Post by Captain Universe on Jan 25, 2012 17:13:57 GMT -8
Well, here I am again with another story.
It does have the Triton in it in a guest star appearance but this is mostly about a little ship named Tesla. I should also mention that this was developed in association with FltCpt. Bossco and the real driving force behind this story. I just brought his dream to reality in my own little way.
Enjoy!
Star Trek: Tesla
‘Untitled’
By Captain Universe
Prologue
Starbase Ninety-Five
Nal’Dassare orbit, the Nalerr Expanse
The room’s illumination was lowered to simulate nighttime conditions but the metallic silver walls of the stateroom welcomed Ariel when her eyes opened. Shapes begin to materialize before her and with a waking yawn, she felt more weary than wakeful. The Xynali woman with the luminescent blue skin looked around the small room, all of her senses coming alive and suddenly aware of her surrounds before she realized that she was alone. For a few moments with peace residing around her, she closed her eyes and tried to remember her last actions. The few memories that she was able to recall were of the Tesla’s bridge… the orders from Vice-Admiral Saavik… a joke that Lieutenant Commander Alderman had told…
They had been escorting the Triton to Starbase Ninety-Five after the action on Rixion. Something on sensors had called them away… That was when something strange had happened. The Xynali remembered a bright light penetrating the bridge of the ship, each spire of it striking her crew. She also remembered surgical equipment, syringes… and that was it. It was all so confusing…
‘Where are they? Where’s my crew? What happened to my ship?,” she asked herself.
Without any evidence to explain everything that had happened to her, Ariel lifted herself up on her elbows and swung her legs over onto the floor. Her feet were cold and looking down at herself, she noticed that she was attired in a simple white tunic that stretched down to her mid-thighs.
‘Any shorter and you’d see everything,’ she thought, a smile among coming to her cheeks. She stood up and pulling away the blankets that had covered her, she began taking the bed apart with several fierce motions. ‘Someone is doing this!,’ the Starfleet captain growled before she turned savagely on the rest of the room. ‘And I intend to find out who!’
“Notice us watching her, will she?,” a short, green-skinned alien wearing an Admiral’s uniform asked Captain Emeri Durzan from the safety of his hover-chair. They stood in the corridor outside of the holodeck that was generating the illusion of Captain Ariel’s stateroom. The monitor on the wall in front of Admiral Tattok and the Betazoid showed the Xynali captain tearing the room apart in her search for answers. Of course, no real damage was being done, though the illusion was there. SB95’s commanding officer, Rear-Admiral (upper-half) Harrison Dodge, Fleet Captain Bossco of the Wyvren and the Triton’s Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Eilrin, watched the experiment unfold since Ariel’s fate would be decided here after her ship, the U.S.S. Tesla, NCC-1935, had mysteriously disappeared over five weeks after leaving Rixion while investigating an unexplained subspace signal.
“She’s definitely confused,” Durzan said, focusing on his fellow captain,” and even her own memories are betraying her.” With his Betazoid senses, he could read her every single thought and feel her every emotion, though he felt like a trespasser doing it. Every emotion, every thought coming from Ariel… they were raw… fresh… but he could sense that there was something definitely wrong with her. The Triton’s captain frowned deeply before he turned his head towards his doctor. “Doctor, did your scans detect any genetic mutations, cerebral malformations, or alterations to her central nervous system?”
“Captain, there was nothing to explain the reasons for her coma, the cranial swelling, or the loss of her memories like with Mister Kelkutiv, V’liira or Miss Ostillin,” the Deltan said, consulting his tricorder readings. His presence here was to ensure the safety of his patient.
“So no unfamiliar DNA splicing, no nanites… nothing?”
“Nothing, sir.”
“Can she shed any light on why the Tesla disappeared at all?” Dodge’s tone was impatient when he spoke.
“Other than the fact that her ship was missing for over a month?”
“The only survivors, she, Xre Kelkutiv, V’liira, and Angela Ostillin are,” Tattok said,” out of a crew of ninety? Strange, most strange, indeed.” The Horrusi scratched his chin while he mulled over his thoughts.
“We can’t dismiss the fact that the Rkalans could have had a part in their disappearance,” the Gorn commander of Dreadnought Battle Group 7 said, looking at Durzan. Both of them were surprised to see each other again especially since the Betazoid has once been Bossco’s first officer on the Wyvren before he was elevated to the rank of Captain during the Dominion War.
“Described the disturbance, Commander Kelkutiv did, as flashes of light. Burn his crew, they did, before he lost conscious,” another Horrusi said, walking into the room. Commander Telka, the Starfleet Intelligence officer assigned to Starbase 95’s sector looked upward at her brother, frowning. “Scans of the vessel recovered, revealed nothing unusual did they.”
“My recommendation, Tattok,” Durzan said, using his friendship with the senior admiral as a basis for ignoring the protocols of addressing superior officers,” would be to release her and to slowly ease her back into her command. We’ll have to assign new personnel, of course, but –“
“Now, hold on here!,” Dodge said with a harsh glare. “Are we sure that we want to just let her out of her sight, commanding one of our ships, going on missions and –“
“Take your advice to heart, I will, Admiral Dodge. A decision, I will have soon.” Tattok looked away from the panel and towards Emeri. “Handle this, how will you? Will you need a counselor to assist?”
“No, Helen’s busy with the survivors from Starbase 307,” Durzan said, turning his head back towards the monitor. “No… I’ll handle this one myself. It’s best to have someone whose served with her help her back.”
“Will you require my assistance, old friend?,” Bossco asked his former first officer. The Gorn didn’t show his emotions like most humanoid species but he was concerned about the Xynali who had once been the Wyvren’s operations officer when the Betazoid had been second-in-command.
“No, I can handle this, sir, but thank you.”
“Hope and prayer, Captain Durzan,” Tattok said, moving his hover chair closer to him before he put a three-digit hand on the man's shoulder," these, all we can offer you."
Chapter One
Conundrum Scientific Research Station
Lesk’Gor-Alya, Hadirya Nebula
Hidden in the mists of orange, red, purple, and yellow gases of the nebula was one of the most sacred of secrets that could be hidden by the United Federation of Planets. While a large Regula class scientific research outpost hung in orbit of a Class-O world, there were two shipyard facilities spread out across the expanse of the nebula with a solid portion of the best scientific minds that the Federation could produce.
