Episode 7 Season 2
S2E7: Drink up me hearties…
First officer’s log, stardate 54661.87. Captain Branagh and Lt.Cmdr Frost are on shore leave and so I am acting Captain for the next week. We are on a survey mission of the Brylan system, a binary star system thought to be rich in dilithium. We are also having a crew chess tournament, which so far has provided a few surprises.
The mess hall was a hive of activity. Not a single chair or table was free as officers, some in uniform and some in casual clothes, sat around playing chess and chatting away. Nearly every crew member had taken part, the first time the crew had been together this was for a very long time. Cmdr. Sarah Gerard loved times like these. She sat at a table with several others, board in front of her and her friends around her. She was still in the tournament despite being a very casual player. She thought she had been lucky and only played other casual players so far. The two favorites for the competition, Lt. Kate Bishop and Lt. John Brightman, where still in as well, playing on other small tables. Cmdr. Gerard check-mated her opponent and they both laughed and shook hands. This was the most fun she had had in a long time.
The crew had been sent on several missions over the past few months that had either been very hard work or had led to the loss of a crew member. Finally Starfleet had given them an exploratory and dare she say it, easy, assignment in the Brylan system. Even as acting Captain she had found time to relax and spend some time with Lt. Brightman. Captain David Branagh would be back in three days, so she wanted this run to continue until he got back.
‘Another one down?’ asked Lt. Kato Nasri, walking over to the table with a glass of Bajoran spring wine.
‘Yes, how are you faring?’ she asked. She took a sip of her own drink, iced raktajino, as she stood to greet him.
‘I’m out. Ensign Delais from astrophysics beat me in 8 moves’ he sighed.
‘Wow, impressive. Might give Kate and John a run for their money’ she said, taking another sip.
‘Kate just flunked out too, big upset against Lt. Xanos from engineering. Always thought he was a dark horse’ he said, chuckling.
‘Looks like its just 4 people let then. Who else is still in?’ she asked.
‘Our good Doctor, another secret chess legend it seems’ he said, pointing to the table that Lt.Cmdr Ian Kray was sitting at.
Ensign Delais, a female Napean, sat at his table as he re-set the board. Over at another table, Lt. Brightman prepared to face Lt. Xanos. The Benzite shook his hand before sitting and the semi-finals of the tournament got underway with a large crowed. Lt. Bishop, looking dejected after her defeat, came over to Cmdr. Gerard and Lt. Kato.
‘I can’t believe that, I have to find out where he learned to play’ she said, looking back at Lt. Xanos.
‘Lots of surprises today Kate, makes for a more exciting day I think’ said Lt. Kato, sipping his wine.
‘Yeah, but it’s also nice to win’ she said, making the other officers laugh. She smiled and joined in, the loss giving way to the fun of the day.
Lt.Jnr Kell Perim sat in the Captain’s chair, a rare occurrence, and kept watch over the bridge. She had offered to take bridge duty over playing in the tournament, having been promised a holodeck trip by Cmdr. Gerard and Lt. Bishop in return. Taking the helm for her was Lt. William Tristram, having been knocked out in the first round. At the ops station beside him was Ensign Salo Mir, another early drop-out of the tournament. Apart from a few science officers, including Ensign Leanne Silver, scanning the large asteroids in the system for dilithium the bridge was empty. As the science team was using the large briefing table at the back of the bridge, the command area looked bare to Lt.Jnr Perim.
‘Making another pass of this asteroid cluster’ said Lt. Tristram, plotting coordinates and speeds.
‘Your digression Mr. Tristram, as long as the science teams are in deep scan distance you can do what you like’ said Lt.Jnr Perim, smiling at the helmsman.
‘You may want to centre the view screen on 242 mark 724’ said Ensign Silver from the back of the bridge.
Ensign Mir did so and the crew was treated to a beautiful view. The twin stars shone brightly and made the dilithium-rich asteroids between them and the Trafalgar sparkle a purple-blue, dazzling the crew into gasps and open mouths. After years in Starfleet, they were still able to be wowed by views out here in the depths of space.
‘Thank you Ensign Silver, make sure you share any other views you may find with us all’ said Lt.Jnr Perim, rising from the Captain’s chair and walking to the fore of the bridge.
Since the incident with her and Lt. Bishop’s capture by the Ferengi and Orions, she had managed to work through her problems. No longer was she quiet or depressed by the events she witnessed and experienced, but now and then she thought of Mil and what she was missing. She used it as a way of being thankful for surviving more than something to bring her down, something Counsellor Allison Downing had taught her in their weekly sessions. The sessions had finished but she still used the techniques of her own accord.
‘Lieutenant, I have something on long range sensors…2 small vessels’ announced Ensign Mir.
‘Any other ships supposed to be in this system?’ asked Lt. Tristram.
‘Not that we’ve been told…are they in range to hail?’ asked Lt.Jnr Perim.
‘Not yet, they will be in 10 minutes. They are on a heading that takes them past us’ said Ensign Mir.
The chess tournament was down to its final game. After hard fought matches, Doctor Kray and Lt. Brightman were the last two left, facing each other head to head. Until today Lt. Brightman and the rest of the crew had no idea that Doctor Kray was a chess player at all, let alone good enough to get to the final two people. The room had emptied a little with crew having to head back to duties, but there was still a large crowed around the final table, taking sides and giving support to their chosen officer.
‘I bet you a holodeck session that John takes it’ said Lt. Kato.
‘You’re on’ said Lt. Bishop.
Both players looked deep in concentration, focusing fully on the board and not on the crowed at all. Several moves later and Doctor Kray placed his knight and took Lt. Brightman’s bishop, eliciting both sighs and applause from the group.
‘Check mate’ he said, beaming and shaking Lt. Brightman’s hand.
Lt. Kato sighed as Lt. Bishop smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder.
‘Too bad Nasri…and too bad John. Who would have thought’ she said, looking at her usual chess partner.
‘Not me that’s for sure’ he said, looking slightly bemused as people patted him on the back and consoled him.
‘Never mind’ said Cmdr. Gerard. ‘Learn something new everyday’
‘Perim to Commander Gerard’ said the Trill over the comm.
