your post,” she said, turning away from him before he could even acknowledge the order. The uhlan kept the exasperation out of his expression. You’ve used me for a shield and now you want to take all the credit, if there is any to be had, all by yourself, the uhlan glumly realized.
It hadn’t been the first time, nor would it be the last. So was the fate of being of low rank on an Imperial ship. The uhlan trudged back through the narrow corridor, his mind swirling with fantasies of telling Melal just what he thought of her. He was so focused on his dreams of revenge that he didn’t hear the soft hiss of a door to the refresher room behind him, or of the quiet footfalls rushing from it. He didn’t realize that someone was behind him until he felt a hot gush of air on his neck. He turned around, swallowing his anger, and making his expression as dutiful as possible.
He wondered what the sublieutenant wanted from him now. “How might I…” A sharp jab to the throat cut off his words and his air. He grabbed at his crushed throat, his lungs starting to scream for air. His eyes flashed wildly, but he couldn’t see who had attacked him in the shadowed hall and he couldn’t ask why. He realized that he still held on to his gun and he lifted it, but his fingers went slack when the shadow pinched his wrist, deadening the nerves.
The pistol slid from his hand. He flailed madly at the assailant, flopping hard against the wall in an attempt to elude him, but the man was everywhere, breaking him apart with a series of surgical blows. It was amazing that he hadn’t crumpled already, but the uhlan had just enough speed to avoid getting hit with full impact. He hit the wall with such force that it jarred.
“What was that?”He heard a voice ask. He tried to scream for help, to get the potential savior to come.
“Now we can’t have that, can we?” The attacker said, his voice course and filled with disappointment. He moved in, with a vicious hit to the jaw, almost ripping the uhlan’s head off and exposing his neck. With an almost gentle touch, two fingers found the right nerves in his neck and pinched. The pain was momentary but the darkness…forever.
****************************************************************
Yeah, its going to be tough for Walker to climb out of the pit, but I've got faith in him. BrotherBenny told me that he used Harrison Ford for a model and I can't let Mr. Ford go out a bad guy (though I have to admit that I've been thinking of the kind of compromised character he played in movies like Presumed Innocent). I would like to thank BB again for allowing me to use his characters, they've really grown on me.
Dnoth, Chalandra is pretty unlikable, so you have my blessings to hate her
. Though I have tried to make sure that what she is doing and why is somewhat understandable. CeJay, the situation is pretty dire on the Jem'Hadar ship but you know the old saying, its always darkest before the dawn.
*****************************************************
Imperial Romulan Cruiser Stiletto
Shadow-Class
Scarab Nebula
The Romulan soldiers rushed into the docking hold. “Are you certain that all systems had been shut down?” The Sublieutenant barked. The insignia on the harness strapping her chest identified her as belonging to the ship’s security branch.
“Of course,” The uhlan tersely replied, making sure to meet the fair-haired woman’s gaze. He was glad that his bronze helmet covered up the sweat sprouting on his brow. After his team had swept the shuttle, he had been ordered to stand watch. His shift was nearing an end and he had even been looking forward to the hard cot that served as bed on this cramped ship.
Until the sublieutenant had barged in, with eyes flashing and her words charged with accusation. It had quickly dispelled any tiredness from his bones.
His superior flecked her gray eyes back toward the circular door that led to the short tunnel connecting the Stiletto to the Starfleet vessel. Clamps and a magnetic field were holding the shuttle in place along the cruiser’s hull.
“Well, what explains this energy signature?” She waved the tricorder she held quickly in front of his eyes. He was barely able to glimpse at it before she whisked it away. She clipped it back to her belt.
“I..I…”
“Bah,” She snorted, brandishing her disruptor pistol. “Something, or someone is probably on that shuttle.” The officer declared. With her free hand she motioned the soldiers that had accompanied her to take up position around the door. “You,” She turned, pointing to the Uhlan. “You will take point. I’ll go in right behind you.”
Oh, so that’ means I’ll be your shield? He thought, but knew better than to ever say, or even allow such sentiment to show on his face. He nodded and took up position quickly, “Oh course.”
“Let’s go,” the woman snapped, as if she had given him the command hours ago. The uhlan pulled out his weapon and held it close to his chest as he approached the seal. His superior nodded and one of the other guards released the hatch. The door circled away with a hiss. The uhlan stepped into the tunnel, the frigid bite of space even breaching the air sealed corridor. He crouched, his gun at the ready. He could feel the sublieutenant’s heat at his back, and he imagined he could also feel her impatient stare jabbing into him from behind.