Toph, a Tiburonian scientist specializing in quantum physics and subspace theory, stood at the center of the research laboratory where most of his work was done. Beside him was his associate, Aedevalyn th’Rhys, an Andorian thaan that Section Thirty-One had assigned to oversee the doctor and his project. That wasn’t much of a problem for either Toph or Valyn since they maintained their quarters close to their work.
“The herigene catalyst is premixed and ready for application, Doctor th’Rhys,” a Vulcan lab assistant told th’Rhys while he was hunched over a console that was joined to the main square-shaped array that stood at the center of the room. Holographic displays hung in the middle while he worked on the new hyper-phasic conduits that were being used for their experiment. Section Thirty-One had arranged his cover at Conundrum Station as a former Starfleet officer who had been dishonored when Admiral Eric Markham had attempted a coup of the Federation back in 2367.
“Thank you, Stuval,” Toph said, checking over his calculations again. Since he had been a mere boy living in the slums of a Tiburonian colony on Ninagirsu, he would have never dreamed that he would have made it out of that poor, disease-ridden and destitute underworld beneath the shining elegance of the nobility to work in technologically superior facilities like those aboard Conundrum Station. Forced to leave behind his old life when Starfleet officers had extracted him for his scientific expertise, he never regretted leaving his parents, his sisters or his little brother behind. Most of the colonies formed by his people during the early 24th century near the border territories of the Rkalan Compact were controlled by corporations that were mostly worried about their financial dividends and gold-pressed latinum, than about things like food, habitable housing, or… He couldn’t think about his much, these days. The Tiburonian just knew that without Starfleet assistance during the Dominion War, those colonies would have fallen to the Jem’Hadar and the Cardassians who had suffered terribly themselves under the tyranny of the Founders.
“I have the readings for the protomatter flow regulators. The plasma conduits are running at 105%,” th’Rhys announced, looking back at the lab-tech before his attention returned to his calculations involving the energy flow to the coaxial flux generators.
When he had been recruited for this project by his handler Novack, he had believed that they were developing a new form of propulsion better than either warp or transwarp travel. Little did the Andorian know that Section Thirty-One had him and Doctor Toph working with materials that could develop a doomsday weapon. He soon discovered through his own curiosity that this weapon that they were building could both take away life and give it; a weapon that had started with two scientists from the 23rd century known as Carol and David Marcus.
“Are any of those calculations for the protomatter’s intermix ratios?,” Toph snapped at him while he moved to seat himself at a console opposite of the Andorian. The Tiburonian treated the thaan more like a research assistant than a partner on this project.
‘If only he knew what I really am,’ th’Rhys thought to himself. Of course, there were some races that lived outside of the Federation who still kept other races as either slaves or as indentured servants. Despite his own miserable past on Ninagirsu, this Tiburonian had been raised among such people that still believed that such behavior was proper. Of course, while he subconsciously treated him like this, Toph was more concerned with the wealth of knowledge and expertise that he had brought to the Rejuvenation Project after seventy-eight years of living in poverty.
“Yes, Doctor Toph,” the Andorian answered, bitterly.
“Then let’s proceed with the infusion of the protomatter with the herigene formula. Now I want to –“
“I still need to run some more simulations with the infusion process. Why don’t you want to –“ Valyn began before he was barked at by the Tiburonian scientist.
“There’s no more time for further tests, th’Rhys!”
Toph’s voice carried over the circumference of the laboratory and the entire staff of researchers, technicians, and engineers in the lab turned to face both men while they argued. Th’Rhys stood up from his seat and was met halfway by the ancient Tiburonian who was pushing his white lab coat back to rest his hands on his hips. His deep magenta eyes met the dark abysmal orbs set in the Andorian’s head that quivered with rage since the old man had been recently diagnosed with Feldak’s cholera, a cancerous disease that shortened a tiburonian’s life expectancy greatly and since he was close to the end of his life, he wanted to finish his work so that history has something exciting to remember him by.
“I received word from Commander Thompson” – the Starfleet officer who commanded Conundrum Station – “that a Rkalan battle group was been located outside of the nebula and they’re already penetrated the outer boundary, destroying the minefield,” Toph said in a low voice and the younger man could see the panic in the older man’s façade.
“How did they discover us here?”
“I don’t know, Valyn… but the commander believes that they should be here soon if not in a matter of hours. Nine hours at the most since their ships aren’t environmentally fit for the region. That-that… they should take my life’s work from me… from us! We-we need to activate the device and-and… and pray to whatever gods that…”
“I didn’t come here to die like a coward, Toph! This project wasn’t created to further your ambitions!”
“If this facility is unarmed, then whose damned idea was it to…? Where’s the damned military when you need them, damn it?! Out chasing their tails or something?,” a Tellarite scientist by the name of Dal khaap Ghran shouted over the noise and commotion caused by his superiors. He was a regular consultant to Starfleet and he had recently worked aboard the U.S.S. Triton. His team was working on samples and equipment retrieved from a Sharfi vessel named the Cradle after the Charleston-class starship’s last mission before it was moved to a more secure facility at Deep Space Eleven.
“Thompson told me that the Spartan and the Mackenzie had already departed and are moving out to face the Rkalans. Captain Kailehr ordered her to have Rejuvenation prepped for possible deployment if… if we… lose.” The Tiburonian scientist’s frustration disappeared and depression set in since he was starting to already see his life pass before him. His earlier frustration had been directed towards th’Rhys because he reminded him of the younger man that he had once been. Filled full of ideas for the future, he could see that the Andorian was the Federation’s salvation for the future.
“She’s got to be joking!,” Ghran continued. “Durzan, that gods-damned idiot, would never do that!”
Ghran’s outburst rang through the compartment and it made Toph wondered where he had lost his authority over this think tank. ‘Of course, they do both make sense,’ he thought.
“Your beloved captain isn’t here, Doctor Ghran!,” th’Rhys rebuked him.
“Beloved, my –“
“Hey, we’re picking up something here!,” a member of Ghran’s team said. She was seated next to th’Rhys’ Vulcan assistant, performing communication duties. “I think it’s Starfleet.
“Put’em through,” Valyn said, moving away from Toph to stand next to the long-haired Valtese brunette.
