Free ride pt.2

Posted on Tue 25th Jun, 2024 @ 1:34pm by Izwyx 'Lo
Edited on on Mon 8th Jul, 2024 @ 1:19am

2,036 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: The Phoenix Gamble
Location: En Route to SB109
Timeline: MD1

Previously…. https://sb109.sim-station.net/index.php/sim/viewpost/2338

-Sixty eight minutes later-

Kas held her breath as they released the Vespian canisters into space. Their Engineer Christopher Callahan had made crash padding and a lattice array to keep them from clattering but this was the moment where if anything was wrong, theyd all find out. Moments passed into a welcome silence as the cargo safely drifted under the protection of three vessels. The Icarus locked a tractor beam on the containment field itself, as TinkerBell pushed the cargo into a rhythm that proved stable.

Kas whooped over comm, “You've got inertial synchronization!”

As the trio of vessels holding a fuel bomb with naught but invisible beams of light drifted from their course Quinton watched with teeth clenched. This risk should never have been asked of them. He felt pride for the crew's willingness to get the job done, and resolved to compensate everyone accordingly. Starfleet would be paying out the nose for this rescue.

The protocol he was following was nearly at the designated time for programmed dark out. He hated the loss of control, Starfleet had promised the ship was not under any form of remote command. Their breach of contract signaled the end of the merchant fleet, nobody would trust the ship they served on if it could be revoked to military action at any time. He felt as though the captaincy entrusted to him was a farce.

“Captain?” The holographic image of Judah appeared on the bridge.

“Judah!” Quinton hadn’t realized how worried the boys absence had made him. Without this computer based interaction the boy was essentially in a coma and dead to the world.

The image of the greasy teen was an old remembered one, “I was being suppressed by an intrusive program. Starfleet Intelligence is behind all of this!”

Quinton had figured as much, “Does this mean you've beaten it? Are you ok?”

Judah smiled, his avatar was a teenager with dark skin, close cropped hair and blue eyes. He was lanky, a memory of life before his accident. The handsome creation was a distinctive avatar especially considering how his native body was not similar at all.

“I learned a lot, and yeah I’m ok. I can regain control of the ship if you like?”

Judah was a powerful ally in a computer contest, he cheered internally. Perhaps a good captain fixes this issue rather than stewin in it. But, Quinton knew better, “No, lay low. They’ve got us squarely in their grip and I’d like them to think this works. Let’s reveal it doesn't later, when it serves us best.”

Judah understood, “Got it. I can however tell you whats going on.”

Quinton and Kas both felt an immediate sigh of relief, and he immediately thanked his friend. “Anything would be very much appreciated thank you.”

Judah changed his holographic avatar to a display of the master systems and local area. Despite their lockouts, this was a pretty good window into their predicament.

”We are en route to coordinates with a simulation detailing a modified warp field and tractor beam. I’m almost certain its intent is to have us pull a ship to Starbase 109.

”Any idea who?” Quinton smelled a spy operation commandeering their vessel.

”It’s got Starfleet Intelligence written all over it, purposefully. It’s a curse on a tomb sir if I crack open the file we may not like what comes out.”

”Ok, well cloak and dagger aside I cant object to rescuing some people but why the secrecy, we would respond to distress calls any day of the week?

Kas interjected, “Intelligence is willing to have their people stay silent and send us to find them. They are carrying vital assets and discovery is not an option.”

Othor seemed to agree, Fala said nothing, and her lack of disagreement was as telling.

Quinton clapped lightly, “ok new plan. We follow the leader. Gather details. Judah any ideas on who our people are who sabotaged you?

”Working on that now.” The avatar was gone from the screen. He often spoke as a disembodied voice.

“Have Akio help. Take no actions on it though. We can’t communicate with the Hauling team without breaking guise of our true measure of controls I’d imagine?”

Kas shook her head, “No Sir.”

”Good luck to them. So we wait twenty more minutes or what?”

Othor interpreted the data, “The blackout begins in twenty one minutes. It is likely the blackout precedes the rescue by a factor.”

The Captain felt like his old self, he twirled and pointed as he commanded each in turn.

”Othor monitor channels for incoming anything from the outside, as well as internal optical feeds in Engineering, Computer Core, Gantry to Bridge. Kas prepare a White room for our guests, Judah get the EMH hat on. Any information we receive here on out gets aggregated on my Pad, not the ships anything.. Judah remember to set it all straight once this is over.”

In twenty minutes they became helpless and blind, using their escape card might mean fleeing the Federation or losing their hard won home.

What in the hell was happening here?

-Two hours later-

Quinton was listening to Othor and Judah clarify the results of a new development. Already they had lost internal and external sensors but the clever Othor had palm scanners handed out in the last twenty minutes to all of his stewards. An external feed was in a form of rep

Judah interpreted the data into a narrative, “We have taken something in tow. It’s a parallel course to an object that has been absorbed into our warp field. It is being pulled along with us and the course is being adjusted through a tractor beam periodically.”

