Rendezvous - Part II - Quail, Quail, Quarry

Posted on Mon Jan 29th, 2024 @ 9:43pm by Captain Robert Burke & Commander Vincent 'Vin' Salvatore & Lieutenant Commander Dr. Jeremiah "James" McEntyre, Jr M.D. & Lieutenant Commander Lachlan Lamont & Lieutenant Ryssa Dari & Lieutenant JG Austin Faust

1,734 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: EPISODE 1: SHAKEDOWN
Location: Archanis System - USS Cato - USS Hecate
Timeline: MD029 1320 hours

[USS CATO]

Activating the door controls, Aberlour peered through the bubble-window of the airlock, impatiently waiting for the seals to engage and the atmospheres to equalise to the Main Computer's satisfaction. With a hiss, the doors opened, and he stepped back, brushing down his dirty uniform.

'Welcome aboard the Cato,' he greeted the Hecate's senior officers, 'boy are we glad to see you.'

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Khiane said as she stepped forward. "I'm Commander Mau and this is Commander McEntyre and Lieutenant Faust." She gestured toward the two officers. "Commander McEntyre is here to see to your wounded and Lieutenant Faust is here to render technical aid."

'Thank you Ma'am,' Aberlour stiffened at the ranks, and nodded in their direction. 'We'll be glad of your help - our crews are good, but these ships are getting on.' He motioned down the corridor, 'we'll take you to the command deck, Commander - I assume you're taking the ranking position while the COs down?'

James nodded in greeting. "If you can show me to your wounded, I can have my medical staff and I begin working,' he asked professionally.

Aberlour turned to the Chief Medical Officer and the Operations team. 'If you'd both follow my NCOs there, they'll take you through to where you're needed - hopefully we won't take too long to patch up.'

Austin nodded, "I'll follow and try my best to stay out of the way," he responded with a slight smirk. The NCOs usually knew what was up.

A shorter Tellarite woman nodded at McEntyre and motioned for him and his team to follow her. 'I'm not sure what good you can do here,' she began by way of a gruff greeting. 'Orions beat us up pretty badly out there.' She led them through a tangle of cramped, poorly lit corridors to the Medbay. As she cranked a door open, she motioned at the team, 'nothing too fancy, but we're here.' It was clear that a Hiawatha transport was in no way a comfortable assignment

"Understood, I'll have my medics begin triaging the wounded and transporting the serious cases back to Hecate. What's your supply and surgical situation like?

James asked as he walked with the Tellarite Woman, a kind enough woman...for a Tellarite.

"If we have cases where they need to be stabilized, I'll need some kind of surgical suite."

'A surgical suite?' the Tellarite grunted as she looked at the half-Caitian, 'we've got a couple of bio-beds and we do well with what we have. We're not usually ambushed. It's a quiet sector, sir, especially since the war went cold. But since Praxis ... things have gotten dangerous.'

A skinny human with a shock of red hair that clashed with the maroon of his uniform motioned to Faust, 'if you'd come this way, Sir.' He led them in the opposite way to the Medical team, through a few shorter, straighter corridors that brought them to the Bridge, and the MSD. 'Here we go - you should have all the information you need here, Sir. If you have any questions, please ask.'

"Thank you, ensign," Austin responded. He gave a nod to dismiss the junior office. He began to examine the green lines of the Master Systems Display. Several areas were flashing red including the deflector shield array and the main energizers. He was going to busy for quite awhile getting the mains back on the line. He sat down at the console to coordinate with the damage control parties. If the Orions came back, this ship needed to be more than just a clay pigeon, even with the Hecate standing by there was no guarantee.

"And now, Lieutenant," Khiane said, having waited for introductions to finish, "if you don't mind, let's go to the Bridge, shall we?"

Lieutenant Commander Lachlan Lamont cleared his throat having stumbled upon the small group. He looked at Khiane with a nod and small grunt. "Commander," the salt and peppered haired man said with a steady but pleasant tone. "Word of advice, don't trade spit with a Betelgeusian. Damn virus knocked me off my feet" he explained.

The Security Chief was glad to not be bedridden and to not be wrestling with aches and pains, the stiffness was unbearable. "If you are heading up to the bridge, it would do me some good to stretch my legs" added Lachlan.

Aberlour shot Lamont a look before motioning down the corridor, 'this way please, sirs. The Bridge is just at the end of the corridor.' Leading the remaining officers from the Hecate down the scorched corridor, Aberlour stopped to haul a piece of debris that had fallen across their way. 'Cato's sturdy, thank Omega, but those Orions did a number on us.' At the mention of Omega, Aberlour made a peculiar sign across his chest with his left hand, before carrying on.