“Mackenzie’s lost her port nacelle and I don’t think we can take out this last cruiser, Conundrum,” the voice of Captain Kailehr spoke over the intercom. The Zaldan sounded calm and composed even though she and her crew were in the thick of battle. “Thompson, inform the good doctor that I want Rejuvenation ready to detonate in fifteen. Implement Plan 22 while you can, Erica.”
“What about evacuation to the Spartan before we detonate?,” another female voice asked her. It was Commander Thompson and like th’Rhys, she was bitter enemies with Toph. Since his arrival aboard the space station, the stationmaster had been the only person capable of killing them from killing each other. Maybe that was why they had enjoyed a brief affair, a few months ago.
“Erica, I can’t even guarantee that the Spartan will make it back to the station, much less survive this battle. You know Admiral Saavik’s orders. We can’t risk the secrecy of this station to –“ The channel was suddenly cut off and replaced with static when the transmission was lost between the Steamrunner-class frigate and Conundrum Station’s operations center. A heavy sigh from Commander Thompson whispered into the ears of the station crew before she spoke to everyone over the station-wide communications system. Sadness could be heard in her vocal pattern when she addressed them and th’Rhys guessed that the ship had been destroyed when Spartan had stopped transmitting. According to the protocols set by Section Thirty-One, he knew what he had to do now.
“All hands, this is Commander Thompson. A situation has arisen and the ships assigned to the station have been engaged by Rkalan battle cruisers. U.S.S. Mackenzie has been lost after our last report from Captain Kailehr. The U.S.S. Spartan has also stopped transmitting and we can’t find her since she left our sensor coverage because of the battle.
“Against the tenets of my better judgment and the orders of Vice-Admiral Saavik, I’ve sent out a general distress call to the nearest starbase and I’m sorry to say that the closest ship from us is four days away at high warp. According to my instructions under Plan 22, I’m ordering that all decks and compartments be secured. I’m also asking all hands, whether you be man, woman, or some other gender, to pick up a weapon and help us defend this station. The work done here is important to the Federation, to Starfleet, and… and… remember, always remembers the Alamo.
“That is all. Thompson out.”
“What’s the Alamo?,” Toph asked but no one answered him. The heavy-duty doors to the lab whooshed open and a quartet of security personnel walked inside. They were equipped with phaser rifles and body armor. Two of them were also carrying cases that they set down on tables to hand out phasers to all of the room occupants. The lead security officer, a chief petty officer, walked up to Toph, th’Rhys, and Ghran.
“Gentlemen,” he said, addressing the three,” Commander Thompson has ordered me to have all of your research material prepared for transport.”
“Transport?,” asked Toph.
“Yes, Doctor. You, Doctor th’Rhys and Doctor Ghran will be escorted from here to an escape pod before the Rkalans arrive to take the station.”
“Damn,” Ghran swore.
“Sorry, gentlemen, but those are the commander’s orders.”
The last thing that the old Tiburonian remembered hearing before he was escorted to an escape pod was a goodbye from a female lab assistant who had been like a daughter to him while he had been in residence at Conundrum Station. Through the escape pod’s view ports after he, th’Rhys, and Ghran boarded it, he could see the silhouette of a Rkalan battle cruiser approach the station. Wherever they ended up, he didn’t know before he fell backwards against his seat into unconscious.
Before falling asleep, one of his last memories had been of a bright blue flash enveloping him and Ghran.
Starbase Ninety-Five
Her long dark braided mane turned with a slight clinking of her hair beads at the sight of a particularly-handsome young man who passed by the replimat that she was sitting at. The rank pips on his red collar were those of a junior-grade lieutenant and she suspected that he was probably a command-level pilot. Either way didn’t matter to the blue-skinned woman because her mind was spinning with ideas about how to get this human into her bed tonight. Of course, disappointment dashed away her chances to all four points of the galaxy when he walked up to a short felinoid and kissed her passionately on the lips. With her twin hearts soaring but a moment before, Ariel’s ego took a hit when her prospects disappeared as quickly as the glass of Bajoran spring wine in front of her. The captain of the Federation science vessel Tesla was a spectacular woman who has always been a connoisseur of the opposite sex for an indeterminate number of years, whether they were human or not. Her ex-husband hasn’t been Xynali and he had been a fine man until he left her for cheating on him with another officer when she was assigned to the Wyvren as operations officer.
‘When did the cat people get all the damned luck?,’ she asked herself with a sigh.
“Interesting specimen to cast your eyes on,” said another man who sat down across from her. He was a fellow captain by his rank pips and he appeared to be in his late fifties since they were already signs of his hair turning grey. “I just can’t believe that it’s my helmsman.”
“Who’s the cat he’s smooching?”
“Oh, one of the survivors from the Cradle, Aerashai.”
“You must know them,” Ariel stated with a smile while the Argelian bartender refilled her wine glass.
“Of course, I do,” Emeri Durzan said,” since I’m their captain.”
“I remember a Durzan from the Wyvren. Any relation to him?”
“The Wyvren?,” the Betazoid asked her, chuckling. There had been concerns that her memory loss would alter his ability to command but apparently it hadn’t failed enough for the station’s chief medical officer to invalidate her for command while the Tesla finished with her refit. He took a moment to recall his own memories. “Hmm… which letter of the alphabet are you referring to? I think I served on the Wyvren-E.”
“That’s you? You must be old.”
“Not too old.”
“And you command the…,” she paused for a moment to search her memory,”… the Triton, right?”
“You would be correct, ma’am.”
“And didn’t you have a little dustup with the Rkalans lately?,” Ariel asked him,” on Rixion?”
“We did,” Emeri said, though it was a difficult subject to talk about right now. “Do you remember anything?”
Ariel sighed, taking a sip of her wine. He had been asking her this same question for the last two weeks since she had woken up on a holodeck. Slowly, he had helped her regain her life in Starfleet. Her memories were still recovering from her accident… if you could call it an accident.
“The Triton… is she a newer ship?,” she asked him, ignoring the question. He already knew her answer to his question before she could speak it. Per their agreement while he helped her with her recovery, the Betazoid officer was permitted to scan her every so often to try to help her remember what happened to the Tesla and her crew.
