Copyright © 1997, 1998
Last updated on 1/21/98
Khtaliyr - 05:18:50
"Elissa reports power ramping up normally, sir," Aiwi says. "They are now at full power, and I read positive control on core clamp releases." She flicks a switch and the Khtaliyr shudders slightly with a loud CLANK, then again. "Confirm operation of clamps," she nods. "We are free to launch at a moment's notice."
"Noted." is Akhouw's curt reply. He surveys his control panels and configures additional holodynes for normal space flight. "Prepare sensors for normal space flight -- exploration/survey protocol."
A gentle tug is felt from the floor panels: a twentieth of a gee, enough to make a grown man in armor weigh about fifteen pounds. Loose articles as well as unsecured crew, drift gently to the deck and touch down. For forty-five seconds, the gravity remains as it is, then gently ramps up to one full Terran gee, settling everyone's stomachs back down to where they should be.
There is only just enough air in the dirty vacuum to carry the faintest hint of loud sounds, so Munro and the others are startled to hear a clatter on the deck. It is a pair of dead bodies, one still intact in its armor, the other with a gory ruin behind the opened faceplate.
Suddenly the globules of floating redness begin to drift toward the floor, very slowly. Then, as the gravity ramps up, they spatter downward onto floor plates, holodynes, and people, in a grotesque downpour. Soon trickles of red streak every control surface and every crewman. The blood of the dead Vargr mixes with Dan Silvmane's and Hur'Shurvan's, subtly different shades of red mingling on the floor.
'Vouf stands up gingerly, blood and tears now running freely down his muzzle. For a moment, the Bridge echoes with his voice, singing very softly....
"Red rain is coming down, red rain
Red rain is pouring down, pouring down
All over me...."
He pokes the headless, armored corpse on the deck between the Helm and Nav stations with a foot, and sighs. << Elissa to all riders: main power is back on line. Aurora and Paladin dock at once and begin repair procedures; Khtaliyr remain on alert, launch at your option, Commander.... >>
He grimaces. "And can someone get a lock on our kakh fighter-bay doors?"
<< Acknowledged, Captain. I will begin an exploration of our environment immediately. >> Addressing himself to the holodynes before him, Akhouw touches a switch and is rewarded by the corresponding CLANK of the core clamps. The Khtaliyr floats free of its former restraint for a moment before another series of touches brings the maneuver drive online. The graceful, curved shape of the Aslan scout glides over the port-side of the Elissa, gently curving around and below the tender on a course to the vicinity of the prior signal source.
"All systems nominal," Aiwi breathes, her hands dancing across the holodyne. "Maximum thrust available at your command. Offensive and defensive systems read white. Life support and secondaries all normal."
'Humph' Is Munro's only reply to the information presented by PATER. After running a quick check of the inventory, she calls to the other engineers and Jonson. Looking Thul in the eye, she grins evilly. "Well, MISTER Jonson. It looks like I can co-opt you into doing some engineering work. How are you with a welder?"
Activating her comm,
<< Permission granted. >> 'Vouf's voice is very soft. << Keep me posted,
Mister Munro... and be careful. >>
Munro reaches the blown iris valve leading to deck 3. She leans down
and checks it carefully before lowering the ladder and climbing down,
taking care to avoid sharp edges.
On deck 3, Munro again examines the blown iris valve. Looking through
it to Deck 4 is like looking into a slaughterhouse. The deck is
littered with bodies and pieces of bodies, damaged and broken parts of
weapons and armor, and a thick coat of ice, liberally sprinkled with
dead fish and gouts of frozen blood. Munro swallows several times
before reaching for the ladder down. Then stops suddenly. "Son of a
bloody 'ell!" Leaning back from the iris valve, Munro activates her
comm unit.
<< Farouk here. That would be me or Thul. Is he tied down with something?
Over. >>
<< Just doing 'is duty. I didn't ask him before calling. Munro out. >>
"Ohhhh, Mister Jonson!?" Pointing out the sapping charge on the iris
valve on the next floor down, Munro continues, "Can we get by that
safely, and let you take care of the bugger while we get on with our
job?"
'Vouf doesn't answer for a LONG time, and Azani is forced to wait for several minutes, his composure never wavering. As gravity is restored, 'Vouf looks at Azani for a long moment, then crosses the Bridge. He bends down over the corpse, unbuckles the harness on its armor, and picks up the gatling laser, strapping it on himself and trying it for fit. As he works, he tosses over his shoulder, "Dismissed, Mister Azani. I'll call if I need you."
"Aye sir," and Azani steps off the bridge and heads to security.
'Vouf grips the laser and looks at the holodisplay of empty sky for a moment, his expression grim, then slings the weapon over his shoulder with a sigh. "Hell of a way to earn a trophy."
Damn straight, Azani thinks to himself as he overhears 'Vouf. Good job sir.
As operations on the Bridge return to normal, 'Vouf begins to pace around the Bridge, looking over people's shoulders and offering a word of praise or encouragement here and there. After claiming the dead Vargr's gun and dismissing Azani, he indicates to Tar Berana that he should rejoin Security as well, and casts a doleful eye at Morgan Grey's trashed damage control board. But his mind appears to be on something else...not even the Khtaliyr's launch seems to evoke any interest....
Finally he turns to Zben at the Commo station, and says softly, "Mister Blaine, do you have a minute?" His voice is deceptively relaxed-- for anyone who's served with him, a surefire sign of trouble....
Zben has been keeping himself very busy, checking commo hard- wiring, and dealing with the time consuming task of recalibrating the Meson and Laser transmitters.
