The Border Banshee

[BrotherBenny]

While my Pytheas series is going slowly at this present time, I would like to introduce a spinoff, with thanks to TheLoneRedshirt for his ships, characters and partially the setting.

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From the Universe of United Trek....


....From the Author of the Star Trek: Pytheas series....


....Comes a New Series....


....Screaming through the darkness at the edge of known space....


....The Border Banshee....​

Coming Soon:

Captain Chalikoth th'Naars leads the crew of the Griffin-class Border Cutter USS Banshee through the perils of the Kursican sector, now under Border Service protection from an ancient enemy hiding for two hundred years and ready to try again.

This universe will be theirs for the taking....

....unless the Border Service can stop them.​

 

[mirandafave]

Sounds intriguing. Can't wait to find out what it is all about.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

I've been looking forward to this! Glad you are taking the plunge and greatly anticipating the first installment.

 

[Mistral]

GAH! There's nothing here but a promo! I'll get you for this, Brother Benny! *shakes fist*

 

[BrotherBenny]

You wouldn't want me to post anything sub-par would you??

Joking, here comes the first part.

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THE BORDER BANSHEE

Part of the United Trek universe

1x01
“The Kursican Storm”​

Historian’s Note: This story takes place in November 2378 (Old Calendar), approximately five months after the Battle of Kursica as seen in Pytheas 1x06 “The Art of War.”

Prologue

Federation-Registered Freighter SS Time Bandit
The Kursican Sector
Stardate 55870.9 (November 14, 2378)

Andy Hillstrand cursed the gods from every race he could think of as the Andorian held an ushaan-tor against his neck. Outside the ship the worst ion storm to hit the region in decades raged on oblivious to the battle going on inside. Hillstrand dared not move since he knew how sharp those ice mining tools were and he was in danger of losing his life if he didn't provide the blue-skinned alien with an answer he liked.

'What was the question again?' he asked, stalling.

The ushaan-tor pressed into his neck and drew a bead of blood. 'Where are the Royal Marbles of Tirex III?' the Andorian asked, for the third and final time, through a cigar.

Hillstrand swallowed. 'Never heard of them.'

Just then a dusky-gold-skinned alien man seven feet tall and nearly a meter wide forced his way onto the bridge holding a silver case. He opened it and scrunched his face as a deathly scream pierced the air. He held it open for just three long seconds and then closed it again, glancing at the Andorian for orders.

'You've never heard of them,' the Andorian replied and his antennae straightened after they had flattened themselves against his skull during the aural assault. 'Then what did you think you were stealing?'

'Can you move the blade?' he asked and pointed at his neck which was now dripping freely.

The Andorian wiped the blade on Hillstrand's tunic and flipped it in the air. 'Speak.'

'I was asked to steal a case from a diplomat. I had no idea what was in it. What are those things anyway?'

The golden man picked him up and brought him to eye-level. 'The Royal Marbles of Tirex III,' he growled. 'Are you deaf?'

'Put him down, Ghiroh,' the Andorian ordered.

Hillstrand found himself sitting on his rump as he was dropped and looked up at the aliens on his ship. 'What are you going to do with me now?'

The Andorian glanced his companions and grinned. 'We'll leave you to the mercies of the ion storm.'

Hillstrand jumped up in alarm. 'You can't! My ship's no match for this storm. It's a death sentence.'

'Which is exactly what you have on your head. It's safer this way,' the Andorian patted him on the shoulder and then turned to the silent half-Ktarian. 'Let's go.'

The three of them, and the case, vanished in pillars of light. Hillstrand sighed as he watched the forward screen, saw the vessel retracted its shields and then move away, having no trouble manoeuvring through the ion storm. He reached the pilot's console even as the first groans of his ship's hull reached him and he reached for the old-style comm system he'd installed.

The mike sputtered to life as he called out. 'This is the Time Bandit to anyone who can hear me. I'm trapped in the ion storm and...' hear he paused, not for effect but because he couldn't believe that the rumours were true, '...and I've just been attacked by the Banshee.'

It was a moment before a response reached him, garbled as it was by the storm. 'Time Bandit, this is the Cornelia Marie. What is your position?'

Hillstrand breathed a sigh of relief and relayed his position. 'You're a life saver, Phil.'

Hillstrand relaxed and sat in his chair just as the proximity alarmed blared. 'What the hell?'