“Well,” he sipped ice water from a blue transparent glass,” she might not be as new as the Luna-class but she can cut rings around those Sovereign and Galaxy class ships.” He had a bragging glint in his eye now since he was so proud of his ship and crew. Despite the damage done, the repairs made to the ship had seen her shields upgraded with a series of regenerative adaptive shielding and the next generation in ablative armor that the scientists at the Daystrom Institute could produce.
“Could she? Well –“ Ariel was interrupted by Durzan’s combadge signaling him for attention.
“Durzan here,” he said after taking another sip of his water.
“Windsong here, sir,” the feminine voice of his first officer said from the other side of the transmission.
“What is it, Rebecca?”
“Sir, Admiral Saavik has ordered you to report to her aboard the Ironhide. It looks like something has developed near the Hadirya Nebula,” the commander reported.
“Ok, have the transporter lock onto me and –“
“Chief Sendon is already locked onto you so we can beam you to the Ironhide, Captain. I even told Commander Xon that you might be a little late,” she continued since she was already carrying out the tasks that were still forming in the Betazoid’s mind.
“Give me a moment, XO,” he ordered, looking at Ariel as he stood up from his chair. He rested a hand on her shoulder, smiling. “I’m sorry that we didn’t get much more time to talk…”
“That’s all right, Emeri. I would have liked to have seen your ship. Maybe I’ll give you a tour of the Tesla sometime?”
‘At least, she remembers her ship and her career,’ he thought. “It’s a plan.”
“I only hope that the admiral doesn’t look upon you with disfavor.”
“Saavik may be a hard-ass for a Vulcan but she’s a good woman nonetheless,” he said before he was quickly whisked away by a blue-tinted transporter beam. A few minutes later, a short human man walked through the open doors of the Replimat. He had a Petty Officer 2nd class insignia on his gold collar and he moved over to Ariel as quickly as he located her. He snapped to attention before her table as she took another sip of her wine.
“Yes, and what can I do for you, handsome?,” she asked him, a wicked smile on her face. ‘Maybe today won’t end so badly for me after all,’ she thought while she quickly committed the security officer’s appearance to memory.
“Excuse me, ma’am, but Fleet Captain Bossco asked me to escort you over to the Wyvren,” he said while he fought the temptation to grab the Xynali by the nape of her neck and violently throttle her. “And please… don’t ever call me handsome, ma’am. You might not arrive in one piece.”
“And how many pieces would you imagine that be, Petty Officer?,” she asked him with more authority in her voice. He was almost certain that he was going to end up on report again like last week when he smacked an Orion lieutenant for touching his ass without permission. His Starfleet career was only beginning and with the marks on his record, it was almost at an end.
Finishing the last dregs of her spring wine, Captain Ariel adjusted the front of her uniform before she stood up from her seat and walked out of the Replimat with her security escort. “So what does Old Man Bossco want with me anyways, Petty Officer?,” she asked him as they walked together through the wide rotunda of SB95’s promenade. They entered a nearby turbolift and as the doors closed behind them, the security officer smirked at her.
“You’re an officer and you don’t know already? I thought that all of you Academy graduate-types had some kind of ESP or something to keep yourselves informed.”
“Oh, the implant that they insert after graduation?,” the Xynali asked, playing along with his game.
“Yes… ma’am.”
“I used to have it but I traded it to a Corvallen trader for a five-hundred and sixty-seven year old bottle of Tranya made on Intooine.”
The turbolift carrying them was heading for the upper docking sphere of the starbase where Galaxy-class starships like the Ironhide and dreadnoughts like the Wyvren were docked. Other ships like the Rapier, a Saber-class ship, three Miranda-class light cruisers, the Excelsior-class Ixion and Prometheus-class multi-vector tactical assault cruisers Nike and Horus were also docked at the starbase, all of them elements of the Starfleet Rapid Response Command that was Vice-Admiral Saavik’s bailiwick since the Triton’s encounter with the Rkalan Compact.
“Officers,” the petty officer muttered to himself before he tapped his combadge twice in the manner that her superior officer had instructed him to. Looking back at her, he smiled at Ariel before waving goodbye to her. “May we never meet again.”
“What do you mean by –“ Ariel didn’t the chance to finish her sentence when a transporter beam enveloped her and beamed her away. Moved to an undisclosed location, the captain reappeared inside a dark room where only the bright illumination of the starfield outside lit her way. It was a large room that her emerald green eyes quickly adjusted to.
‘By the Forests of Xynal, what the hell is going on here?,” she asked herself, her face curling into a snarl before she assumed an attack position. Putting a hand over her combadge, Ariel found it missing.
“For this, you are looking?,” a deep voice mysteriously questioned her. It belonged to the short green-skinned Admiral who was covered by the shadows of the room before he walked further in from the luminescent doorway. He held up the captain’s combadge before he ordered the computer to reactivate the lighting. Light suddenly blinded the captain and blinking her eyes after the change in environment, Ariel saw Admiral Tattok standing in front of her. The little Horrusi handed back her combadge after she bent down to a knee before him.
“Apologize for the deception, I do, Captain Ariel. Concerned, I was, to maintain operational security for the mission that to give you, I am,” Tattok said with a hard expression. His brown eyes could be as scary as some of the younger officers were led to believe. Ariel knew that the Horrusi could be less intimidating when he wanted to, though it seemed that a small cadre of officers had never been frightened of him like Admiral Nechayev of Starfleet Intelligence.
“Frighten you, did I?”
“I know of some Klingons who are more intimidating, sir,” Ariel said when she took her combadge back. She looked it over for an instant before returning it to its place on her uniform.
“Break it, I didn’t, assure you, I can.”
“You don’t mind if I examine it for myself, do you?”
Tattok mirthfully chuckled. “Difficult, you still are.”
“If you’re thinking that I’m a bitch, please don’t. I don’t question your paternity so kindly don’t question mine.”
Tattok walked over to a nearby chair and climbed up into it. With the light returned to the room, the Tesla’s captain recognized it as the officer’s lounge aboard the Rapier, a vessel that Tattok used for his own missions. Sitting down in the chair and resting in it, the littlest flag officer in Starfleet picked up a padd before looking back at Ariel. The Xynali had moved to stand a short distance in front of him.
“Call you hear to discuss paternity, I did not, Ariel. To brief you on your next mission, my true intention was.”