The tone is not lost on Zben... The thought flies through his mind `Oh, shit! I'm in for it now.' Which leaves him unbalanced, just for a second, as he swings around to face the Captain;
'Vouf asks mildly, "Replay the last little bit of that radio message and put it in a buffer for me, please?"
Softly, "Aye, Sir!", and a second later "Replaying to your channel, tagging as `Khtaliyr, end log'. Replaying now."
'Vouf sits down in the command chair, setting the heavy laser on the floor where he can reach it in a hurry, and calls up the buffer....
Akhouw's voice resonates in the room. << ...and the clans of the Hierate have gained much honor. I shall await our meeting with great anticipation and no doubt we shall communicate before then. Until then, go with honor, Tao' Ourlaliyh. >>
Ourlaliyh responds: << And honor be with thee, LakhtAkhouw. We shall retain a carrier wave at this frequency, and when our psi-Talents are made aware of the arrival of friendly forces, we shall inform you at once. Fare Well! >>
'Vouf's ears flick forward. "Kakh," he whispers. He rewinds the buffer.
-WHIRRRZZZIZZZIZMZZIP-
<< ...retain a carrier wave at this frequency, and when our psi-Talents are made aware of the arrival of friendly forces, we shall inform you at >>
-WHIZZMMZZIP-
<< ...frequency, and when our psi-Talents are made aware of >>
-WHRRZZP-
<< our psi-Talents are >>
-ZZP-
<< and when our psi-Talents are >>
-WHRZZ-
<< our psi-Talents >>
-ZZP-
<< psi-Talen >> CLICK
'Vouf turns to Blaine, his eyes burning. "Get them back on the line, Mister Blaine," he growls. "NOW!"
<< Medical team, this is Niigurd. I assume that my presence with the Med Team is unnecessary. >>
<< You assume incorrectly, Mister Niigurd, >> Tabor frowns. << We stay right here and set up until all systems are green and we are dismissed by Doctor Yorblin. If anything ELSE happens, most of our doctors will be trapped in Sick Bay and we become DOUBLY important. >>
<< Engineering, if we have an external ATMOSPHERE, it might be possible, theoretically, to refuel by extracting hydrogen from the air. >>
<< Science Team, what now? >>
Christian breathes a very deep sigh of relief and taps the comm panel. << Aye, Captain. Executing. >> The Aurora slides forward at an inclination, aiming for the proper docking point on the Elissa's dorsal surface. A short time thereafter, the Aurora neatly ceases its motion and settles in to dock. << Aurora to Elissa. Docked and secured. Out. >> Christian disengages himself from the restraint harness and removes the hard helmet in the nearby vacc locker, but he doublechecks the soft helmet stored in a tiny belt pouch.
"Moira, power-down to warm standby and keep an eye on the store, 'kay?" _Certainly, sir. I will await your return._ The bridge displays reflect the reduction in operations and the lighting becomes more subdued. A quick stride takes Christian from the bridge and the Aurora, as he heads towards Elissa Engineering with a sense of purpose. He taps his commdot as he walks. "PATER, can you tell me the present location of Chief Munro?"
_Chief Munro is in the Power Plant compartment on Deck 2. You will require a vacc suit to travel beyond the corridor leading to the docking rings, as the vac-doors leading to the aft section of the ship have been compromised._
He heads towards the area that PATER indicates.
Goughzar checks the atmosphere reads in the ship, insuring one last time that everything is back to normal, then pops his helmet. "Kharrbyegh, report on fuel lost.. and look for those fighter bay doors. Start with a general trajectory analysis through Pater's sensors and ours, then active ping them to get a lock."
_We have a 28% fuel loss from the damaged tankage space,_ Kharrbyegh reports. _Active scan commencing._
>>PING<<
>>PING<<
>>PIP-PIP-PING<<
_I have a lock on the doors,_ the computer reports. _Range 2.0657 kilometers down axis and 0.553 kilometers and 0.565 kilometers off-axis. Velocity 2.008 meters per second._
Returning to the controls, Goughzar begins to bring the ship around on a slow one gee loop to return over the dorsal surface of the Elissa.
Touching the comm a moment, << Kharrbyegh to Elissa >>, << Kharrbyegh returning as ordered, docking on available active mount >>
KA-CHUNGK
The Paladin shudders and groans slightly at the strain on its buckled hull plates, but no new alarms sound.
_Docking complete. All umbilicals nominal,_ says Kharrbyegh.
"Connect me with Pater...
_PATER here. Welcome aboard, Mister Goughzar._
"Pater, what areas of the Elissa are still under reasonable life support and what is her general status?"
_The following areas of the Elissa are still under nominal life support: all forward sections of the ship, Cargo Deck 1, Cargo Deck 3 Forward, Aft Deck 0, and grav lifts C and D above Deck 4. The Elissa is now nearly at full operational status, discounting hull and turret damage suffered in the initial attack._
At 'Vouf's lament about the fighter-bay doors, Etienne opens a radio comm channel to the Elissa, "Aye, sir. I'll find them, but I don't think I can bring them back." Closing the channel he applies some power to ACE's engines and moves slowly over Elissa's dorsal surface until his sensors have a clear view aft of the ship.
Passive sensors first, then active, Etienne begins scanning for the errant bay-doors, as well as anything else that may be hiding in this bizzare place.
The scans confirm the Paladin's range and velocity estimates. As the Paladin docks, Etienne can see an occasional flicker of light from the slowly turning doors, a ways aft of the ship.
