The Unlikely Savior, Part 1

Posted on Thu 18th Nov, 2021 @ 11:35pm by Captain Jason Harrington & Exo-Comp EXQT

1,209 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: A Good Day to Hunt
Location: Antero
Timeline: MD 1, 2000

"Captain, I'm picking up a distress signal. A freighter is under attack from a Klingon Bird of Prey here in the Shadows Belt." She swiveled in her seat to face the captain, "They think that it's a Pirate ship."

Captain Mitchell Calhoun had been the captain of the Venture for about a year now. ... "Are there any other ships nearby?" He knew that the medical supplies that they carried were time-sensitive. Any delay could cost lives, hundreds or even thousands.

"None, Captain." She said grimly. "We're it."


***

Htek chuckled, ..." If you two have finished your business, we must all continue ours. Resume your duties."

Anslo glanced to J'alla, who had been waiting for his gaze. He spoke in a low tone before he let her go, "J'alla, I will be watching. Back to work now."

J'alla said nothing, expressing herself in other ways. Picking up her dignity and honor, she tried to walk with purpose but knew she had lost everything. If Anslo was to watch, she would perform, and lead him down a path to his death. Understanding the purpose of subterfuge for the first time, J'alla began to plot.

-Start-

H'tek had taken a blow to the head, salt in the wound for such a man suffering from dementia. The explosion of their mine had done a great deal of damage to their cargo bay. Even if they could repair it, the ship would need a starbase to be put back to full operations. His mind had fractured over the decades of loss, attrition burrowing and spreading throughout his empire. A simple freighter had seen fit to bring the last gasp of Htek, the Klingon who had broken chains on Rura Penthe, cleansed traitors from Duras, a warrior who had outwitted scores of enemies, and held the line against the Dominion when the Empire called him.

He bellowed into the dark bridge, "Drop the Cloak! Shields to Full, Weapons to bear, blast their engines free and take from them their beating heart!" Htek breathed, a heaving wracking cough forcing itself out as he realized one lung was filling with fluid, recognizing the familiar sensation. "Get the damn lights on!"

"Sir, the lights..." If Anslo hadn't just wrestled her, the name would have been absent. As fate was so often kind as it were cruel, he recognized the different tones she used.

"J'alla." It was not a question, and somehow she understood what he meant by it. She was the one who was there, and by proxy, his command extended through her as the realization of his blindness settled in.

"If we can't take the damn ship we must destroy them. Recall our soldiers and fire on their engines. We can rebuild another day."

Tof, the loyal bodyguard of H'tek observed this as well and gingerly helped the captain try to stand. When H'tek's left leg buckled, the level of the injury became more apparent, and he settled into the Captain's chair, breathing heavily.

He found a bellow once again deep within, "Fire the weapons damnit, FIRE!"

***

{Antero Bridge}

K'or was nearly finished with the square cuts, a breaching charge would finish the new door and stun anyone inside for a moment, at least this was the plan. Whoever was inside the bridge was a crack shot, a full power phaser blast coursed through the plate and into Stikk. The metal of the hull and his armor were barely enough to dissipate the blast. K'or kicked in the panel and lobbed in a sonic grenade, but a confinement beam trapped it. The bridge was well secured it seemed.

Anslo pulled Stikk aside, despite the man's usefulness in battle, he was a pretty rotten individual. The survival of the moment dictated pretty clearly how to proceed. Stikk carried anti-technology field jammers but couldn't walk or run with such a wound, so Anslo shot Stikk again, this time no fortunate armor to block the energy from its deadly task.

"K'or, grab 'em!"

K'or smiled, the tactic apparent, and Anslo's brutality was endearing. They grabbed the dead man and activated the jammers, throwing him onto the bridge where he took two more shots. Anslo's face was a mask of fury and cold calculations, his disruptor wasn't directly aimed at K'or, but close enough as Anslo gritted out, "On you, blades out, GO!"

K'or removed twin Mek'leth, and with a bellow charged the bridge.

Dual phasers set to kill energized the air on the Bridge. Arcs of orange furry sizzled and burned through the bulkhead. Jason laid down suppressing fire to keep invaders off the Bridge, but now they seemed even more intent to gain entry. He quickly holstered one phaser and grabbed a concussion grenade. With a small twist, he armed the device and then threw it towards the invaders.

A mad Klingon with a personnel shield charged the bridge, taking a direct shot to his armor. A second shot sizzled past his head. A Trill fired a primitive pistol, but the scattering shot forced the grenade incoming to explode between them. All three men took the blast and weren't ready for it.

Jason had considered himself lucky. He had never felt a concussion grenade before and had only heard of how good the little jewels performed. commanding a cargo ship he had been prepared for pirates, but this time the pirates were also prepared as well. The explosion from the grenade was close and knocked Jason back and off his feet. He slammed into the bulkhead behind him, the phaser in his hand lost and slid up under a console 3 meters away.

Anslo was fortunate his shield was tuned for percussives, K'or was also in front of him, so his recovery was slightly faster as the blast shook them all. He held onto the pistol and leveled it at Jason, ears ringing and sense dulled. K'or was dazed, bleeding, this was far from over. Before any demands could be issued there was a terrible shaking in the deck plates, and catching himself took the pistol off Jason for a split second.

***

Banshee sounded the alarm moments before the weapons fire. Peggy had time to prepare, angling their shields to sharp right angles, several shots missed outright, the ones which hit glanced off the strong profile.

<{[BANSHEE]=(Plasma systems depleted- 38 seconds to restoration@25%-[SS-Suv'wi](CAP3.56Tj)}>

Nessy completed the thought for Miarau, " 38 seconds for the Suv'wi to fire another volley of that capacity."

Peggy was going to relay the message but the fight on the bridge was getting bad, the intruders had blasted a hole to get inside, Jason was furiously fighting. Zombie was showing 12% charge finally after being gone for several minutes, so Peggy sent the urgency behind a simple directive "Protect Captain Harrington!"

Mia was out of danger, but trapped near the Exo-Comps by a crimped exit in the bulkhead. All she could do was crouch down behind a table and hope to be able to defend herself if one of the boarding party managed to come through that exit. Coms to the bridge weren't working, and she didn't know what was happening with Jason.

"Nessy? Anyone?" she hissed into her wrist band. "Did we get that message sent?"

To Be Continued ....

 

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