This revelation surprised the young captain since she didn’t believe that Starfleet Command was ready to return her to the Tesla’s center seat. With the repairs finishing on the Oberth-class starship, she almost thought on some level that she had failed Captain Durzan’s retraining and that she had been called to Admiral Dodge’s office to be reassigned to some backwater assignment.
“Does this have something to do with Captain Durzan’s request to search for Aerashai’s world, Admiral?”
“Some discussion, that subject at Starfleet, there has been. But digress, I co,” the admiral said. “Heard of Lesk’Gor-Alya, you have?”
“Who hasn’t? Markham got her promotion to Fleet Captain after she and the Ranger scored a victory there against the Cardassian Fourth Order during the war. Not even the Fifth Fleet was able to do much there, even though she did lose the ship.”
“Admire her, you do. Why?”
“I’ve only met her recently when she was passing by on her way back to Earth,” the Tesla captain explained, crossing her arms over her chest,” but her record does seem to have some impressive points to it. In fact, I think I may have gone to the Academy with her. Why? Didn’t we get custody of the planet after the war?”
“A good location, it is, for a base near the Rkalan Compact,” Tattok agreed with a grim tone. “The Rkalan government, demanding the planet, they are.”
“Well, we won it fair and square from the Dominion. We probably won’t get too formal a diplomatic agreement with them since what happened at Rixion.”
“Many brush fires, the Diplomatic Corps has. Stretched to the limit, they are so… Recommended your services, Captain Bossco has.”
Ariel laughed at this statement. “I don’t even know their language or their customs. And he wants me to negotiate with them? Did his medical officer have him on something when he said it?”
Clearly the Horrusi didn’t understand the reference and ignored it. “An accomplished officer, you are, Captain Ariel. Respect you, many captains do. Ordered, you are, by Starfleet, to proceed to Lesk’Gor-Alya. Investigate the reasons behind the Rkalans’ intentions. Starfleet Intelligence, suggests, Admiral Nechayev does, that the planet, barely suited to support life in a nebula.” He looked down at his padd before handing it to Ariel.
She looked over the information on the padd and frowned. “It looks like the Cardassians were able to strip away some of the planet’s natural resources before Markham showed up. It’s been a few years but… it is a Class-O world.”
“Imagine the picture painted by Starfleet, I can, Captain.”
Ariel sighed heavily, shaking her head in disbelief because she was once again being asked to put herself and her crew on the line between the Federation and a potential enemy, though it was a little unusual to assign a science vessel to such an assignment. “Weird, especially since I command the Tesla and not a bigger ship like the Enterprise or the Atlantis.’
“Can’t Starfleet Command assign some other ship that more… tactically inclined like the Wyvren? If the Rkalans get the Tesla in her gun sights, then I don’t think that one science vessel is going to be able to protect itself against the wanton demands of a Rkalan commander who’s either in a battle cruiser or a dreadnought. We should be just grateful that they don’t have cloaking devices like the Romulans.”
“Sending the Triton with you, I am, because of the threat.” Tattok’s brow rose upward to focus his dark eyes upon the younger-looking woman. Both of them had met when she was a cadet at Starfleet Academy and he was an instruction. After serving together on her first assignment, the Greglich, before he was recalled to Earth for another assignment, they knew that they could trust each other better than the rest of the folks at Starfleet Headquarters.
“I’ll have overall command?,” she asked with some hope. She knew that she wouldn’t because the Tesla was smaller and older than the Charleston-class starship. Where the Tesla had a small complement of ninety, the Triton had a crew complement of three hundred and forty souls and the Xynali didn’t have as much experience as Emeri Durzan.
“Dense, your question is. Underestimate Starfleet, you shouldn’t, when they want you and Emeri Durzan for this mission.”
“Admiral Tattok, I would never underestimate the wisdom of the Admiralty,” she said with a wink.
“Do not. Tell you stories of my sister, I might,” Rapier’s commanding officer said, threatening him with friendly sincerity. After already hearing stories through the Starfleet grapevine about Commander Telka, the Xynali captain was certain that she didn’t want to endure such an encounter, though she was regarded with a great reputation after her mission on the low-gravity world of Albessaron.
“Is this mission going to be just diplomatic with us showing the flag or will we be doing some reconnaissance? I wouldn’t want to ask but you did bring up Rixion, sir.”
“Triton and Tesla, only available ships for this assignment, they are. Reconnaissance, Durzan’s decision for now,” the Horrusi continued with the mission briefing. “No diplomatic blunders. Attack them, you shouldn’t. Tense, the situation gets, wait for them to challenge you. Your own discretion, you must use – “
“Because we’ll be on our own, sir?,” she asked.
Tattok nodded in response.
“Sounds like a damned holiday.”
“Really?,” the admiral commented. “Select replacements for your crew, have you?”
Ariel moved over to the chair across from Tattok and sat down. Resting the padd on her lap, she folded her hands in front of her. “Well, Starfleet Personnel’s offered me a few candidates but I haven’t really decided yet. The officer that I selected for first officer was offered her own command so she’s gone off over to the Kumari while they head out for a five-year mission out of the edge of the Crux Arm. She did take who was going to replace Tirek with so I’m still shopping for senior officers.”
“To replace your first officer, difficult it will be. A good officer, he was.”
“Yeah, and I don’t even know if I would want Valeris for my first officer. After reading her file, she’s been tossed around many commands since she was reinstated. Rixion’s the first time that she’s seen action and – “
“Look like a psychologist, do I? The station counselor, tell him, you should.”
Ariel sighed, the fatigue of her duties weighting hard on her. “Yes, I guess I should talk to Emeri.”
“Bridge to Admiral Tattok.”
Tattok tapped his combadge to answer it. “Tattok, this is.”
“Sir, you have a message from Admiral Saavik,” the embodied voice on the other side of the transmission said.
Ariel rose up from her seat and looked down at her friend who rose up from his own chair. “Well,” she said,” I guess I’ll be seeing you when the wind blows me back this way.”
“Safety and wisdom, I wish up you, Captain Ariel,” the Horrusi said, raising his right hand up to his old friend. They shook hands before they left to return to their assigned duties.