He looked at the instrumentation and his eyes widened in alarm. This time there was nothing that anyone could do to help him. The photon torpedo pierced the fog of the ion storm as if it wasn't there and slammed into the aft bulkhead, vaporising the engines and tearing the ship apart. His last conscious thought was that the crew of the rogue cutter would never be held accountable for their actions.

***​

Captain Chalikoth th'Naars watched the viewscreen as the ion storm disappeared as though it had never existed and the Time Bandit exploded. He prayed to the gods for the lives of those aboard but then put them out of his mind. He sat down in the command chair of the USS Banshee and watched his crew go about their business.

'Captain, do you not think we were a little harsh on the Time Bandit? Don't you think the other freighters will pass this myth on?'

'I hope they do, Commander,' Koth answered with a wry grin. 'Remember our mission in this sector is to be overt and covert at the same time. This ship has been outfitted with a lot of technology to help us do just that.'

'The ion storm wasn't our doing,' the first officer reminded him.

'True, but I am convinced it was the work of the Marbles, which reminds me,' he said and turned to the Bolian at the helm. 'V'Han, set a course for Tirex III, maximum warp. The sooner we get these things home, the better.'

'Captain, we are receiving a signal from Star Station Kilo,' tactical officer Lieutenant Commander T'Rin called out. 'Admiral Gunderson would like us to know that the SS Cornelia Marie has filed an official complaint with Border Service Command regarding the crimes of the USS Banshee which include the destruction of the SS Time Bandit and the murders of her crew.'

Koth chuckled. 'Thank you, T'Rin. Has she put out a warrant for our arrest yet?'

'Not yet, sir. She has passed the matter up the chain of command, where it will as usual be conveniently misplaced by Border Service Judge Advocate General.'

Ghiroh grinned and sat down in his chair as laughter erupted across the bridge.

'I fail to see where the humour is in this situation. We have committed grave acts against the Federation,' T'Rin said with a straight, stoic, Vulcan non-expression...which she held for precisely three seconds. 'I couldn't help it, you guys are so easy to fool.'

'Remind me never to play Denobulan wild draw with you again,' V'Han added with a smile and then turned to the captain. 'Course and speed confirmed, sir.'

'Execute!'

The Banshee jumped to warp.

 

[CeJay]

That's quite the prologue. I had to re-read this to make sure I got the facts straight. I'm sure something is happening here that I'm not seeing or that you are cleverly hiding ... otherwise, wow. What's the Banshee and crew up to? Because right now these people clearly are not the good guys.

An arresting start for sure.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Yeah, things are different for sure in this corner of the UTverse.

However, I have decided to retool the Border Banshee series as I didn't it to be too similar to the Pytheas series or the other Border Service series out there.

The new prologue will be up this weekend hopefully.

 

[Mistral]

Ok, what the hell was that?

 

[BrotherBenny]

What's the problem??

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

Whoa, BB! That was unexpected! A rogue Border Dog crew serving up murder and mayhem? Didn't see that coming.

You have definitely piqued my interest. I can't imagine what comes next but I'm looking forward to more!

 

[BrotherBenny]

Things have been a little crazy this weekend so I've not had time to work on this. I'm retooling the series idea a little and will do a new prologue which is not quite so out there, which I hope to get done sometime this week, fair winds prevailing.

 

[BrotherBenny]

After a little retooling, but not much () here is the revised prologue. What you saw before still happened, but not in the same way (this will be explained, eventually).

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Prologue

USS Banshee
The Kursican Sector
Stardate 55870.9 (November 14, 2378)

Koth chewed on the last chicken leg and tossed the remains behind him unerringly toward the replicator where it rebounded on the far wall of the device and then came to rest exactly in the centre of the receptacle. The replicator hummed as it recycled the remains and the tactical officer could not restrain a sigh at her commanding officer's behaviour. Koth rubbed the white hair of his beard as he watched the Adair dock at Star Station Kilo after its last milk run and sighed. He knew that Admiral Gunderson would not agree with his behaviour, and indeed she might even put out an arrest warrant herself for the crimes he had committed, since he was sure that she had been briefed on his exploits prior to taking up the assignment.

'Captain, we are receiving a signal from Star Station Kilo,' tactical officer Lieutenant Commander T'Rin called out. 'Admiral Gunderson would like us to know that the SS Cornelia Marie has filed an official complaint with Border Service Command regarding the crimes of the USS Banshee which include the destruction of the SS Time Bandit and the murders of her crew.'

'This is it then,' Koth replied as he glanced at his first officer, an alien of undetermined species. 'Signal Star Station Kilo that we acknowledge the complaint.'