As Christian leaves the Aurora through the ventral airlock, he reaches up to test the attachment of the soft helmet made necessary by the extensive damage to the well-traveled ship. Satisfied, he completes his exit and walks to the Deck 1-2 D airlock, patiently standing as the lock depressurizes. He makes his way to the Deck 2 Power Plant by way of Main Engineering, his eyes noting the astonishing array of damage and debris that now is strewn throughout the aft spaces. The occasional presence of bodies in varied grotesque death-sprawls are strangely ineffective in provoking a horrified reaction from Christian. Rather, he observes them with icy detachment, without sympathy or sentiment. He briefly pauses at one corpse and stares at it for a moment before moving onward.
Arriving at the power plant, it is as if a switch has been thrown, for Christian becomes his personable self that his colleagues know well. He stops just inside the door-way and looks around, settling upon Chief Munro. He smiles warmly and waves. "Hey, Yolanda! Bet you can use another pair of fix-it hands; where do you want me?"
He nods and smiles at the other members of the Engineering staff, if any spare the time from their duty to exchange a momentary pleasantry.
<< Zat iz a gut kvestion, Mizz Niigurrd, >> Morser replies. << I belief ve zhall continue to analyze our Zurrroundinkz mit our now zankfully operrrational zensorz; however, in ze light ov recent rrradio converzationz, I belief you are technically no longer rekvired herrre. Nicht war, Dave? >>
<< That's right, Karl, >> comes Sokuku's voice. << Captain Bhyarrvouf-- I hereby request permission to activate the Alien Contact Team. >>
<< Mister Tabor, copied. I have a medkit on my person. Do you require my presence in the Medical Section? >>
<< Niigurd, this is Yorblin, sorry to contradict Dr. Tabor,but you can return to your Science Department duties. I have this feeling you'll be needed there. Thanks much. >>
"I didn't even know you were part of the medical team," Jan mumbles to himself, "idle hands, etcetra, etcetra."
<< Mister Sokuku, this is Niigurd. As soon as the MedTeam is through with me or if we face a major contact, I shall rejoin the SciTeam. Is this acceptable? Niigurd Out. >>
The psi-detectors, left running and recording by Limner, register a sudden flurry of activity. No one is there to see it. However...
Outside Igor, Morton Limner is trying to figure out the best way to get through the Grav-lift at the front of Cargo Deck #1, when his hand comp begins to flash, and vibrate, alerting him to an important incoming message. Tapping the control to link it to his comm dot he hears << _...ling Dr. Limner. Urgent. Igor calling Dr. Limner..._ >>.
<< Igor, report! >>
<< _There is an event being reported by the psionic detector substantially in excess of the .2 microjoule alert setting. It appears to be external to the Elissa_ >>
Limner appears to, for lack of a better term, vibrate for a couple of seconds, torn between getting to the lower decks or back to Igor. In the end scientific curiosity wins and he begins running across the airless Deck toward the G-Carrier. << Igor! Cycle open! >>
As the ship nears the rough boundary of the brightly lit spatial corridor, Akhouw tenses in gleeful anticipation and turns to Aiwi. "Confirm communications links with Elissa and prepare for boundary penetration."
"Per thy will, my lord," Aiwi nods, reconfiguring her board swiftly. "I am showing primary data uplink to the Elissa via lasercom; meson communicators are just coming on line-- personal memo: note to Mister Blaine about commo reactivation prioritization choices, memo ends-- and we can switch over to--YAAAEEEK!!"
The sky above the Khtaliyr flares bright purple, and the Bridge is suddenly ringing with the shriek of the collision alarms.
_WARNING! WARNING! SENSORS INDICATE INCIPIENT JUMP ARRIVAL!_
And then the sky turns shadowy steel-grey above the little scout....
Zben re-energizes the AM transciever, hurriedly composing a suitable Trokh greeting, and is about to key the mike when the holoscreen suddenly glares a furious shade of bluish-purple, blindingly intense before the dimmers kick in.
_Attention. Attention._ PATER's voice is carefully set to a note of concern. _Sensors indicate phenomena consistent with incoming Jump._
The screen clears. Hovering less than three kilometers away from the Elissa is a gigantic wall of metal, blotting out a huge chunk of the sky. The visual scanners frantically pull back and resolve it as the hull of a massive tanker-craft of some kind, painted matte black.
_Jump arrival confirmed. Starship database crosscheck successful. New arrival is a Berkshire-class transport tanker, of Solomani design._
'Vouf stares at the place on the deep black hull where the ship's name and insignia are displayed in silver paint. Where the Solomani white circle-and-cross used to be, there is now only a single ring of silver, and a legend painted in Galanglic in a similar color:
"Ohhh, fuck ME," 'Vouf whispers for the second time that day.
On Zben's display two incoming signals vie for attention. The screen automatically splits into two fields. One is on the AM frequency he had just set up, but had not yet keyed. The other raises Zben's eyebrows: [ }8-| ]
"Captain," Zben's voice is pitched low, with a slight tremor, "We're being hailed. It's a meson message burst, Standard Imperial nomenclature. The hail is directed to... the `Starship Elissa'!"
For a long moment, 'Vouf glares at the screen, one hand fumbling for the laser at his side. Then he stops himself with an effort.
"No," he whispers. "No more killing."
'Vouf collapses in to his chair wearily, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Put it on the main display," he orders softly, "And then answer the AM radio call for me and find out what those farmers want."
He straightens in his chair, and barks, "This is the Turnskaad Starship Elissa, Captain Bhyarrvouf BaHaThagk-Kabra commanding."