Chapter Two
Captain’s log, U.S.S. Tesla, stardate 8287.12;
Acting upon orders from Admiral Tattok, the Tesla and the U.S.S. Triton have been ordered to leave Starbase Ninety-Five for Lesk’Gor-Alya where we will participate in a diplomatic dialogue with representatives of the Rkalan Compact. Since the Federation assumed custody of the Perralyne system at the end of the war, the Rkalans have been itching for a chance to regain the system since they consider it a piece of their territory. Originally the system belonged to the Romulan Star Empire but since the Shinzon incident, relations with the empire have been a bit dicey. And with that, the victor gets the spoils and the headache.
U.S.S. Tesla, NCC-1935, Oberth-class starship
Main Engineering
“Kelkutiv, that plasma conduit had better be up and running at 110%!,” the Tesla’s executive officer shouted as he rounded the corner into engineering. He saw a pair of legs sticking out from underneath the warp core that powered the ship’s propulsion and power systems. Bending down onto his haunches, Commander Greg Bartlett looked over the work that the Efrosian Chief Engineer and one of his assistants seemed to be attending to. To his trained eye, it looked like they were performing some modifications to both the matter-antimatter injectors and to one of the plasma conduits. He also saw on a nearby console was a schematic diagram of the Oberth-class ship’s dilithium chamber and a chemical breakdown of the intermix formula.
“Who are you and why are you yelling at me?!,” a harsh female voice shouted back at him from underneath the core at the same time, that Commander Xre Kelkutiv walked up beside him, his uniform and work belt marked and stained with the assorted oils, greases, and the occasional electrical burn that was associated with his line of work. He held two mugs of hot coffee in his hands while his blue-gray eyes looked over the first officer's embarrassment.
The attractive set of legs belonged to a short, auburn-headed woman with the loveliest set of amethyst eyes as she moved out from under the core. Her clean-cut uniform fit her trim body well and none of it bore any of the damage that Kelkutiv’s uniform had as she sat up and gave a hard look to Bartlett. Her face was filled with anger when she stood up and set her hyperspanner on the work console perched nearby.
“I adjusted the antimatter flow to the primary plasma conduit, enriching the intermix formula with a different blend. We should be able to get Warp Nine-point-Nine-Nine-Seven out of these engines for longer than six hours if we ever need it.” Her voice was sweet like music when she spoke.
“And who is this, Mister Kelkutiv?” ‘Yes,’ the commander thought to himself,’ who is this vision of loveliness?’
“This is Lieutenant Fiona Scott from the starbase,” Kelkutiv said before he handed one of the coffee mugs to her. He picked up the hyperspanner on the work console and returned it to its prior place on his belt. A shy smile broke through the permanent scowl that had formed after the Tesla disappeared when he looked at her. “She reported aboard as my new assistant chief, sir.”
“Is she?,” he asked him. His comment was ignored by the new lieutenant since her scowl was focused on the first officer. She could feel the contempt that the commander felt for the Efrosian and it made her so angry that she threw her coffee at him. Staining the front of his uniform, the older man howled at her over what she had done while attempting to wipe the hot beverage off of him. It only seemed to make the stain even worse.
“You clumsy bitch!,” he screamed at her. “Look at what you’ve done!”
“How can you treat Xre like he’s lesser than you?,” Scott challenged him without a care about him being her superior officer. She didn’t even fear that he had the power to have her thrown in the brig if he so desired it. “You’re a mean son of a bitch! I wouldn’t be your friend if you treated me like that!”
“It’s all right, Fiona. I’ve gotten used to this since he replaced Commander Fitzpatrick,” Kelkutiv said before he began to walk away from them. He had once been known as La’Farrell when he had been devoted to the Way of the One, a religion from his home world. After finding everyone else but a few members of the crew dead, he had renounced the Way, returning to his original name of Xre Kelkutiv.
He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder since he had the feeling to escape from Engineering before his fellow engineers could see him break down and cry. The Efrosian offer very such strange emotions after the incident and only sessions with the station counselor had helped him through them. Of course, no one had ever stood up for him except for himself and for Captain Ariel. When Xre welcomed Lieutenant Scott this morning in the Tesla’s transporter room, he hadn’t realized that he would have such a strong attraction to her.
“You could, at least, apologize to him,” the assistant chief engineer told Bartlett with her eyes still on him. The dark-skinned man was still trying to deal with the stain on his ruined uniform. “Apologize… sir,” she continued, even though the First Officer was glaring back at her with the same fiery anger that she was releasing towards him. His madness wasn’t so dreadful since he was still entranced by this demeaning young woman. His authority as the ship’s second-in-command hadn’t been challenged like this before.
"I'll have you both in front of an inquiry board.
“Are… are you really sorry, sir? Because,” the Efrosian said, his scowl returning,” I remind you that I have access to the ship’s replicators and sonic showers.”
“Frankly, Kelkutiv... you can go to hell,” he said.
‘She’ll definitely fit in with this crew,’ Greg thought before he walked back the way she came and almost walked head-first into Captain Ariel. He nodded to his commanding officer before he continued on his way away from that section of the ship. The commander hadn't wanted this assignment to the Oberth-class ship but it was the only berth available for him to advance to full commander. Especially after serving on Starbase Ninety-Five for the last eight years as the chief of operations.
“What happened to him?,” Ariel asked her chief engineer after she approached Xre and Fiona.
“He had a little accident with my new assistant, ma’am,” was his answer. There was a little hint of a smile on the corners of his face when he turned to give his coffee to the redhead to replace the coffee that she had wasted on Commander Bartlett. “She and I have been making some modifications to the warp drive.”
“What kind of modifications?”
“We needed to upgrade the matter-antimatter injectors, ma’am. I’ve also made some adjustments to our intermix formula,” Scott explained as she took a sip of Kelkutiv’s coffee. “I got the formula from a friend on the Triton. Heidenbach says that Commander Delacroix swears by it since they used it to keep up with the Cradle.”
‘She possesses a body that could send any man’s mind directly into overload,’ Ariel observed before she realized that her chief engineer had the wonderstruck awe of a man who had a crush on a girl. She allowed her to show her the basic changes that they’d made to the ship during the refit. The Xynali also noticed that the Efrosian seemed to be more concerned with the ship since their disappearance over six months ago. With what their next mission was going to be, it was dangerous to worry him before he actually needed to worry.