‘Gerard here’ she replied.
‘We have 2 ships on sensors, coming into communications range in a few minutes’
‘We’ll be right there’ said Cmdr. Gerard as she gestured to her senior staff to join her and they made for the door.
The bridge was full of people again, Cmdr. Gerard taking the Captain’s chair back and looking as in-command as ever. Lt.Jnr Perim took back her spot at the helm but Ensign Mir stayed at ops. The pair smiled at each other then snapped back into their duties.
‘Hail the ships Miss. Bishop’ ordered Cmdr. Gerard. Lt. Bishop tried a few times, but only got silence back.
‘No response sir’ she said.
‘The ships have scanned us sir…they are changing course’ said Ensign Mir.
‘New heading is away from us at full impulse’ added Lt.Jnr Perim.
Cmdr. Gerard and her crew shared their suspicions and she made her decision.
‘Helm, set an intercept course, warp 1’ she ordered and the ship effortlessly accelerated to warp speed.
In less than a minute, the massive Trafalgar caught up and dwarfed the two smaller ships. They tried erratic maneuvers to escape their large predator, looking like birds. Their long-winged ships split up and went either side of the Trafalgar, trying to get away with piloting rather than speed.
‘They’re heading away again’ said Lt. Bishop. ‘Shall I fire a warning shot?’
‘Not yet Lieutenant, send them a message. If they do not come to a full stop we will be forced to hold them against their will’ she replied.
Lt. Bishop nodded as the message was sent. They waited a moment, but no reply came. The two small ships came together again behind the Trafalgar and suddenly opened fire on the large ship. The starboard nacelle was hit, venting some plasma and debris.
‘Warp drive is offline! Impulse down to half power!’ shouted Ensign Mir, checking ships systems for damage.
‘Bring us about, shields up!’ ordered Cmdr. Gerard, gripping the arms of the Captain’s chair.
The Trafalgar span around just in time to catch the ships making their escape. Lt. Bishop fired and disabled one of the ships with a precision phaser beam to their engines. The ship drifted listlessly while the other slowed to a stop.
‘The second ship is hailing’ she said.
‘On screen’ said Cmdr. Gerard.
The screen showed a gruff looking but slim Bajoran man, his chin covered in black hair. The bridge behind him looked basic and grimy, consoles with dim lights being operated by similarly gruff looking crew members.
‘So, what now Starfleet’ the man asked in a surly and sarcastic tone.
The Trafalgar hung in space, no longer venting plasma from her damaged nacelle, still bearing down on the Bajoran ships. From what Cmdr. Gerard and the crew had found out, they were cargo runners making the rounds in local systems. What they had not revealed was what their cargo was and why they ran when they saw the Trafalgar, and what was so serious that they had to fire on a Starfleet vessel. Cmdr. Gerard had the Bajoran captain of the ship they hailed in the brig for questioning and several teams on the ships searching the cargo bays for anything illegal or dangerous. She exited the turbo lift on deck seventeen and made her way to the brig, somewhere she hardly ever had to visit during her time aboard. The door slid open and the Bajoran man sat laying back against the wall on the simple bed, his posture defiant and arrogant.
‘So, you going to tell me your name?’ she asked, approaching the force field holding him inside and folding her arms.
‘Racen, Racen Jax’ he said, not changing his posture at all, not even looking up form the floor.
‘Well Mr. Racen, before we find anything improper aboard your ship would you like to tell me what you have. Make life a lot easier for everyone’ she asked, keeping her stern look on him.
Finally he looked up at her with dark blue eyes and a sly smile.
‘Your rather attractive…Commander’ he said, spying the pips on her collar. ‘Did the Captain not see fit to interview me himself…or herself?’
‘I am acting Captain for the time being, now answer the question’ she said forcefully, brushing over his attempt to change the subject.
‘You’ll have to find out for yourself Commander. My lips are sealed’ he said, miming a zip across his mouth. This infuriated Cmdr. Gerard but she held it in, keeping her arms tight across her chest.
‘You’ll just sit in here then. Guard, no rations until I say’ she said, returning his earlier smile as she turned and left the brig.
Racen looked at the guard and smiled, then got up and began pacing the cell.
Cmdr. Gerard strode into engineering and looked around for Lt. Kato. She spied him on the upper level around the warp core, scanning the beautiful shimmering of blues and whites that powered the ship. Several younger officers nodded as she past them and made her way to the small, open elevator to take her to the chief engineer. As she got to the top she heard him curse and mutter under his breath as he put his toll on the railing.
‘Not going well?’ she asked. He turned to face her, the warp core casting one side of his face into blue shadow.
‘Will be at least 45 minutes till I can get the warp drive back online. Who did this anyway?’ he asked.
‘Bajoran pirates, the captain we took aboard wont tell us what they are carrying so Lt. Bishop is searching their ships now.’ She replied, eyeing the warp core up and down and leaning on the railing. ‘Racen seems the type…’
Lt. Kato interrupted her, his eyes wide.
‘Racen? Not Racen Jax?’ he said, looking slightly disturbed but also excited.
‘You know him?’ she asked, confused by his reaction.
‘We grew up on the same transport freighter. He left just before I joined the academy…that was the last time we spoke’ he said.
‘Maybe you can speak to him then’ she suggested. He raised his hands in defiance and laughed a little.
‘Oh no, no I couldn’t. He probably wouldn’t even remember me’ he said.
‘Was your relationship close?’
‘Best friends. Growing up on a transport isn’t the best life for a kid. Better than the Cardy occupation I suppose but…yeah really good friends’ he said, looking off to the warp core in reflection of the past.
‘Well that’s something we can use. Come with me next time I see him’ she said and placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘I’m sure he would remember the good times’
The Bajoran freighter was small and cramped inside, barely enough head room for Lt. Bishop to walk down the corridors. Several of her team, herself included, had banged their head on low door frames since they came aboard. They were getting used to being hunched over now but the occasional shout of pain still rang out. They were down to the last cargo bay on the ship, tucked away in the aft quarters. The room was dark and only computer panels lit the area.