The holoscreen clears, and the Bridge of the Hamilcar, last seen littered with brain-blasted Solomani corpses, appears in sharp relief. Sitting in the Captain's Chair is a sandy-haired Human in his late forties or early fifties, clean-shaven and sporting the familiar striped buzzcut of the Solomani military. By his side, however, is a tall, extravagantly lovely Aslan woman, draped in an ornate tabard bearing the woven designs common to the mysterious Syoisuis clan. Both, however, are wearing the same insignia: a glossy black circle surrounded by a thin silver ring.
The Human speaks, his voice cracking with concern. "Elissa, this is the Event Horizon Flare Ship Hamilcar, Captain Randall Stubbs in command. We stand ready to assist you with Medical Teams and Engineering staff--" He glances to one side. "We're showing heavy damage to your hull and a lot of debris, but no sign of the Reavers. What happened to Stamerra?"
'Vouf's eyebrow goes North. He clears his throat, and says, "Uh...."
In a move born of long years of service and honed by instinct, Akhouw bends the Khtaliyr to his will, nimbly evading the looming bulk in close proximity, in an efficient spiral retreat. As the dwarfed scout curves upward and around the starfaring leviathan, the basic course is complemented by a stunning array of evasive feints and jabs too random to be truly of artificial manufacture.
As the ship gyrates along its course, Akhouw spares a moment for Aiwi. "Sensor readings, identification?" With one massive claw he activates the angry orange EMM battle-sigil of the Khaukheairl as the other guides the craft. With a high-gee curve, the Aslan scout slows rapidly to a halt a mere kilometer directly in front of the (likely/best guess) bridge area of the unknown intruder, playing David to its Goliath, and then rests there as Akhouw waits for this drama to unfold. His ears perk up and he listens to any commo, direct or via the Elissa, with palpable interest.
Aiwi says sharply, "Target is active. Target is tracking us with multiple batteries--missiles, sandcasters, what look like lasers of some kind. No ordnance launch as yet. Target is NOT repeat NOT tracking Elissa. Target checking against databases--matched! Hisol'i tanker of the Berkshire class--"
Akhouw acknowledges her report with a terse growl. He reaches over to the tactical holodyne and the main holo begins to fill with an armament profile of the tanker along with a tactical analysis.
She looks up in shock. "Ahya! It is the HAMILCAR, my Lord!" She glares at the display. "Transponder decode confirms. It has been painted black, but it is the same ship, without question."
Intrigued, Akhouw growls with an thoughtful lilt to his tone. "Haarrrmmmm.. Perhaps these masters of the Hamilcar, having helped themselves to it and our fuel cache, will make their hospitality clear... and soon."
He looks over to Aiwi. "Communications activity?"
'Vouf makes gulping noises and tries to say something, but nothing comes out. On the screen, Stubbs regards him politely, waiting.
"Uhm, urr, uh....One second, please." 'Vouf steps over to Blaine. "Tie the Khtaliyr into this," he whispers. "And what did those farmers want?"
Blaine whispers a few terse words in his ear.
"Hm." 'Vouf looks thoughtful, then turns back to his chair and sits down again."The Nikaido was sent packing a few minutes ago, Captain Stubbs. She attacked us when we arrived in this, hrr, PLACE, about a half hour ago, and tried to board and capture us. We drove her off with heavy casualties-- we figure she lost ten boarding craft and all but seven men, who bailed out with re-entry packs."
Stubbs sits up at that, and says grimly to the Aslan woman beside him, "Launch two Ajaxes with mop-up teams, tell them we have seven hostiles to gather up." The woman nods and steps out of the picture.
Stubbs turns back to 'Vouf. "Sorry for the interruption, Captain, but we can't have armed survivors terrorizing the farms down there. One gauss rifle can make a man pretty powerful in these parts." He steeples his fingers and looks hard at 'Vouf. "You're telling me that your ship managed to survive a surprise attack and drive the Nikaido OFF?"
'Vouf nods. "We're a lot more dangerous than we look," he growls.
"I'll just bet you are," Stubbs says softly, his voice tinged with a note of respect. "Those ships you see launching on your sensors are SDBs we carry for logistical work, by the way. I'm sending them after those survivors you mentioned." True to his word, the two craft peel away from the Hamilcar and drop down into the white light at high speed. One of them passes a small distance away from the Khtaliyr, and does a quick roll in salute as it goes by.
The passage of the small craft is noted by Akhouw. He snorts at the craft's salute.
"Have you suffered many casualties?" Stubbs asks. "Is there internal damage we can't see that you need help with?"
"No and no," 'Vouf says angrily.
"Are you low on fuel? We have--"
"PLEASE!" 'Vouf cuts him off. "I appreciate your offers, Captain, but the last fellow I met out here did his damndest to shave my butt, and had to be driven off with his tail between his legs before he'd leave us alone. Can you give me one good reason why we should trust YOU?"
Stubbs shakes his head. "Nope." He shrugs.
'Vouf stares at him in disbelief. A moment passes. Then Stubbs's face cracks into a very tiny smile, and he starts to chuckle. 'Vouf, still staring at him, also starts to laugh, semihysterically. After a few seconds of this, 'Vouf wipes his eyes, and gasps, "'Scuse me, I'm a bit of a mess...."