“And this is why the Triton’s faster than the Ironhide?,” the captain asked the new assistant chief engineer. She smiled at her after making the remark about Admiral Saavik’s ship being slow.
“The Tesla should be the faster science vessel in the fleet, Captain.”
“I believe we’re going to need the extra speed for where we’re going, Lieutenant.” The captain turned to face his Chief Engineer who had moved over to check some calculations on the master situation console. “Xre, did you get the Emergency Medical Hologram up and running again? Rashilon complained about it again and I don’t know if I can get you any new parts for it. Do you think that you might be able to bypass something or jury-rig it if we need it?”
“The EMH is up and running, Captain. I finished those repairs this morning before the lieutenant –“
“Good,” Ariel said, stopping him in mid-sentence. “I’ll see you later at the staff meeting?”
“If I’m not too deep in my work, sir,” Kelkutiv said, looking up for a moment before returning to his work.
“Bridge to Captain Ariel,” a voice spoke from her combadge. It was Angela Ostillin, the Tesla’s chief of security who had been one of the few people to survive with her. During the Tesla’s refit, she had been promoted to lieutenant commander and to the position of second officer that had been vacated by the death of Lieutenant Commander Charles Alderman, the ship’s pilot.
“Ariel here,” she answered after tapping her combadge.
“Your presence is required on the bridge, ma’am. Admiral Dodge has sent us a replacement for Lieutenant Grunwald,” she reported to her. Martin Grunwald had been the Tesla’s operations officer and she remembered that died, trying to explain the reason behind the strange alien attack that had caused them to disappear for almost half a year.
“Assign them to quarters and – “
“’He’s’ asking to see you immediately, Captain,” the security chief said from her place on the bridge. She was currently in charge while the captain and the first officer attended to their other duties.
“Any ideas why his pants are on fire, Angela?”
“I wouldn’t know, ma’am, except that he’s a Vulcan.”
“Ok, then do you have any idea why he wants to see me so urgently?”
“He merely asked me to tell you that it was with the most urgency.”
Captain Ariel stood outside the briefing room and waited for a few minutes in the short passageway that connected the bridge, her ready room, and the briefing room together. She had looked at the internal security monitor on the bridge before coming here and she still felt the loss of Martin, who she had considered to be one of the most valuable members of her original crew. The tall human officer could always make someone laugh, even in the tensest of situations and this new officer, she believed, wouldn’t be able to replace the sort of dedication that Martin had brought to her ship. The Xynali was also still a little ticked at Admiral Dodge assigning someone to her senior staff without consulting her, the ship’s captain.
‘When I get a chance, I’m gonna look up this joker’s service record,’ she thought before she strode into the briefing room. Her green eyes instantly focused onto a short Vulcan with wheat-colored hair that was shoulder-length which was unusual for a member of his species. He stood at attention , reminding the captain of another officer who she knew when she had served aboard Fleet Captain Bossco’s Wyvren.
“Ensign Syelak, reporting aboard as ordered to carry out the duties of Operations Officer, ma’am,” he said, nodding to her as she walked over to the replicator behind her chair. She ordered herself a teacup of Orange Spice Tea with sugar for herself before turning to face him. Syelak was still standing at attention when she sat down in her seat and took a meager sip of her hot drink.
“At ease, Ensign. I’m not one of those captains who hold up to formalities… much.” She took another sip of her tea before setting it and its accompanying saucer down on the tabletop in front of her. “Do you have your orders with you?”
The Vulcan handed her an isolinear chip that he had been carrying with him and she put into the padd sitting on the table. Pressing a few buttons with her right thumb, the captain casually looked through his service record before she took another sip of tea. “You came over from the Ironhide?,” she asked him politely. “I’ve heard some tales that Captain Selaih is pretty choosy when it comes to her senior officers. Admiral Saavik must have offered her a better officer if she gave you up to me.”
“Their orders are merely a requirement of the service that Starfleet provides to the Federation, ma’am. It is the privilege of their officers to follow such orders,” Syelak said while he still stood at attention on the far left side of the long table.
“Nice speech. Did you write it yourself or did Selaih do it for you? Or maybe it was sewn into your uniform when it was issued to you?”
“Ma’am?”
“Take a seat, Ensign.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the Vulcan said, moving and sitting down on the left side of the table in the chair usually reserved for the first officer. Though a Vulcan, he seemed to be uncomfortable in the Xynali’s presence and she guessed that it was normal for a new officer in a new environment to be unfamiliar with a new ship and a new captain.
“According to this,” she said, holding up the padd,” that you’ve been out of the Academy for a few years now. Why is that? And do you have any idea why Admiral Dodge or Admiral Saavik assigned you to the Tesla before I could present my finalized personnel list?” Her questions were forward and honest as she set the padd and her teacup back down on the table.
“Captain, I believe I have been assigned to the Tesla because of your mission to Lesk’Gor-Alya.”
“So you’re Starfleet’s ‘eyes’?”
“Yes, ma’am, though I have no allegiances to Starfleet Intelligence.”
“What about Section Thirty-One?” This question shocked the young Vulcan. There weren’t too many members of Starfleet who had heard about the clandestine agency at the heart of the Federation. “Because I don’t need their type aboard my ship. If you’re with them, you can leave now… the easy way… or the hard way.”
“Captain Ariel, I promise you that I have no correlation with Section Thirty-One.”
Ariel scowled at this. “There’s an old saying on Xynal, Ensign. ‘Only Nixon could go to China.’”
“Ma’am?”
“Tell me something… what do you know about me?”
He raised an eyebrow before answering her. “You were born on the planet Xynal in the Xindi Free Territories but raised on Earth. Your mother was the first Xynali ambassador to the Federation and she was the Xynali councilor before her death from natural causes, eight years ago. Your father is a shipwright and he remarried to a painter after his first wife’s death. You were once married to Ullak, a current member of the Xynali Tribal Council and you have a daughter named Keyleira who is a Starfleet lieutenant.