But it didn’t make him go faster. If he had made a mistake, if he had missed a stowaway aboard, his career was over. Just as surely as if life might be over if someone was lying in wait for them aboard the Starfleet shuttle. He was in no rush to find out.
He approached the silvery side of the shuttle and touched its cold metal skin. He found the emergency release lever and pushed it down. The door swooshed to the side. He crouched down further as he stepped inside, trying to make himself as little as a target as possible. It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. He inspected the smooth paneled cockpit and saw that it was as empty as it had been the first time he had seen it.
“The energy readings emanated from the aft section, the transporter pad,” the sublieutenant’s words made him jump. He turned around with a start. The woman was still right behind him. The uhlan had become so engrossed in the search that he had forgotten the woman had been behind him.
She frowned, “This way,” she pointed with her pistol toward the back of the shuttle. Once again, he was forced to take point. He led the way through the narrow hallway leading to the vessel’s small transporter platform. An acrid smell arose from inside the alcove shielding the pad.
“What’s that smell?” The sublieutenant asked. The uhlan shrugged. “Go find out,” she ordered. Squaring his shoulders, he barreled into the alcove, waving his disruptor about, but the alcove was empty.
“No one’s here,” he said. But the woman wasn’t paying attention. She turned to another guard, a lanky, sallow-skinned, smooth paned man.
“Check the transporter records,” she ordered. He rushed to the standing console and began accessing it. “The rest of you, conduct another search of this vessel. Leave no deckplate unturned.”
“There was a transporter activation,” the guard said after a few moments, “though it appears that one or more phase coils have malfunctioned. It could’ve been the result of that.”
“Perhaps,” the sublieutenant said, rubbing her chin. “Or maybe someone was trying to cover up an unauthorized transport.”
“It is feasible,” the tall man replied.
Nodding, the woman pulled a communicator from her belt. She flipped it open. “Sublieutenant Melal to bridge.”
“What do you have to report?” It was Lt. Colonel Vakis. Her voice had always chilled the uhlan. It was so devoid of emotion, and strangely it was both at odds and symmetric with her cold beauty.
“I have found that transporter activation had occurred,” Melal said. “However it could’ve been the result of an equipment malfunction.”
“Perhaps,” Vakis’s voice bore the same skepticism. “I will dispatch an engineering team at once.”
“I await them,” Melal said.
“And I await your findings. And remember, patience is not one of my virtues. Vakis out.”
The sublieutenant turned back to him. “Resume your post,” she said, turning away from him before he could even acknowledge the order. The uhlan kept the exasperation out of his expression. You’ve used me for a shield and now you want to take all the credit, if there is any to be had, all by yourself, the uhlan glumly realized.
It hadn’t been the first time, nor would it be the last. So was the fate of being of low rank on an Imperial ship. The uhlan trudged back through the narrow corridor, his mind swirling with fantasies of telling Melal just what he thought of her. He was so focused on his dreams of revenge that he didn’t hear the soft hiss of a door to the refresher room behind him, or of the quiet footfalls rushing from it. He didn’t realize that someone was behind him until he felt a hot gush of air on his neck. He turned around, swallowing his anger, and making his expression as dutiful as possible.
He wondered what the sublieutenant wanted from him now. “How might I…” A sharp jab to the throat cut off his words and his air. He grabbed at his crushed throat, his lungs starting to scream for air. His eyes flashed wildly, but he couldn’t see who had attacked him in the shadowed hall and he couldn’t ask why. He realized that he still held on to his gun and he lifted it, but his fingers went slack when the shadow pinched his wrist, deadening the nerves.
The pistol slid from his hand. He flailed madly at the assailant, flopping hard against the wall in an attempt to elude him, but the man was everywhere, breaking him apart with a series of surgical blows. It was amazing that he hadn’t crumpled already, but the uhlan had just enough speed to avoid getting hit with full impact. He hit the wall with such force that it jarred.
“What was that?”He heard a voice ask. He tried to scream for help, to get the potential savior to come.
“Now we can’t have that, can we?” The attacker said, his voice course and filled with disappointment. He moved in, with a vicious hit to the jaw, almost ripping the uhlan’s head off and exposing his neck. With an almost gentle touch, two fingers found the right nerves in his neck and pinched. The pain was momentary but the darkness…forever.
****************************************************************