"So I see," Stubbs chuckles. Then he leans forward earnestly. "Captain, I KNOW you have no reason to trust me. But you HAVE to. Please let me come over to your ship and talk to you-- alone, and unarmed-- and try to explain what's happened. I know you're scared and feeling helpless; I was there once myself, and not all that long ago. If things had gone the way they were supposed to, you would've been welcomed with open arms, not gotten your ticket punched the way you did. But they didn't, and now my mission is made more awkward by having to convince you to trust me."
'Vouf's eyes narrow. "WHAT mission?"
"Protect the Starship Elissa at all costs, and see her to safety," Stubbs replies coolly. "No matter what."
'Vouf regards him for a long moment. "Alone and unarmed," he says cautiously.
Stubbs nods. "I won't even use a grav vehicle," he says. "I'll come over in a vacc suit with a thruster pack."
'Vouf nods. "Forward dorsal airlock," he snaps. "I'll meet you there. In the meantime, keep your distance, and keep your SDBs away from the Elissa and her riders, including that Aslan scout I see your batteries tracking. We've got nukes and we're not afraid to use them."
Aboard the Khtaliyr, Akhouw smiles and grins toothily at the comm.
Stubbs stares at 'Vouf in shock, then holds up both hands in a placating gesture. "I'm on my way over," he says quickly. "For Heaven's sake, don't set anything like that off in here! We're in a closed system-- not even STAMERRA would use a nuclear weapon!" He looks hard at 'Vouf to see if his words have sunk in.
"I'll be waiting," 'Vouf says coldly, and cuts off the circuit. He slumps in his chair. "Ouma help us if they find out we DON'T have any nukes," he mutters. He flicks on his commlink. << Khtaliyr, don't get too far away. >>
The response is quick. << Certainly. I stand ready to defend our honor. >>
'Vouf switches to the Security channel. << Major Farouk, meet me at the forward dorsal airlock, please-- we have a visitor. >>
He changes channels again. << Nick Talon to the Bridge. >>
He gets up, and says, "You have the conn, Mister Nanadh. If you have to take command, let Talon take the Helm." He looks around. "Carry on, everyone. Hopefully we aren't about to get into ANOTHER fight." And he turns to leave.
Halfway up to the door, he stops and looks behind him, at the gatling laser propped up next to the Captain's chair. He shakes his head and leaves it where it is, instead scooping up his pistol from the deck with his uninjured hand and tucking it in his belt.
"You have the sweep, Rigo," Lazer comments, spinning on his heel. << Acknowledged. How belligerent are we going to appear? Overt weapons? Farouk over. >>
<< A sidearm should be sufficient, Major... this is hopefully a friendly visit. We're going to be entertaining the Captain of the ship that's just appeared off our bow offering us aid of various sorts.... >>
"Just appeared, Captain?" Rigo interrupts. "Do you mean jumped in? That either means that they knew a week ago that we would be here now or that jumps takes a lot less than a week in here."
Or..." he adds as an aftethought, "That these people can teleport ship-sized masses..."
'Vouf takes gravlift B up to the dorsal airlock and waits in the antechamber. As Farouk arrives, he hears PATER report, _Visual sensors indicate one humanoid in tailored vacc suit with PLSS-A thruster pack en route from the Hamilcar to the Elissa. ETA five minutes._
"Let him in and cycle the airlock, PATER," 'Vouf orders. He then turns to Farouk, ears flicking selfconsciously, and asks softly, "How do I look?" He dabs embarrassedly at the dried mess of blood and tears on his face with the back of a hand.
"Finally, we're out of the medical Twidleedee-Tweedleedum. Right. Off
we go."
"It was a pleasure working with you too, Alliara," Tabor mutters under
his breath.
Stuffing the medkit into the nearest vacant medkit-bracket, Alliara
exists the crew lounge and hurries to the physical science compartment,
whistling something that sounds like "Genji's Body lies amouldering
in space, but his flagship trundles on...".
"Gah." Tabor hits his commdot. "Tabor to Yorblin. Jan, you want me to
scrub up?"
<< Hang loose, I'm going to break free of this security sweep and get
Dan packaged. I want to leave you free for when Shurv can get fixed,
he will need some minor surgical repair, but it can wait until he gets
done with his engineering tasks. Until we've figured out the Hamilcar
thing, I want to leave Morton free to get back to Igor >>
Slightly out of breath, Limner arrives back at Igor and cycles thru into the small craft. Sure enough, there is a high peak of psionic activity, but mostly confined to what he has come to read as telepathy. No monstorous pulses, just `normal' activity, external to Elissa. Studying it for another moment or two he realizes it doesn't require any immediate attention, so he pops another crystal in the recorder. "Igor, continue to monitor panel P-1, notify me if there are any anomalies over .5 microjoule, or activity above .2 microjoule of duration greater than 3 seconds. When I leave reduce other activity to maintainance level 2."
_Confirmed_
With that Limner once again cycles out. Standing in the almost empty expanse of Cargo Bay 1, several thought cross his mind. He keys to the Common channel;
<< Dr. Limner to, uuuuhhh, ummm. Well.... Can anyone direct me to the best, and safest, route from Cargo Bay One to Sickbay? The forward gravlift seems broken. Is the aft one OK? >> He pauses, then goes on: << Also, if you can't get the ACE back in its hanger, we have a big empty bay up here, already evacuated...Limner out. >>
Switching to a general comm channel, Dave sends out a summons.
<< Sokuku to contact team. Will Awntremont, Bishop, Doejin, and Horne please report to the Sensor Pit as soon as other duties permit? We have a physical contact mission to plan. Sokuku out. >>
Switching off, Dave mutters, "Well, I guess the vacation is over."