‘Can we not get any more lights in here?’ she asked.
‘No sir, torches will have to do’ said Lt. Ofield. He was shining his light around the corners of the room, seeing if there where anymore containers or panels to check. They had found several secret compartments, but they were all empty. All that was left to check were the 4 large containers in the centre of the room. Along with the two Lieutenants where a few security ensigns, each was prizing open a container.
‘Careful, we don’t know what’s inside these. If its explosives then…’ she said, being cut off midway by Lt. Ofield.
‘Romulan ale sir’ he said.
‘Is that it…its illegal but not enough for them to fire on us’ she said, mulling things over in her head.
The crews would be in trouble for this cargo but not serious enough to make them fire on a Starfleet vessel. She examined her own crate, taking a bottle from the straw packaging and reading the label. Then she noticed something amongst the straw, something metallic. As the bottles where glass, with the blue drink giving them a cerulean hue, it couldn’t be more ale. She dug her hand into the straw carefully and got hold of something cold and metal. She drew it out slowly and shone her torch onto it, revealing it to the team.
‘A Klingon disruptor?’ said Lt. Ofield, surprised and shocked by the find.
‘See if there are any more, and how many’ she ordered, touching the comm badge on her chest. ‘Bishop to Gerard, I have something you may want to see. I’m beaming back’
Cmdr. Gerard and Lt. Kato, on her request, stood waiting in the transporter room. Chief Smith was behind the glass shield at his console, sliding his fingers upwards on the controls and beaming Lt. Bishop back aboard. In her hand was a weapon all of them recognized immediately and concern graced all their faces.
‘You found that in the cargo Lieutenant?’ asked Cmdr. Gerard.
‘Yes sir…crates full. Hidden under Romulan ale’ she replied.
‘I think we should talk to Racen now’ said Lt. Kato.
The large door to the brig slid open again and in walked Cmdr. Gerard and Lt. Kato. Straight away Racen displayed a different reaction than before, standing up and getting as close to the force field as he safely could.
‘Nasri my old buddy! What are you doing here?!’ he asked, joyous and totally different than before.
‘Why don’t you tell us first’ Lt. Kato said, holding up the Klingon weapon.
‘So you found my secret’ he said, laughing and sitting back down on the bed.
‘What is going on here Racen. First you run, then you fire, then we find weapons and illegal alcohol on your vessel’ said Cmdr. Gerard, once again arms folded and giving serious looks.
‘Can I speak to Nasri alone?’ he asked. ‘Just for a few minutes?’
Cmdr. Gerard didn’t like this, but she trusted Lt. Kato enough to leave them alone for a few minutes.
‘Fine, 5 minutes, then I come back’ she said, leaving and gesturing the guard to follow. They stood either side of the brig door as it slid shut.
‘You have to get me out of here!’ said Racen, his tone now desperate.
‘What? Your under criminal charges, blatant ones at that’ Lt. Kato replied.
‘They’ll kill me. Not you guys, the Klingons I’m running the weapons for’ he said, pacing the cell.
‘Oh your not running guns for the renegades are you? That’s suicide whatever way it goes’ said Lt. Kato, rubbing his temple.
‘The pay was too good, and for only 3 runs, there and back. You understand. Your folks ran weapons for the resistance, helped take out Cardies when they could’
‘That was totally different. That was helping our people, our friends and family. This is just plain and simple profiteering!’
‘Oh spare me. Your folks didn’t run guns for charity, they took hefty paychecks and you didn’t bat an eyelid’
Lt. Kato was getting angry now, but tried to keep his cool for the sake of his uniform and position, Cmdr. Gerard could come in at any moment.
‘I was a kid, I didn’t know. And when I found out…I was ashamed. But they had a ship to keep running, kids to feed, you included. They took you in and…’ he said, not getting to finish his sentence.
‘Oh here it comes, the “we saved you when your parents died” speech. I heard that enough as a kid. Now are you going to hel…’ stopped Racen as Cmdr. Gerard came back in. ‘That wasn’t 5 minutes’
‘I lied’ she said. ‘Lt. Kato come with me. Guard…give him his food now’
The officers left the room and the guard took up his post at the console again, calling for food to be brought in.
‘What did he say?’ she asked as they slowly walked down the corridor. Lt. Kato rubbed his forehead and sighed.
‘He asked me to help him escape. Said he was just doing what my parents did during the occupation’
‘And what did you say?’
‘I said running guns for the renegade Klingons wasn’t the same at all. We argued, you came back’ he said.
‘Is that all? Nothing else?’ she asked, stopping before the turbo lift doors.
‘Nothing. I think we should take them to the nearest starbase and let the Federation deal with them’ he said. They entered the turbo lift and stood shoulder to shoulder.
‘Bridge…So he did remember you then…’ she said.
‘Yeah…unfortunately’ he replied and the lift began its ascent.
The two small Bajoran ships stayed put, their crews instructed to comply or face being fired upon again. The night watch on the bridge began, leaving a small compliment of officers to watch over their captives. Lt. Bishop offered to take the watch and was joined by Lt. Kato, Lt. Tristram and Ensign Silver. The young science officer had opted to stay up and work through her findings from the binary star system while Lieutenants Bishop and Tristram ran through tactical simulations on the mission ops table at the back of the bridge. Lt. Kato took the Captain’s chair and looked over an engineering padd. He had warp drive back online, but as they were going nowhere for now he had little to do in engineering.
‘We can handle things here if you want to head off’ said Lt. Bishop from behind him. ‘It’s nearly 03:00’
‘I’m fine Kate. Cant sleep anyway’
Lt. Bishop left Lt. Tristram to his simulations and came down to sit in the first officer’s seat.
‘Did he get to you that much?’ she asked as Lt. Kato put down the padd.
‘A little. I would have liked our reunion to be under better circumstances’
‘I bet. Why don’t you go and talk to him. Either resolve things or chew him out. Either way you might get some sleep’
Lt. Kato laughed and stood up, straightening his uniform.
‘Your right, need to face my problems head on’ he said and made for the turbo lift.