'In the usual manner, Captain?' T'Rin asked, a little hesitant.
Koth sighed. 'Drop the cloak and take us in. Raise the shields and charge phaser banks only.'

'Disengaging the cloak, offensive systems engaging,' T'Rin said as the ship appeared and made a swooping dive for the Border Service starbase.

'Aim for the heavily shielded section below the operations deck. We just want to scare them a little,' Ghiroh said as he shot a sideways glance at his commanding officer.

'Good thinking, XO,' Koth added as his antennae flatten themselves against his scalp.

The Banshee fired its phasers at the station and they all watched in horror as a few sections of hull plating flew off, followed by a cloud of debris and several bodies.

'Get us out of here,' Koth ordered the helm. 'T'Rin patch us in and find out what the hell happened.'

'I'm trying to, sir, but it looks like their internal communications system is down. The Adair has cleared the dock, Captain. It is moving to intercept.'

'Damnation!' the Andorian captain cursed. 'Engage the cloak and go to warp, any direction. I want to know why their shields weren't up and what the hell we fired at.'

'Aye sir,' T'Rin said meekly.

'Captain, perhaps you should take some time to rest. I will coordinate our escape and the investigation,' Ghiroh looked at him as he spoke and he realised the big man would likely force him to take some rest if he didn't comply.

'Good idea,' Koth replied as he looked at the main viewscreen and saw the expanding debris cloud. 'May the Gods take pity on us all.'

Once the captain left the bridge, Commander Ghiroh turned to face the tactical station. 'T'Rin, give me intraship communication.'

'All yours, sir.'

'All hands, this is Commander Ghiroh. A few moments ago there was a terrible accident aboard Star Station Kilo in which several people lost their lives at our hands. This incident has put our mission in jeopardy but we will continue to operate as we have been until we are given orders to the contrary. That is all.'

'Do we risk trying to contact the Admiral?' Ensign V'Han asked from the helm.

Ghiroh shook his head. 'No, we can't do anything which might allow others to think that this wasn't meant to happen. We are officially a rogue vessel and as such must operate in the shadows. That's why the Banshee was retrofitted the way it was. I have a source on the station and I will contact them in a few hours to see what happened and if it could have been prevented. In the meantime, please take us to the gamma site. We should be able to lay low there until we receive our next orders.'

'Aye sir,' the Bolian replied and turned back to his station. He hoped his brother was not among the dead.


Star Station Kilo
Gethsemane System
Stardate 55871.0 (November 14, 2378)

Admiral Marge Gunderson inspected the damaged section and saw the debris cloud through the shimmering haze of the forcefield. There was nothing she could now do to shield the crew of the Banshee from reprisals after this. Surely they knew that the shielding in this section had been weakened by the lone Cha'lav vessel shortly after the station's construction, unless someone had given them faulty information. She resolved to speak to the Starfleet Intelligence liaison as soon as she was able, but for now she had to deal with the repairs.

'Admiral, do you want the Adair to track them?' her executive officer and former Adair operations officer, Commander Dreyni Ewoltun, asked.

'No, they won't be able to find the Banshee if she doesn't want to be found. And I'm sure after this, Koth will have found one of his numerous hidey-holes to lay low in before long. I want to know if this was deliberate on their part or a misinformation campaign that caused lives to be lost. While I deal with the ramifications of this, I want you to speak with the SI liaison and find out what is going on with her little plan.'

'I'll get on it right away.'

Gunderson turned away from the doors and they slid closed, hiding the damage from sight but certainly not from her mind. 'I want a list of the deceased on my desk as soon as possible, and I will begin contacting their next of kin. A memorial service will be held when appropriate.'

Ewoltun nodded. 'Is there anything else, sir?'

'Not for you, Commander. For me, it's a whole different matter.'

Ewoltun called all of the people away and left her to be alone with her thoughts. It would not take the engineers long to repair the damage, and she would of course be able to replace those personnel lost, but her assignment in the Kursican system had just become a lot harder. Trying to bring the Ynelav into the Federation family was hard enough, and she also had to deal with a rogue Border Service cutter, a very fragile alliance of races which only came together for a fight against a common enemy and were now becoming fractious again, and her other mission which she wasn't even sure existed.

'Operations to Admiral Gunderson,' her tactical officer, Lieutenant Ekoo, called.

'Go ahead, Lieutenant.'

'A Deronian cruiser is requesting permission to dock. They claim to have evidence of the Akishi massacre of Deron VIII.'