Kas and Othor both considered the board, I am able to get raw splashes of information whenever the tractor beam connects, and I believe its a Starfleet vessel but nothing really is detecting it. Whatever the hull is made of is a smear on my sensors at best.”

Othor was doing math and talking to himself, “...its tonnage is evident in a comparison, we dumped cargo so factoring our mass into the pull… ninety five or so I’d say…”

Kas also was scrutinizing, “We synced off of the Port side and are in a lopsided configuration, single nacelle configuration?

Judah piped up, “Thanks I can use that…. aha Got you!”

An image appeared,

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/memoryalpha/images/d/d9/Saladin_class.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20230612025230&path-prefix=en

Quinton recognized the profile, “It’s an old school destroyer, single Nacelle just like you guessed. Great work Judah.”

He reappeared and the tactical display disappeared, “Once I could understand the shape roughly I knew what to look for.”

Quinton smiled at the boy, “I think there's a life lesson in that. So, let’s take our notes and compare, Fala, your office please?”

All of their consoles were dark. The ship was under computer control but knowing Judah was there and could crack it at any time made this a game of knowledge gathering. Fala lead the Captain, Kas, and Othor to the conference room.

Fala had her own independent computer and server setup for exactly this reason. She was never caught unawares. She was the money and knew it so her office had taken over the entire conference room. They all sat in simple seats whereas her throne afforded her the superior status.

She leveled a steely gaze at all of them at once. Despite his captaincy Quinton felt subordinate to the glowering woman. “I’ve reviewed our contract, there is nothing allowing them to do this. I will be carrying this to the Admiralty the moment we have systems restored. Such abrogation must be met with litigation.”

Quinton agreed, “oh yes, we knew there would come a day they'd insist on using their property like it was never relinquished at all. I would have gladly helped but they didn't ask they just did. Also having two of my paid crew working for Starfleet against us is espionage… I agree Fala. They aren't getting anything free out of us.”

That soothed her a bit, at times the two of them could be opposed but this was a nice treat to have lockstep. Kas redirected their ire, “So I can surmise we have rescued a stealth vessel operating under secrecy from a mission gone wrong. We aren't meant to see them at all. Given our heading, Starbase 109 makes the most sense.”

Quinton loved to cut to the quick, “So let’s hail them, see if we can help em out. If the ship is damaged they can ride up here, totally isolated.

Othor supplied additional wisdom, “Such stringent measures to both rescue and not see. If they were in immediate peril one would think we lend immediate assistance. Their secrecy might be of a higher value than their lives.”

Fala sat back in consideration, “I’ve had run-ins with intelligence operations masquerading in cargo or freighter runs. This one is different. The crew we have in tow are assets with intelligence, but the ship must have value too. It’s a treasure ship, probably a customized Starfleet vessel using banned or illegal, confidential technology.

“So if we hail them we wed ourselves to a beast of unknown capability,” Quinton mused.

Othor nodded along, “Play games with the devil and you invite them in.”

Silence reigned before Judah asked what they were all thinking, “Should we just let this happen and trust like they said, it's for a good cause?”

Kas was unsure, “We do not have control over our vessel. We just jettisoned a major haul for our company and hoped our auxiliary vehicles can tow it to home. These are hostile actions and I’d prefer we proceed under our own power making our own decisions.”

Quinton answered their questions. “We stand to lose nothing by speaking to them one way. What if we meet these people and they are wonderful, and we are delighted to have rescued them? But if we know nothing, do nothing, we might be abetting high crimes.”

It was a hard call and Quinton was desperate for an epiphany. The eyes were on him all the same.

“Judah, open a channel, wide open frequency.”

“Open channels, they can hear you if they've got anything listening.” Judah's voice came from thin air.

“To the vessel tagging along with us. We know you are likely in distress, or injured. We can offer a secure, isolated ward, medical attention, heat lights, food, whatever you need. We still have a days ride to where we are going, so maybe you should just hold out. But I promise we can keep a secret, and put you up in a room with no windows. If your situation wasn’t dire… none of this would be happening. So… if there is even one of you in need, we’ve cleared an area and your blackout is in effect.”

The five of them listened for any reply, Quinton only whispered, “Judah anything?”

The voice came back, “I’m being… won’t call it probed… infiltrated…”

”Judah?” Captain Beck hated how vulnerable the young man truly was, all but brain dead living in augmented reality.

”It’s not Starfleet, but wears its uniform. An EMH analogue, stripped of everything but a rule book. I can resist it since my operating system cant be overwritten, wetware and all.”

”It’s trying to control you.” Kas was also a big sister to the young man.

”It is currently successfully controlling me. I just have the ability to resist. Breaking free would extract a toll.” Judah replied as a simple matter of fact, he was slowly losing the ability to correctly pitch emotional states.

Quinton stopped him before anything else was said, “No, dont twist out of the bite. We are an open book except for… you know…. Let them see what they need to.”

Moments passed in silence, before Judah chimed in, “Got a transporter signal incoming to blackout zone!”

”Wear that Hat Judah, and report back.”

-TBC-

 

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