‘Just don’t hit him’ she said, eliciting more laughter as the turbo lift doors shut.
Of all the sounds aboard the ship, the red alert claxon was the least nice to wake up to for Cmdr. Gerard. She fumbled her uniform on and hurriedly made for the bridge. When she got there she was greeted by the small crew all at their stations, watching as the two freighters powered up and began turning towards the Trafalgar.
‘What the hell is going on?’ she asked, still slightly asleep.
‘We had an unauthorized transport to one of the vessels. The brig reports Racen is missing…and so is Lt. Kato’ said Lt. Bishop, rising from the Captain’s chair.
‘Is he a prisoner?’
‘We don’t know, but he did go and visit Racen about 30 minutes ago. Ensign Carter in the brig reported that someone knocked him out but he didn’t see who. His console overloaded and the rest was a blur’ she said.
Cmdr. Gerard sat in the big chair, hoping that Lt. Kato hadn’t done anything stupid for his old friend.
‘Tractor beams?’ she asked.
‘Cant lock onto them, their shields are remodulating. It’s why we couldn’t scan their cargo’ said Lt. Bishop, now back at tactical.
‘Charge weapons and target their engines…don’t let them run’ she ordered, trying not to think about firing on Lt. Kato.
Aboard the lead freighter, Racen led Lt. Kato onto the bridge. Racen had a Starfleet phaser in hand and pointed at Lt. Kato’s back, making hi follow his instructions.
‘Is the pay check worth all this’ asked Lt. Kato. He had not thought his friend capable of kidnapping. Then again, he hadn’t of thought him capable of gun-running before their reunion either.
‘You wouldn’t believe the amount’ Racen replied, taking his command chair and getting Lt. Kato to stand at his side.
‘Maybe you shouldn’t either. Something tells me the Klingons aren’t the most trustworthy’ he said.
‘Then we have enough weapons to take what we deserve, don’t we’ said Racen, smiling. ‘Target at will, we need to get away properly this time, no matter what’
‘Don’t do this Jax…’ said Lt. Kato, using his friends first name for the first time since they had re-met.
‘Don’t “Jax” me, those days are over. Open fire!’
Despite their basic weapons, the Bajoran freighters shook the Trafalgar somewhat, forcing the larger ship to back off.
‘I can’t read which ship Kato is on sir, do I still open fire?’ asked Lt. Bishop, eager to retaliate but no wanting to hurt her friend.
‘Target their engines only…fire!’ ordered Cmdr. Gerard and a salvo of phasers struck the smaller ships.
The ship they had damaged before once again was easily disabled and sent adrift, not able to get its weapons into a firing angle. The other ship, containing Lt. Kato, came around again to fire on the Trafalgar.
Inside Lt. Kato could only watch as his ship and friends where fired upon but his oldest friend. Earlier that evening when he went to visit Racen he had felt that he would be conflicted. But his friend was barely recognizable, the years apart giving them time to grow apart in personality and morals. Racen was totally unapologetic about the crimes he had and was committing. When he had brandished a small, nearly minuet device from his sleeve and overloaded the brig console he knew his friend was unable to be convinced from his life of crime. Lt. Kato had been punched to the floor and could only watch as Racen knocked out the brig guard and dragged him back to his feet to help his escape.
‘Don’t think just because you have me here they won’t stop you with force. I know the risks of being an officer and so do the crew’ he said.
‘I’m willing to bet against that. Helm, lay in a course for…’ ordered Racen, but was stopped by Lt. Kato lunging for his phaser.
The two men wrestled for the weapon, slamming into support beams and finally ending up on the floor. Racen threw a punch that landed squarely on Lt. Kato’s jaw. The Starfleet officer just about shook off the blow and elbowed Racen in the ribs, forcing him to drop the phaser. Lt. Kato scrambled to grab it before Racen could get it back and jumped up, leaning back against a support beam and firing the phaser at the helm controls. The helmsman fell off his seat as the console exploded in a shower of sparks and small debris. Lt. Kato then turned the phaser on the other crew members on the bridge.
‘You’re not going anywhere’ he said, catching his breath.
The Trafalgar cruised through space, towing one of the freighters behind her in a tractor beam. The other ship was being towed alongside by the USS Akron, an excelsior-class ship that had rendezvoused with the Trafalgar to take the prisoners to Starbase 62 to await trial. The two ships proudly dragged the ships along with ease. The Akron had also brought along a surprise for the crew of the Trafalgar.
‘Captain, Commander, what are you two doing back early?’ asked Cmdr. Gerard as she welcomed her shipmates back aboard in the transporter room.
‘Well the Akron was at Starbase 62 with us and when she got the call…’ Lt.Cmdr Frost started.
‘…We thought we would come and see what trouble you had gotten into’ finished Captain Branagh, smiling at his first officer as she stood surprised. ‘I can’t leave you alone for long can I Sarah’
Cmdr. Gerard smiled sheepishly and the three of them exited the transporter room.
Lt. Kato sat in the mess hall, sipping a cup of chilled cranberry juice. The mess hall was much quieter than it had been a few days ago, leaving the few officers sitting down to their thoughts. The large doors slid open and Lt. Bishop walked over to his table, sitting down without asking.
‘Did you see him again before the Akron took custody of him?’ she asked, with no preamble at all.
‘Urrr…no, he shot me a nasty look as they dragged him off the bridge and that was that’ he replied.
‘Shame, it’s always hard when friends change, especially for the worse’ she said.
‘Yeah I guess. What he said about my parents was true though. They could have helped the Bajoran resistance for free, or even just for supplies. But they took lots of money for what they did. I never thought about it before but…it doesn’t sit right with me, not after I got old enough to learn about the occupation properly’ he said, staring into his drink.
‘Look, take the holodeck time I owe you. Clear your head. I recommend the waterfalls on Gelor Prime, it’s my own program’ she said with a smile as she got up.
‘Thanks…for listening these last few days’ he said as she patted him on the shoulder and left him to his juice, watching the Akron pull alongside Starbase 62 from the large windows a the fore of the mess hall. The large orange planet beneath them bathed the room in warm light as he downed his drink and reclined into the chair.