Gunderson sighed. 'Grant permission for docking bay nine and tell the Colonel I will meet them there. Have the security chief meet me there, I have a feeling the station's Akishi contingent will also be present.'

'Acknowledged, Admiral; Ekoo out.'

The Ynelavii Alliance was going to fracture fast if things kept going the way they were. The other Border Service cutters weren't due to arrive for another few weeks and she desperately needed someone to find out what happened in the Deron system, but the Adair could not be spared. Starfleet Intelligence needed to do their job a little less well, she privately thought as she headed to docking bay nine, and tapped her combadge. 'Gunderson to Ewoltun.'

'Ewoltun here, Admiral.'

'When you speak to our liaison, would you pass on a little message for me, regarding the Deron system?'

'Aye sir, I know exactly the message you wish to convey. Consider it done, Ewoltun out.'

Gunderson smiled briefly. At least she could keep her hands clean of this matter if it went south.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

By Koth's reaction, it is evident he did not mean to cause so much damage to Star Statio Kilo. It's still unclear to me whether he's working for SI, for Gunderson, or he's genuinely gone rogue.

I like this - it's a very different take on the Border Service with a "new" Star Station, a new squadron commander in Marge Gunderson, and a very shaky alliance still pulling together. This should prove to be a fascinating and highly entertaining story!

 

[CaptainSarine]

Ooh intriguing. I enjoyed both prologues, and will be interested to see how you tie them both together. You have set up quite a situation here with a lot of questions to be asked. Your characters seem like an interesting bunch as well.

I look forward to reading more!

 

[DavidFalkayn]

Just getting back into the swing of things after my incident and what a way to get back into reading! I like the revised prologue and am curious as to the reason for the "miscommunication." A rogue border cutter operating in a very shaky area of space--this is a situation that gives plenty of room for storytelling.

 

[Mistral]

Good second lead in. Still don't get what's going on but I'm picking up SI vibes...

 

[CeJay]

I'm actually undecided which prologue I liked better. The second one packs just about as much punch but seems to be a lot heavier on exposition. It also seems clearer that the Banshee isn't really a rogue ship. Or at least didn't start out that way.

Koth gotta be in a world of pain after this. No matter how you gonna spin this, ultimately he's responsible for killing innocent Starfleet officers. That's not going to be easy to live down.

Still a hard hitting opening that makes me curious to read more.

 

[mirandafave]

Definitely intriguing. Definitely making me ask: 'What the hell is going on?' That's no bad way to start a story! Now the question remains, as to how rogue is the Banshee? And what lies behind all of this?

 

[BrotherBenny]

Chapter One

USS Banshee
The Gamma Site
Stardate 55871.5 (November 15, 2378)

Ghiroh pressed the chime on the door for the third time and was about to press it a fourth when he heard the mumbled agreement that he could enter. He squeezed himself inside the captain's quarters and looked around. The glass table, which was the centrepiece of the main room, had been shattered and the rest of the wooden furniture the captain favoured was nothing more than matchwood. Ghiroh saw the captain crouched in a corner weaving the ushaan-tor between his fingers in a stylistic motion. Koth had outfitted his cabin aboard the Banshee to resemble that of his home on Andor and although everything in his quarters was replicated, it was still a harsh site to see from the normally reserved Andorian.

'Are you all right, Captain?'

'Never better,' he mumbled.

Ghiroh's eyesight became accustomed to the low light levels and he noticed that the captain's antennae were not attached to his head, except for stumps. 'Sir, I think we should go to sickbay.'

'I said I'm fine,' the Andorian rumbled, and Ghiroh took a single step forward. Koth raised the weapon and added, 'do not come any closer, Commander.'

Ghiroh ignored his commanding officer and took three more steps toward him. Koth threw the ushaan-tor in an arc that would have torn the head from his executive officer's shoulders but Ghiroh reached out and plucked from the air so fast that Koth didn't even see it until Ghiroh held it aloft. 'You will come with me to sickbay or I will have the doctor pronounce you unfit for duty.'

'I killed those people!' Koth bellowed as he rose to his feet and began pacing. 'I am responsible for the deaths of Starfleet officers. How do you expect me to act?'

Ghiroh sighed, but it sounded more like a dying steam engine. 'I have received a copy from the station regarding the incident.'

Koth looked up. 'From Admiral Gunderson?'

'No sir, from one of our other sources.'

Koth slumped. 'What does it say?'