"Vacation!?!" explodes Abuko. "What do you call that mess in engineering? 'Pirates of the Caribbean'?" Shifting his glare from Sokuku, he turns to Morser and adds, "Doc, I'm going to take five. I need to go back to my cabin and check on Bit. I'll be back in a little while."
"Yah... vell, OK" replies Morser. "Manfred, look at ze doppler map. It isn't a *perfect* zylinter!"
"Planetary terrain." nods Werner. "Mountains, valleys, rivers... and thermal signatures. Those are artifical structures."
"Vasinating..." murmurs Morser. "A vorld in a hoze."
"PATER, send to my link the cargo bay inventory and complete damage control overlays". Aolrkhea' receives the information almost before finishing. She downloads the information onto her handcomp and breaks the infrared connection.
Studying the damage schematics for a safe route, Aolrkhea' looks up at Christian's arrival. "Good morning, Doctor van der Merwe. I have seen nicer weather here in engineering".
"And a most interesting morning to you as well, Doctor Aolrkhea'." is the cheery reply from Christian. "My compliments to your decorator."
Alien humor has always been a challenge: Reminded of a quote from Rigo's holovids, she struggles with a lopsided sneer, "We do not pick 'em, we just shoot 'em."
Failing to get the expected response from Christian, Aolrkhea' shelves her experiment in human relations and gets to the job at hand. Picking her way carefully through the debris, a thought occurs to Aolrkhea'. Pausing unsteadily on a patch of ice, she turns back to Christian, "Aaron and I could use some help cleaning Main Engineering before sealing it with the portable airlock. If it is as messy as this room, it really should be scrubbed before atmosphere is restored. Will you join us?"
Christian blinks twice. He considers the debris for a moment, with the sotto voce comment "doctor, spy, and janitor too..." He turns back to 'Khea. "Perhaps, Doctor Aolrkhea', but I think I should first check with Chief Munro." He taps the commdot. << Van Der Merwe to Munro. I can fix toasters and people too; I'm ready and willing, where do you need me? >>
Passing through Main Engineering, Aolrkhea' comms << Aaron, where are you? I shall fetch the airlock Chief Munro requested and meet you at the repair site: the aft door to Main Engineering. >>
<< I'll be there in about forty-five seconds, Mynheer Aolrkhea', >> haut-Frieder responds. << Use a grav-lifter and you shouldn't require too much assistance to transport the lock while it's folded up. >>
It takes Aolrkhea' very little time to recover the packed airlock from Cargo Bay Three, as the bay is still in vacuum and there is at least one lock stowed in each bay. The dead bodies in the bay elicit no interest except perhaps for the quadruped cyberjockey and the centipedes.
When 'Khea arrives at the repair site with the lock in tow, Aaron is already prepping the seam where it will attach. He has manually removed the two pieces of sliding vac door from the frame and set them aside, leaving a clean opening for the lock to cover.
<< Okay, >> Aaron nods. << With this in place and a patch on the hull, we'll be able to repressurize the whole fore portion of the ship. I guess that Mynheer Munro wants to leave the aft sections in vacuum until they're clean.... >>
Munro enters Main Engineering behind Aolrkhea'. Seeing Christian, she gives him a puzzled look. "How did you get here?!?" Her data monocle swings forward, and Munro nods slightly. "Oh, right." Looking back at Van der Merwe, she smiles slightly. "Good to see you Christian. We can use the extra hands. With Jonson busy, I need you to help seal the breach at four-C-S. Grab some grav-lifters." Munro carefully walks into the shop from Main Engineering. Her attention is straight ahead and rarely does she look down. Picking up some grav-lifters she attaches them to a piece of plating. She then turns the job of maneuvering the plate to airlock over to Doejin and Van der Merwe. On her way out of the shop, she grabs a welding rig and some mag grips.
Once at the airlock, Munro uses the welding rig to carefully remove the uneven edges from the hole, all the while humming tunelessly. Satisfied with her work, she steps back. "Okay guys. Your turn." She watches the two others move the plate into position over the hole. Without taking the lifters off, she secures the mag grips on the plate and hence to the airlock behind it. Activating her mag boots, she indicates that Christian should do the same.
<< Munro to Engineering Bridge crew. Eliminate gravity in the airlock 4-C until further notice. >>
On the bridge, upon receiving Munro's order, Angus sets up a linear degradation from 1-gee to zero to take place over 60 seconds. That should give people in that area enough time to get situated.
Once the gravity is off, the lifters are removed from the plate and Munro goes to work. By the time she is done, the plate is in place. "It's not a pretty job, but it'll do."
<< Munro to Engineering Bridge crew. Resume gravity in airlock 4-C. Whoever is on life support - when life support is returned to the evacuated area, *do not* raise the temperature to above zero degrees celsius until we get certain things cleaned up back here. >>
Angus repeats the standard 1/20th-gee for 1 minute followed by the gradual increase to 1-gee over the next minute proceudre that he performed not that long ago.
<< Acknowledged, Chief. >> On the bridge, Merkle makes the necessary adjustments.
<< Munro to haut-Frieder and Aolrkhea'. Ready to pressurize when you are. >>
With Doejin and Van der Merwe using cans of smoke to detect air leaks and Munro patching a couple of holes, the breach is sealed. Standing up after one last test of the patch, Munro smiles grimly. "Two repairs down, butt loads more to go."
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Christian grins back at Yolanda. "At least that's what an ancient Terran philosopher said." He shrewdly glances at her. "Me, I'd say it's all a pain in the ass."