First officer’s log, stardate 54661.87. Captain Branagh and Lt.Cmdr Frost are on shore leave and so I am acting Captain for the next week. We are on a survey mission of the Brylan system, a binary star system thought to be rich in dilithium. We are also having a crew chess tournament, which so far has provided a few surprises.
The mess hall was a hive of activity. Not a single chair or table was free as officers, some in uniform and some in casual clothes, sat around playing chess and chatting away. Nearly every crew member had taken part, the first time the crew had been together this was for a very long time. Cmdr. Sarah Gerard loved times like these. She sat at a table with several others, board in front of her and her friends around her. She was still in the tournament despite being a very casual player. She thought she had been lucky and only played other casual players so far. The two favorites for the competition, Lt. Kate Bishop and Lt. John Brightman, where still in as well, playing on other small tables. Cmdr. Gerard check-mated her opponent and they both laughed and shook hands. This was the most fun she had had in a long time.
The crew had been sent on several missions over the past few months that had either been very hard work or had led to the loss of a crew member. Finally Starfleet had given them an exploratory and dare she say it, easy, assignment in the Brylan system. Even as acting Captain she had found time to relax and spend some time with Lt. Brightman. Captain David Branagh would be back in three days, so she wanted this run to continue until he got back.
‘Another one down?’ asked Lt. Kato Nasri, walking over to the table with a glass of Bajoran spring wine.
‘Yes, how are you faring?’ she asked. She took a sip of her own drink, iced raktajino, as she stood to greet him.
‘I’m out. Ensign Delais from astrophysics beat me in 8 moves’ he sighed.
‘Wow, impressive. Might give Kate and John a run for their money’ she said, taking another sip.
‘Kate just flunked out too, big upset against Lt. Xanos from engineering. Always thought he was a dark horse’ he said, chuckling.
‘Looks like its just 4 people let then. Who else is still in?’ she asked.
‘Our good Doctor, another secret chess legend it seems’ he said, pointing to the table that Lt.Cmdr Ian Kray was sitting at.
Ensign Delais, a female Napean, sat at his table as he re-set the board. Over at another table, Lt. Brightman prepared to face Lt. Xanos. The Benzite shook his hand before sitting and the semi-finals of the tournament got underway with a large crowed. Lt. Bishop, looking dejected after her defeat, came over to Cmdr. Gerard and Lt. Kato.
‘I can’t believe that, I have to find out where he learned to play’ she said, looking back at Lt. Xanos.
‘Lots of surprises today Kate, makes for a more exciting day I think’ said Lt. Kato, sipping his wine.
‘Yeah, but it’s also nice to win’ she said, making the other officers laugh. She smiled and joined in, the loss giving way to the fun of the day.
Lt.Jnr Kell Perim sat in the Captain’s chair, a rare occurrence, and kept watch over the bridge. She had offered to take bridge duty over playing in the tournament, having been promised a holodeck trip by Cmdr. Gerard and Lt. Bishop in return. Taking the helm for her was Lt. William Tristram, having been knocked out in the first round. At the ops station beside him was Ensign Salo Mir, another early drop-out of the tournament. Apart from a few science officers, including Ensign Leanne Silver, scanning the large asteroids in the system for dilithium the bridge was empty. As the science team was using the large briefing table at the back of the bridge, the command area looked bare to Lt.Jnr Perim.
‘Making another pass of this asteroid cluster’ said Lt. Tristram, plotting coordinates and speeds.
‘Your digression Mr. Tristram, as long as the science teams are in deep scan distance you can do what you like’ said Lt.Jnr Perim, smiling at the helmsman.
‘You may want to centre the view screen on 242 mark 724’ said Ensign Silver from the back of the bridge.
Ensign Mir did so and the crew was treated to a beautiful view. The twin stars shone brightly and made the dilithium-rich asteroids between them and the Trafalgar sparkle a purple-blue, dazzling the crew into gasps and open mouths. After years in Starfleet, they were still able to be wowed by views out here in the depths of space.
‘Thank you Ensign Silver, make sure you share any other views you may find with us all’ said Lt.Jnr Perim, rising from the Captain’s chair and walking to the fore of the bridge.
Since the incident with her and Lt. Bishop’s capture by the Ferengi and Orions, she had managed to work through her problems. No longer was she quiet or depressed by the events she witnessed and experienced, but now and then she thought of Mil and what she was missing. She used it as a way of being thankful for surviving more than something to bring her down, something Counsellor Allison Downing had taught her in their weekly sessions. The sessions had finished but she still used the techniques of her own accord.
‘Lieutenant, I have something on long range sensors…2 small vessels’ announced Ensign Mir.
‘Any other ships supposed to be in this system?’ asked Lt. Tristram.
‘Not that we’ve been told…are they in range to hail?’ asked Lt.Jnr Perim.
‘Not yet, they will be in 10 minutes. They are on a heading that takes them past us’ said Ensign Mir.
The chess tournament was down to its final game. After hard fought matches, Doctor Kray and Lt. Brightman were the last two left, facing each other head to head. Until today Lt. Brightman and the rest of the crew had no idea that Doctor Kray was a chess player at all, let alone good enough to get to the final two people. The room had emptied a little with crew having to head back to duties, but there was still a large crowed around the final table, taking sides and giving support to their chosen officer.
‘I bet you a holodeck session that John takes it’ said Lt. Kato.
‘You’re on’ said Lt. Bishop.
Both players looked deep in concentration, focusing fully on the board and not on the crowed at all. Several moves later and Doctor Kray placed his knight and took Lt. Brightman’s bishop, eliciting both sighs and applause from the group.
‘Check mate’ he said, beaming and shaking Lt. Brightman’s hand.
Lt. Kato sighed as Lt. Bishop smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder.
‘Too bad Nasri…and too bad John. Who would have thought’ she said, looking at her usual chess partner.
‘Not me that’s for sure’ he said, looking slightly bemused as people patted him on the back and consoled him.
‘Never mind’ said Cmdr. Gerard. ‘Learn something new everyday’
‘Perim to Commander Gerard’ said the Trill over the comm.