'The shields had been weakened by the lone Cha'lav vessel which attacked the station several months ago and we aimed for the right spot on the hull which had already been damaged and repaired.'

Koth narrowed his eyes. 'Use one of the freighters here and go to Star Station Kilo. Bring our usual source back here. I want to know why I was given such bad information.'

Ghiroh looked at his captain. 'I would be easily recognised, as would any of the senior staff.'

Koth scowled. 'Everyone on the station knows at least one member of the crew. I don't care what you have to do I just want you to bring him back here so I can flay him alive.'

'Is that wise? Surely his disappearance will be noticed.'

Koth shrugged. 'I need to do something to assuage my guilt.'

Ghiroh pointed to the captain's head. 'That is not enough?'

'They will grow back, I want a permanent reminder of this incident.'

The big alien considered asking what the captain would do after flaying their source but decided against it, lest he find himself as a carpet on the captain's floor. 'I will leave as soon as things calm down.'

'That might be a while.'

'Then might I suggest a third party?' Ghiroh said.

'I'm listening, who did you have in mind?'

'Perhaps one of the Ynelavii we have groomed?'

Koth shook his head. 'Computer, lights. I want someone who will go unnoticed among the largely alien population of the station, and the Ynelavii are too well known.'

Ghiroh nodded and was about to suggest someone else when the door chimed again. 'Are you expecting anyone else, Captain?'

'No,' he said. 'Who is it?'

'McCoy.'

'Did you call her?' Koth asked.

Ghiroh shook his head.

'Come,' the captain called out and the young chief medical officer walked in with a scowl on her face.

'Never seen you smile before,' Ghiroh told her and she frowned at him.

'You're a moron if you think this is a smile,' she retorted and turned to her commanding officer. 'And you, you blue-blooded idiot, deserve to be court-martialed for being stupid.'

Koth stared at his chief medical officer. 'Don't you think you're being insubordinate?'

She smirked. 'I'm a McCoy.'

Ghiroh rumbled with laughter. 'That you are, Anna Maria. That you are.'

She whirled on him with fire blazing in her eyes. 'I told you not to call me that.'

Koth smiled at his executive officer's attempt to lighten the mood. 'Why are you here, Doctor?'

'I suspected you might do something stupid.'

'Be very careful where you tread, Doctor.'

'Chopping your antennae down to stumps is stupid, plain and simple, Captain,' she enunciated his rank clearly. 'If you can't think straight, then you certainly don't belong in the centre chair.'

He took a menacing step closer to her and she pulled out her tricorder. 'What are you doing?'

'Making sure it isn't infected,' she countered acidly. 'At least you sliced them off in the right place.'

'Well thank you for your kind words, Doctor, but what exactly do you know about Andorian physiology?'

She glared at him. 'I am the author of the fifteenth edition of Comparative Alien Physiology, Captain, and I know more about you than you do!'

He looked at Ghiroh. 'A McCoy indeed.'

'You'll be fine,' she murmured and stormed out of his quarters.

'Well, that was interesting,' Koth said with a wry grin.

'Indeed, sir.'

'So tell me who you had in mind for our kidnapping plan?'

'I think it should be Carmen.'

Koth closed his eyes, seemingly in pain. 'Carmen is not exactly subtle.'

'She can be when she puts her mind to it.'

Koth looked dubious. 'Well, we'll give her a try. Do you think she'll be able to get a meeting with Gunderson?'

'If she is not subtle,' Ghiroh answered with a smirk.

'All right, talk to her and ask her if she'll do it. Now if you don't mind I'd like to get some rest. Without my antennae I seem to have a lot less energy.'

'Aye sir, if you need anything don't hesitate to call.'

'Yes, fine.'

Ghiroh left the captain's quarters and tapped his combadge. 'Computer, link with the Gamma Site and locate Carmen DiGarza.'

'Carmen DiGarza is aboard the SS Rita Moreno,' the computer replied. 'Docking bay three.'

He smiled and then decided to take a walk over to docking bay three and talk with her in person. He always enjoyed the banter with the Hispanic firecracker. As he walked he was reminded of an incident which he had with her some time ago when they were both trying to win a competition in old freighters which were both destined for the junkyard. His was lost to some guy in a poker game and she kept hers, resigning her Starfleet commission and running what was now a thriving cargo service in the newest sector operated by the Federation Starfleet's Border Service.

 

[CeJay]

Yeah, I'd imagine Koth being in a foul mood. It will take him some time to get over this. I'm curious to see what he will do to his less than trustworthy informant.