Palming the door control to the Bridge, Aberlour led the party in, motioned across the spartan Bridge. It had been a clean, crisp white a day ago, maintained with evident pride by her crew, despite the worn pain, and tired mid-century console interfaces. At the back of the room, Faust was at the MSD. A lone Command Chair in the style of the 2260s sat midway between the MSD and the Helm and Navigator consoles. Comms, sensors and the one weapon were all operated from a combined console just inside the door to the Bridge.

'Here she is,' Aberlour said with fondness in his voice.

"Orions can be pretty nasty" Lachlan said and he certainly had his own tales to testify to that assertion. He took in the beauty of the starship's Bridge. "A little elbow grease, a fresh coat of pain, replaced a bit of wiring and you'll have yourself a starship fit for a Commodore's inspection."

'Thank you, Sir, we certainly try,' Aberlour replied, running a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. 'Is there anything you need to see first? Or are you comfortable taking command?'

Taking the Security Chief's silence for assent, Aberlour nodded his head and stated, 'you have the Chair, sir.'

[USS Hecate - Several Hours Later]

Sat, slumped informally in his chair, Burke read the hourly report on his PADD, before taking his glasses off and allowing them to dangle in one hand as he rubbed at his eyes with the free one. The damage to the Cato had proven more extensive than they had initially hoped.

With a bevy of his senior staff over on the ship that hove into sight on the viewscreen, Burke was growing antsy. Hecate had already been on-station for far longer than he had hoped. The ship would have to be pushed close to the edge if they were to make their appointment in orbit around the Klingon Homeworld.

'Still no luck with the sensors Dari?' he enquired for the umpteenth time.

"As soon as I think I have something...I find that I don't." She sighed. "It's like the interference keeps changing to adapt to whatever I try."

'The radiation field is an odd one here,' Burke agreed as he peered at the readings on his Science Officer's console. 'Keep trying. I don't particularly want to be taken by sur-'

The proximity sensors pinged, and Burke jerked his head around to look at Operations.

The Mallard Shuttlecraft appeared into sensor range and immediately the Hecate was sent a request to open a channel for communications.

'Incoming hail, Captain,' the Denobulan on comms duty interjected. 'Starfleet signal.'

'Open a channel,' Burke nodded as he faced the viewer.

The unfamiliar voice of Commander Salvatore came through the coms. "USS Hecate, this is the shuttlecraft Mallard. We have received orders from Starfleet Command to assist in anyway we can. We are forwarding you our orders and codes for you to authenticate. We await your response. Mallard Out."

Looking back to the comms officer he waited for a moment. The officer nodded. 'Your codes check out, Mallard.' Burke paused then asked, 'to whom do I have the pleasure of addressing? And what are we in need of assistance with?' His arms folded, a hand rubbed against his chin as he waited for a response.

"Commander Vincent Salvatore of Starfleet Intelligence." Vincent replied over the comlink. "I won't lie to you, Captain, so I'll give it to you straight. However, since the channel isn't secure, I would prefer a face to face. After our meeting I am sure you'll understand why we were sent to you."

Raising an eyebrow, Burke shot a glance at Dari before replying. 'How mysterious,' he remarked dryly, 'clearance has been given for you to dock. I'd send a senior officer delegation to meet you, but we're spread a little thin here repairing the transports. A Security Officer will escort you directly to the Briefing Room.'

"We appreciate the welcome, Captain. It'll be good for my boys to have a hot meal and a soft bed to sleep in tonight. I'll meet you in your Briefing Room. Mallard Out." Vincent replied in his old Brooklyn accent before closing the channel and ordering the helm's officer to begin their approach to the docking bay.

Nodding towards Dari, Burke noted, 'I'll head to the Briefing Room. It seems you have the Bridge, Lieutenant Dari.' He flashed a smile, 'comm me if there's anything untoward in the meantime.' Grabbing his data slate, he began keying in information for a Commander Salvatore as he headed for the turbolift. 'And keep an eye out for any bogies,' he concluded laconically.

Ryssa smiled back and nodded. Once the ca ptain was gone, she took a deep breath and looked over the data on the console again just to be sure she hadn't missed anything. Then, she ran another scan. There was definitely something odd going on.

[To Be Continued ..]

Captain Robert Burke
Commanding Officer
USS Hecate

Commander Vincent 'Vin' Salvatore
Executive and Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Hecate

Lieutenant Commander Jeremiah 'James' McEntyre Jr
Chief Medical Officer
USS Hecate

Lieutenant Commander Lachlan Lamont
Chief Security Officer
USS Hecate

Lieutenant Ryssa Dari
Chief Science Officer
USS Hecate

Lieutenant (JG) Austin Faust
Chief Operations Officer
USS Hecate

 

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