‘Gerard here’ she replied.
‘We have 2 ships on sensors, coming into communications range in a few minutes’
‘We’ll be right there’ said Cmdr. Gerard as she gestured to her senior staff to join her and they made for the door.
The bridge was full of people again, Cmdr. Gerard taking the Captain’s chair back and looking as in-command as ever. Lt.Jnr Perim took back her spot at the helm but Ensign Mir stayed at ops. The pair smiled at each other then snapped back into their duties.
‘Hail the ships Miss. Bishop’ ordered Cmdr. Gerard. Lt. Bishop tried a few times, but only got silence back.
‘No response sir’ she said.
‘The ships have scanned us sir…they are changing course’ said Ensign Mir.
‘New heading is away from us at full impulse’ added Lt.Jnr Perim.
Cmdr. Gerard and her crew shared their suspicions and she made her decision.
‘Helm, set an intercept course, warp 1’ she ordered and the ship effortlessly accelerated to warp speed.
In less than a minute, the massive Trafalgar caught up and dwarfed the two smaller ships. They tried erratic maneuvers to escape their large predator, looking like birds. Their long-winged ships split up and went either side of the Trafalgar, trying to get away with piloting rather than speed.
‘They’re heading away again’ said Lt. Bishop. ‘Shall I fire a warning shot?’
‘Not yet Lieutenant, send them a message. If they do not come to a full stop we will be forced to hold them against their will’ she replied.
Lt. Bishop nodded as the message was sent. They waited a moment, but no reply came. The two small ships came together again behind the Trafalgar and suddenly opened fire on the large ship. The starboard nacelle was hit, venting some plasma and debris.
‘Warp drive is offline! Impulse down to half power!’ shouted Ensign Mir, checking ships systems for damage.
‘Bring us about, shields up!’ ordered Cmdr. Gerard, gripping the arms of the Captain’s chair.
The Trafalgar span around just in time to catch the ships making their escape. Lt. Bishop fired and disabled one of the ships with a precision phaser beam to their engines. The ship drifted listlessly while the other slowed to a stop.
‘The second ship is hailing’ she said.
‘On screen’ said Cmdr. Gerard.
The screen showed a gruff looking but slim Bajoran man, his chin covered in black hair. The bridge behind him looked basic and grimy, consoles with dim lights being operated by similarly gruff looking crew members.
‘So, what now Starfleet’ the man asked in a surly and sarcastic tone.
The Trafalgar hung in space, no longer venting plasma from her damaged nacelle, still bearing down on the Bajoran ships. From what Cmdr. Gerard and the crew had found out, they were cargo runners making the rounds in local systems. What they had not revealed was what their cargo was and why they ran when they saw the Trafalgar, and what was so serious that they had to fire on a Starfleet vessel. Cmdr. Gerard had the Bajoran captain of the ship they hailed in the brig for questioning and several teams on the ships searching the cargo bays for anything illegal or dangerous. She exited the turbo lift on deck seventeen and made her way to the brig, somewhere she hardly ever had to visit during her time aboard. The door slid open and the Bajoran man sat laying back against the wall on the simple bed, his posture defiant and arrogant.
‘So, you going to tell me your name?’ she asked, approaching the force field holding him inside and folding her arms.
‘Racen, Racen Jax’ he said, not changing his posture at all, not even looking up form the floor.
‘Well Mr. Racen, before we find anything improper aboard your ship would you like to tell me what you have. Make life a lot easier for everyone’ she asked, keeping her stern look on him.
Finally he looked up at her with dark blue eyes and a sly smile.
‘Your rather attractive…Commander’ he said, spying the pips on her collar. ‘Did the Captain not see fit to interview me himself…or herself?’
‘I am acting Captain for the time being, now answer the question’ she said forcefully, brushing over his attempt to change the subject.
‘You’ll have to find out for yourself Commander. My lips are sealed’ he said, miming a zip across his mouth. This infuriated Cmdr. Gerard but she held it in, keeping her arms tight across her chest.
‘You’ll just sit in here then. Guard, no rations until I say’ she said, returning his earlier smile as she turned and left the brig.
Racen looked at the guard and smiled, then got up and began pacing the cell.
Cmdr. Gerard strode into engineering and looked around for Lt. Kato. She spied him on the upper level around the warp core, scanning the beautiful shimmering of blues and whites that powered the ship. Several younger officers nodded as she past them and made her way to the small, open elevator to take her to the chief engineer. As she got to the top she heard him curse and mutter under his breath as he put his toll on the railing.
‘Not going well?’ she asked. He turned to face her, the warp core casting one side of his face into blue shadow.
‘Will be at least 45 minutes till I can get the warp drive back online. Who did this anyway?’ he asked.
‘Bajoran pirates, the captain we took aboard wont tell us what they are carrying so Lt. Bishop is searching their ships now.’ She replied, eyeing the warp core up and down and leaning on the railing. ‘Racen seems the type…’
Lt. Kato interrupted her, his eyes wide.
‘Racen? Not Racen Jax?’ he said, looking slightly disturbed but also excited.
‘You know him?’ she asked, confused by his reaction.
‘We grew up on the same transport freighter. He left just before I joined the academy…that was the last time we spoke’ he said.
‘Maybe you can speak to him then’ she suggested. He raised his hands in defiance and laughed a little.
‘Oh no, no I couldn’t. He probably wouldn’t even remember me’ he said.
‘Was your relationship close?’
‘Best friends. Growing up on a transport isn’t the best life for a kid. Better than the Cardy occupation I suppose but…yeah really good friends’ he said, looking off to the warp core in reflection of the past.
‘Well that’s something we can use. Come with me next time I see him’ she said and placed a hand on his shoulder. ‘I’m sure he would remember the good times’
The Bajoran freighter was small and cramped inside, barely enough head room for Lt. Bishop to walk down the corridors. Several of her team, herself included, had banged their head on low door frames since they came aboard. They were getting used to being hunched over now but the occasional shout of pain still rang out. They were down to the last cargo bay on the ship, tucked away in the aft quarters. The room was dark and only computer panels lit the area.