Trudging back to Main Engineering, Munro looks curiously at Van der Merwe. "So, Christian, just what happened? What caused the emergency power surge? Where are we? Are all the rider's okay? Who or what were those ...things... that boarded us?"
Suddenly, Christian looks very tired and very old. He sighs. "I don't know Yolanda --- all I know is that we are in a very strange place and we aren't where we used to be. As for those boarders..." He shrugs and looks at her with dead eyes. "...all I know is that I blew one boarding craft and its crew back to hell." He shrugs again.
Stopping suddenly, Munro looks stricken. "...teleporter on ... oh, no... The... bridge crew... Christian, was anyone hurt?" Not waiting for an answer, she continues.
At her emotional query, Christian winces and he drops his gaze. Another damned butcher's bill, and he wasn't even a doctor on this cruise, just another watch-officer. Not for the first time, Christian wondered for an instant just what the hell he was doing aboard the Elissa.
<< PATER - Are there any injuries/casualties? >>
As PATER replies, Christian contemplates the ceiling. He seems to speak only to himself, his tone bitter. "If you please, milord, just one more body-bag to fill."
After PATER's answer, she closes her eyes, shrinking in on herself. Then, abruptly, she straightens and strides purposefully for Main Engineering.
<< Munro to Engineering Bridge crew. Good work people. Transfer control
to Main Engineering... and then yourselves. Mister Hur'Shurvan, I
suggest you first report to Medical to see to your wound. Until the
docs give you full clearance to work, I don't want to see your tush
anywhere near a repair job.> Softening her voice, Munro continues.
"Now to make some people very unhappy. PATER - I want the following
message sent to these people......"
<< Thank you, Ms. Munro. >> replies Hur'Shurvan. << I expect you are right that a visit to Dr. Tabor would be prudent. I will try not to be too long. Meanwhile I am transferring control of the power plant back to Main Engineering... >>
Angus transmits his estimate of repairs needed and recommended priority to Munro for her consideration, transfers gravticis control to Main Engineering, and then shuts down his console. After looking around the bridge, he takes a step towards 'Shurv. "Hey, is there something I can do to help? Do you need a hand to sickbay?"
"That is most kind of you, Angus," says Hur'Shurvan, "but I don't think there is anything you can do to help me. I believe I can make it to the sickbay without much difficulty. I suggest you go straight to Main Engineering, where Ms. Munro probably needs all the help she can get."
"OK. If there's anything we can do for you, left us know."
With a few deft touches Hur'Shurvan transfers control, pausing for a few moments to continue monitoring the power plant functions and ensure that everything is still running smoothly. Then he shuts down his console and prepares to leave.
Angus waits for Hur'Shurvan to exit the bridge and follows him out.
Opening the Engineering channel, << Merkle here, Chief. I still have a welding kit here with on the Bridge. Where can I be of best use? >>
<< Munro to Merkle. You and the others are needed everywhere. I'm looking at damage reports now and by the time you and the others get to Main Engineering, I'll have a good idea about what critical systems need repair. Munro out. >>
Boris tranfers Life Support Control to Main Engineering then checks the welding kit on the floor beside him as he awaits assignment.
"You've seen better days, sir," Lazer grins, still not quite down from his combat high.
"You and your men did stellar work, Major," 'Vouf says quietly. "I'm very proud of all of you. I wish I'd had a squad of your calibre aboard the Bovakr when the Kharaengzough took her away from me.... things might have worked out differently, then."
"Thank you," Lazer answers simply.
"I'd like for your squad to continue their sweep and account for every body and every weapon. Anything salvageable is to go to the Armoury, and you can talk to Dr. Yorblin or Dr. Limner about whether they want to do any autopsies on the unknown species."
Farouk just nods.
'Vouf's voice drops to a low mutter. "I thought you should know, Major, that I'm letting this man aboard for a reason. I DO think we can trust him, and I think his ship can give us the aid we need in getting our haunches under us again...."
Quickly and tersely, 'Vouf fills in Farouk on the existence of the farmstead in the strange world outside, and on the identity of the Hamilcar....
"We received a radio message from the farmers, stating that they'd made contact with the Hamilcar and confirmed its identity. Their leader is apparently an Aslan, and I don't expect lies in that regard. But here's the kicker: the contact between the farm and the Hamilcar was PSIONIC." He glowers at Farouk to emphasize the point. "I want EVERYONE on this ship who's afraid of being read, to go to full psi-shield alert at once, if they aren't there already. We--"
He is interrupted by PATER's voice. _Cycling airlock now._
'Vouf straightens up and faces the airlock. The iris valve opens in the ceiling above him, and a Human in a spacesuit, bulky thruster pack clanking against the walls, climbs down a ladder into the chamber. At the bottom, he reaches up and detaches his helmet with a hiss, pulling it off.
For a long moment, Randall Stubbs and Bhyarrvouf BaHaThagk-Kabra stare at one another, taking each other's measure coolly. Then Stubbs shifts his helmet to one hand and holds out the other. "Captain Bhyarrvouf? Permission to come aboard, sir."
'Vouf shakes the proffered hand firmly. "Captain Stubbs. Permission granted, and welcome." He nods to Farouk. "My chief of Security, Major Lester Farouk."
Stubbs nods politely to Farouk and shakes his hand. "A pleasure, Major. No relation to 'Lazer' Farouk, I assume?" He chuckles as he removes his gloves.
"One and the same," Lazer replies, puzzled. "How ... perhaps later you can explain how you've heard of me."