‘Can we not get any more lights in here?’ she asked.
‘No sir, torches will have to do’ said Lt. Ofield. He was shining his light around the corners of the room, seeing if there where anymore containers or panels to check. They had found several secret compartments, but they were all empty. All that was left to check were the 4 large containers in the centre of the room. Along with the two Lieutenants where a few security ensigns, each was prizing open a container.
‘Careful, we don’t know what’s inside these. If its explosives then…’ she said, being cut off midway by Lt. Ofield.
‘Romulan ale sir’ he said.
‘Is that it…its illegal but not enough for them to fire on us’ she said, mulling things over in her head.
The crews would be in trouble for this cargo but not serious enough to make them fire on a Starfleet vessel. She examined her own crate, taking a bottle from the straw packaging and reading the label. Then she noticed something amongst the straw, something metallic. As the bottles where glass, with the blue drink giving them a cerulean hue, it couldn’t be more ale. She dug her hand into the straw carefully and got hold of something cold and metal. She drew it out slowly and shone her torch onto it, revealing it to the team.
‘A Klingon disruptor?’ said Lt. Ofield, surprised and shocked by the find.
‘See if there are any more, and how many’ she ordered, touching the comm badge on her chest. ‘Bishop to Gerard, I have something you may want to see. I’m beaming back’
Cmdr. Gerard and Lt. Kato, on her request, stood waiting in the transporter room. Chief Smith was behind the glass shield at his console, sliding his fingers upwards on the controls and beaming Lt. Bishop back aboard. In her hand was a weapon all of them recognized immediately and concern graced all their faces.
‘You found that in the cargo Lieutenant?’ asked Cmdr. Gerard.
‘Yes sir…crates full. Hidden under Romulan ale’ she replied.
‘I think we should talk to Racen now’ said Lt. Kato.
The large door to the brig slid open again and in walked Cmdr. Gerard and Lt. Kato. Straight away Racen displayed a different reaction than before, standing up and getting as close to the force field as he safely could.
‘Nasri my old buddy! What are you doing here?!’ he asked, joyous and totally different than before.
‘Why don’t you tell us first’ Lt. Kato said, holding up the Klingon weapon.
‘So you found my secret’ he said, laughing and sitting back down on the bed.
‘What is going on here Racen. First you run, then you fire, then we find weapons and illegal alcohol on your vessel’ said Cmdr. Gerard, once again arms folded and giving serious looks.
‘Can I speak to Nasri alone?’ he asked. ‘Just for a few minutes?’
Cmdr. Gerard didn’t like this, but she trusted Lt. Kato enough to leave them alone for a few minutes.
‘Fine, 5 minutes, then I come back’ she said, leaving and gesturing the guard to follow. They stood either side of the brig door as it slid shut.
‘You have to get me out of here!’ said Racen, his tone now desperate.
‘What? Your under criminal charges, blatant ones at that’ Lt. Kato replied.
‘They’ll kill me. Not you guys, the Klingons I’m running the weapons for’ he said, pacing the cell.
‘Oh your not running guns for the renegades are you? That’s suicide whatever way it goes’ said Lt. Kato, rubbing his temple.
‘The pay was too good, and for only 3 runs, there and back. You understand. Your folks ran weapons for the resistance, helped take out Cardies when they could’
‘That was totally different. That was helping our people, our friends and family. This is just plain and simple profiteering!’
‘Oh spare me. Your folks didn’t run guns for charity, they took hefty paychecks and you didn’t bat an eyelid’
Lt. Kato was getting angry now, but tried to keep his cool for the sake of his uniform and position, Cmdr. Gerard could come in at any moment.
‘I was a kid, I didn’t know. And when I found out…I was ashamed. But they had a ship to keep running, kids to feed, you included. They took you in and…’ he said, not getting to finish his sentence.
‘Oh here it comes, the “we saved you when your parents died” speech. I heard that enough as a kid. Now are you going to hel…’ stopped Racen as Cmdr. Gerard came back in. ‘That wasn’t 5 minutes’
‘I lied’ she said. ‘Lt. Kato come with me. Guard…give him his food now’
The officers left the room and the guard took up his post at the console again, calling for food to be brought in.
‘What did he say?’ she asked as they slowly walked down the corridor. Lt. Kato rubbed his forehead and sighed.
‘He asked me to help him escape. Said he was just doing what my parents did during the occupation’
‘And what did you say?’
‘I said running guns for the renegade Klingons wasn’t the same at all. We argued, you came back’ he said.
‘Is that all? Nothing else?’ she asked, stopping before the turbo lift doors.
‘Nothing. I think we should take them to the nearest starbase and let the Federation deal with them’ he said. They entered the turbo lift and stood shoulder to shoulder.
‘Bridge…So he did remember you then…’ she said.
‘Yeah…unfortunately’ he replied and the lift began its ascent.
The two small Bajoran ships stayed put, their crews instructed to comply or face being fired upon again. The night watch on the bridge began, leaving a small compliment of officers to watch over their captives. Lt. Bishop offered to take the watch and was joined by Lt. Kato, Lt. Tristram and Ensign Silver. The young science officer had opted to stay up and work through her findings from the binary star system while Lieutenants Bishop and Tristram ran through tactical simulations on the mission ops table at the back of the bridge. Lt. Kato took the Captain’s chair and looked over an engineering padd. He had warp drive back online, but as they were going nowhere for now he had little to do in engineering.
‘We can handle things here if you want to head off’ said Lt. Bishop from behind him. ‘It’s nearly 03:00’
‘I’m fine Kate. Cant sleep anyway’
Lt. Bishop left Lt. Tristram to his simulations and came down to sit in the first officer’s seat.
‘Did he get to you that much?’ she asked as Lt. Kato put down the padd.
‘A little. I would have liked our reunion to be under better circumstances’
‘I bet. Why don’t you go and talk to him. Either resolve things or chew him out. Either way you might get some sleep’
Lt. Kato laughed and stood up, straightening his uniform.
‘Your right, need to face my problems head on’ he said and made for the turbo lift.