Stubbs's eyes widen. "Farouk of the Silver Star? I'll be damned! There was a writeup on your unit in one of the journals a few years back. Impressed the hell out of a lot of the guys in my unit....."
Meanwhile, 'Vouf is hanging up the PLSS, thruster pack and helmet. "Check him, Major. Full sweep for concealed hardware."
Lazer nods, and waits calmly for Stubbs to raise his arms and spread his legs. Several quick passes with a portable metal and explosives detector find nothing. One of the pockets of the skin-tight suit has a slight lump, which proves to be a small utility knife. Lazer restores it to its place, pockets the detector, and steps back.
"He's clean."
Stubbs submits to the search calmly, saying nothing.
"Right," 'Vouf says sharply. Summoning the lift, he takes Stubbs and Farouk down to Deck 4. Stubbs looks around him with interest as the lift passes the empty quarters decks.
"Lazer, I want to leave Morton free to deal with the Hamilcar, chances are you won't need me. Someone needs to get down to the sickbay and start prepping Dan Silvmane. With your permission, I'll head down."
With the barest second to see if Lazer acknowledges his request, Jan heads back to the sickbay. DaSilva has Niishu in the OR, with Dulinor assisting. Jan catches his eye, "Things going OK?". Receiving a brief report, he turns back to the body bag on the pre-op bed.
<< Limner, Yorblin...I'm looking over Silvmane now, and I'll be starting the med low berth prep shortly. I'd still like you to take a look, but avoid tying you up with the prep unless you need to respond to something outside. >>
Nick Talon enters the bridge, laser rifle slung over his shoulder. His brow furrows as he looks around at the blood stains spattered over the deck. Then his gaze comes to rest on Hur'Shurvan, and he notes with some alarm the emergency repair in the flank of his friend's vacc suit.
"Hey, Shurv! What happened to you?"
"A minor wound, Nicholas. Nothing to get too concerned about. I'm afraid others did not fare so well. Nishu is seriously injured, and I believe Dan is dead."
"Shit. Where's the sonofabitch who started all this?"
"The ship which assaulted us has jumped away, although most of their boarders were killed." The Virush shakes his head sadly.
"Too good for them," Talon mutters. Louder he says, "What's going on now?"
Hur'Shurvan is about to answer when a series of lights on his panel begin to blink. "Please excuse me, Nichloas, but the power plant needs attention. I'm sure Mr. Nanadh or Mr. Blaine can fill you in."
Entering the PhySciComp, Alliara looks around, sniffs loudly and say - "No fish!? Really! Oh well, we'll do with the two whales."
Turning to Sokuku and smiling an almost-Aslan smile - "What have we for supper, Gen'ral? Will I have some savages to look at or are there again some infernal tech-advanced siphons... sophonts, that is. Homo Pugnans, Felis Infernus, Canis Penis, that sort of thing?
"In any case, we'd better start uncrating, so to speak, the data gathering equipment of the rest of the contact team. I assume I'm NOT the only one with recorders, transcribers and translators. Organization's up to you, Gen'ral, but I suggest we have an overall coordinator and 'subcontract' various animalistic..., anomalistic, of course, cultures or subcultures to specific teams. It would probably not be too much of a strain.
"What anthro, socio and linguistic anomalies (or, indeed, data) have we so far?"
On Deck 4, the gravlift deposits the trio amidst the Security Squad, who under Rigo Edmondsen's direction are suiting up for a sweep of the ship. 'Vouf nods to Rigo politely. "Keeping busy, eh, Rigo? Captain Stubbs, this is our Security Team, or at least a chunk of it." He makes introductions around the group. Stubbs shakes every hand firmly, and gives a polite half bow to Vanessa Kor.
"Thanks for accompanying me, Major. I'll let you and Rigo get back to running the search. Keep me posted. Come with me, please, Captain." 'Vouf then leads Stubbs to the Bridge.
The iris valve snaps open, revealing the carnage of the recent battle. Stubbs sucks in his breath at the sight, then gasps out loud when he sees the gatling laser and the headless body. "Ho-ly SHIT," he whispers. "You got their fragging TELEPORTER!" He shakes his head.
Stay at your posts, gentlemen," 'Vouf snaps, "I'm just here for a moment. Captain Randall Stubbs of the Hamilcar, what's left of my Bridge Crew: Count Nanadh Ngemmen Ger, Officer of the Deck; Nicholas Talon, Helm; Morgan Grey, Hur'Shurvan, Angus MacLaeran and Boris Merkle, Engineering. I'm sorry I can't introduce you to Nishu Neriika and Dan Silvmane, but one is in surgery right now and the other one is zipped up in a nice cozy meatbag."
Stubbs doesn't notice. He's staring at Count Ger as if he's seeing a character from a novel suddenly come to life. "No way," he says, half to himself.
"Oh, and this is Zben Blaine, our Commo officer," 'Vouf says, walking over to Zben and laying a hand on his shoulder. "He's why I stopped in." He whispers in Zben's ear urgently for a second, and Blaine nods, turning to his board.
"We'll be more comfortable in my office," 'Vouf says mildly, ushering Stubbs into the nearby room. As the door shuts behind them, Blaine rapidly types a few lines and fires off a text message to every crew member's handcomp:
::ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL - AUDIO CHANNEL C IS NOW CARRYING LIVE DIALOGUE BETWEEN CAPTAIN BHYARRVOUF AND CAPTAIN STUBBS OF THE HAMILCAR. ALL PERSONNEL ARE FREE TO LISTEN, BY ORDER OF THE CAPTAIN. BLAINE, COMMS.::
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