‘Just don’t hit him’ she said, eliciting more laughter as the turbo lift doors shut.
Of all the sounds aboard the ship, the red alert claxon was the least nice to wake up to for Cmdr. Gerard. She fumbled her uniform on and hurriedly made for the bridge. When she got there she was greeted by the small crew all at their stations, watching as the two freighters powered up and began turning towards the Trafalgar.
‘What the hell is going on?’ she asked, still slightly asleep.
‘We had an unauthorized transport to one of the vessels. The brig reports Racen is missing…and so is Lt. Kato’ said Lt. Bishop, rising from the Captain’s chair.
‘Is he a prisoner?’
‘We don’t know, but he did go and visit Racen about 30 minutes ago. Ensign Carter in the brig reported that someone knocked him out but he didn’t see who. His console overloaded and the rest was a blur’ she said.
Cmdr. Gerard sat in the big chair, hoping that Lt. Kato hadn’t done anything stupid for his old friend.
‘Tractor beams?’ she asked.
‘Cant lock onto them, their shields are remodulating. It’s why we couldn’t scan their cargo’ said Lt. Bishop, now back at tactical.
‘Charge weapons and target their engines…don’t let them run’ she ordered, trying not to think about firing on Lt. Kato.
Aboard the lead freighter, Racen led Lt. Kato onto the bridge. Racen had a Starfleet phaser in hand and pointed at Lt. Kato’s back, making hi follow his instructions.
‘Is the pay check worth all this’ asked Lt. Kato. He had not thought his friend capable of kidnapping. Then again, he hadn’t of thought him capable of gun-running before their reunion either.
‘You wouldn’t believe the amount’ Racen replied, taking his command chair and getting Lt. Kato to stand at his side.
‘Maybe you shouldn’t either. Something tells me the Klingons aren’t the most trustworthy’ he said.
‘Then we have enough weapons to take what we deserve, don’t we’ said Racen, smiling. ‘Target at will, we need to get away properly this time, no matter what’
‘Don’t do this Jax…’ said Lt. Kato, using his friends first name for the first time since they had re-met.
‘Don’t “Jax” me, those days are over. Open fire!’
Despite their basic weapons, the Bajoran freighters shook the Trafalgar somewhat, forcing the larger ship to back off.
‘I can’t read which ship Kato is on sir, do I still open fire?’ asked Lt. Bishop, eager to retaliate but no wanting to hurt her friend.
‘Target their engines only…fire!’ ordered Cmdr. Gerard and a salvo of phasers struck the smaller ships.
The ship they had damaged before once again was easily disabled and sent adrift, not able to get its weapons into a firing angle. The other ship, containing Lt. Kato, came around again to fire on the Trafalgar.
Inside Lt. Kato could only watch as his ship and friends where fired upon but his oldest friend. Earlier that evening when he went to visit Racen he had felt that he would be conflicted. But his friend was barely recognizable, the years apart giving them time to grow apart in personality and morals. Racen was totally unapologetic about the crimes he had and was committing. When he had brandished a small, nearly minuet device from his sleeve and overloaded the brig console he knew his friend was unable to be convinced from his life of crime. Lt. Kato had been punched to the floor and could only watch as Racen knocked out the brig guard and dragged him back to his feet to help his escape.
‘Don’t think just because you have me here they won’t stop you with force. I know the risks of being an officer and so do the crew’ he said.
‘I’m willing to bet against that. Helm, lay in a course for…’ ordered Racen, but was stopped by Lt. Kato lunging for his phaser.
The two men wrestled for the weapon, slamming into support beams and finally ending up on the floor. Racen threw a punch that landed squarely on Lt. Kato’s jaw. The Starfleet officer just about shook off the blow and elbowed Racen in the ribs, forcing him to drop the phaser. Lt. Kato scrambled to grab it before Racen could get it back and jumped up, leaning back against a support beam and firing the phaser at the helm controls. The helmsman fell off his seat as the console exploded in a shower of sparks and small debris. Lt. Kato then turned the phaser on the other crew members on the bridge.
‘You’re not going anywhere’ he said, catching his breath.
The Trafalgar cruised through space, towing one of the freighters behind her in a tractor beam. The other ship was being towed alongside by the USS Akron, an excelsior-class ship that had rendezvoused with the Trafalgar to take the prisoners to Starbase 62 to await trial. The two ships proudly dragged the ships along with ease. The Akron had also brought along a surprise for the crew of the Trafalgar.
‘Captain, Commander, what are you two doing back early?’ asked Cmdr. Gerard as she welcomed her shipmates back aboard in the transporter room.
‘Well the Akron was at Starbase 62 with us and when she got the call…’ Lt.Cmdr Frost started.
‘…We thought we would come and see what trouble you had gotten into’ finished Captain Branagh, smiling at his first officer as she stood surprised. ‘I can’t leave you alone for long can I Sarah’
Cmdr. Gerard smiled sheepishly and the three of them exited the transporter room.
Lt. Kato sat in the mess hall, sipping a cup of chilled cranberry juice. The mess hall was much quieter than it had been a few days ago, leaving the few officers sitting down to their thoughts. The large doors slid open and Lt. Bishop walked over to his table, sitting down without asking.
‘Did you see him again before the Akron took custody of him?’ she asked, with no preamble at all.
‘Urrr…no, he shot me a nasty look as they dragged him off the bridge and that was that’ he replied.
‘Shame, it’s always hard when friends change, especially for the worse’ she said.
‘Yeah I guess. What he said about my parents was true though. They could have helped the Bajoran resistance for free, or even just for supplies. But they took lots of money for what they did. I never thought about it before but…it doesn’t sit right with me, not after I got old enough to learn about the occupation properly’ he said, staring into his drink.
‘Look, take the holodeck time I owe you. Clear your head. I recommend the waterfalls on Gelor Prime, it’s my own program’ she said with a smile as she got up.
‘Thanks…for listening these last few days’ he said as she patted him on the shoulder and left him to his juice, watching the Akron pull alongside Starbase 62 from the large windows a the fore of the mess hall. The large orange planet beneath them bathed the room in warm light as he downed his drink and reclined into the chair.