“Starfleet Command promoted you to Captain during the Dominion War and you commanded the Saber-class ship Broadsword at both Battles of Chin’toka, losing the Broadsword during the Battle of Cardassia Prime. You’ve commanded the Tesla for the last six years which is one of the last three vessels of her class remaining in service. You have been awarded the – “
“That’ll be enough, Mr. Syelak. I’m guessing because of your assignment and because of your association with Admiral Saavik, that extra precautions are required. Am I correct, Ensign?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
It does have the Triton in it in a guest star appearance but this is mostly about a little ship named Tesla. I should also mention that this was developed in association with FltCpt. Bossco and the real driving force behind this story. I just brought his dream to reality in my own little way.
Enjoy!
Star Trek: Tesla
‘Untitled’
By Captain Universe
Prologue
Starbase Ninety-Five
Nal’Dassare orbit, the Nalerr Expanse
The room’s illumination was lowered to simulate nighttime conditions but the metallic silver walls of the stateroom welcomed Ariel when her eyes opened. Shapes begin to materialize before her and with a waking yawn, she felt more weary than wakeful. The Xynali woman with the luminescent blue skin looked around the small room, all of her senses coming alive and suddenly aware of her surrounds before she realized that she was alone. For a few moments with peace residing around her, she closed her eyes and tried to remember her last actions. The few memories that she was able to recall were of the Tesla’s bridge… the orders from Vice-Admiral Saavik… a joke that Lieutenant Commander Alderman had told…
They had been escorting the Triton to Starbase Ninety-Five after the action on Rixion. Something on sensors had called them away… That was when something strange had happened. The Xynali remembered a bright light penetrating the bridge of the ship, each spire of it striking her crew. She also remembered surgical equipment, syringes… and that was it. It was all so confusing…
‘Where are they? Where’s my crew? What happened to my ship?,” she asked herself.
Without any evidence to explain everything that had happened to her, Ariel lifted herself up on her elbows and swung her legs over onto the floor. Her feet were cold and looking down at herself, she noticed that she was attired in a simple white tunic that stretched down to her mid-thighs.
‘Any shorter and you’d see everything,’ she thought, a smile among coming to her cheeks. She stood up and pulling away the blankets that had covered her, she began taking the bed apart with several fierce motions. ‘Someone is doing this!,’ the Starfleet captain growled before she turned savagely on the rest of the room. ‘And I intend to find out who!’
“Notice us watching her, will she?,” a short, green-skinned alien wearing an Admiral’s uniform asked Captain Emeri Durzan from the safety of his hover-chair. They stood in the corridor outside of the holodeck that was generating the illusion of Captain Ariel’s stateroom. The monitor on the wall in front of Admiral Tattok and the Betazoid showed the Xynali captain tearing the room apart in her search for answers. Of course, no real damage was being done, though the illusion was there. SB95’s commanding officer, Rear-Admiral (upper-half) Harrison Dodge, Fleet Captain Bossco of the Wyvren and the Triton’s Chief Medical Officer, Doctor Eilrin, watched the experiment unfold since Ariel’s fate would be decided here after her ship, the U.S.S. Tesla, NCC-1935, had mysteriously disappeared over five weeks after leaving Rixion while investigating an unexplained subspace signal.
“She’s definitely confused,” Durzan said, focusing on his fellow captain,” and even her own memories are betraying her.” With his Betazoid senses, he could read her every single thought and feel her every emotion, though he felt like a trespasser doing it. Every emotion, every thought coming from Ariel… they were raw… fresh… but he could sense that there was something definitely wrong with her. The Triton’s captain frowned deeply before he turned his head towards his doctor. “Doctor, did your scans detect any genetic mutations, cerebral malformations, or alterations to her central nervous system?”
“Captain, there was nothing to explain the reasons for her coma, the cranial swelling, or the loss of her memories like with Mister Kelkutiv, V’liira or Miss Ostillin,” the Deltan said, consulting his tricorder readings. His presence here was to ensure the safety of his patient.
“So no unfamiliar DNA splicing, no nanites… nothing?”
“Nothing, sir.”
“Can she shed any light on why the Tesla disappeared at all?” Dodge’s tone was impatient when he spoke.
“Other than the fact that her ship was missing for over a month?”
“The only survivors, she, Xre Kelkutiv, V’liira, and Angela Ostillin are,” Tattok said,” out of a crew of ninety? Strange, most strange, indeed.” The Horrusi scratched his chin while he mulled over his thoughts.
“We can’t dismiss the fact that the Rkalans could have had a part in their disappearance,” the Gorn commander of Dreadnought Battle Group 7 said, looking at Durzan. Both of them were surprised to see each other again especially since the Betazoid has once been Bossco’s first officer on the Wyvren before he was elevated to the rank of Captain during the Dominion War.
“Described the disturbance, Commander Kelkutiv did, as flashes of light. Burn his crew, they did, before he lost conscious,” another Horrusi said, walking into the room. Commander Telka, the Starfleet Intelligence officer assigned to Starbase 95’s sector looked upward at her brother, frowning. “Scans of the vessel recovered, revealed nothing unusual did they.”
“My recommendation, Tattok,” Durzan said, using his friendship with the senior admiral as a basis for ignoring the protocols of addressing superior officers,” would be to release her and to slowly ease her back into her command. We’ll have to assign new personnel, of course, but –“
“Now, hold on here!,” Dodge said with a harsh glare. “Are we sure that we want to just let her out of her sight, commanding one of our ships, going on missions and –“
“Take your advice to heart, I will, Admiral Dodge. A decision, I will have soon.” Tattok looked away from the panel and towards Emeri. “Handle this, how will you? Will you need a counselor to assist?”
“No, Helen’s busy with the survivors from Starbase 307,” Durzan said, turning his head back towards the monitor. “No… I’ll handle this one myself. It’s best to have someone whose served with her help her back.”
“Will you require my assistance, old friend?,” Bossco asked his former first officer. The Gorn didn’t show his emotions like most humanoid species but he was concerned about the Xynali who had once been the Wyvren’s operations officer when the Betazoid had been second-in-command.
“No, I can handle this, sir, but thank you.”
“Hope and prayer, Captain Durzan,” Tattok said, moving his hover chair closer to him before he put a three-digit hand on the man's shoulder," these, all we can offer you."
Chapter One
Conundrum Scientific Research Station
Lesk’Gor-Alya, Hadirya Nebula
Hidden in the mists of orange, red, purple, and yellow gases of the nebula was one of the most sacred of secrets that could be hidden by the United Federation of Planets. While a large Regula class scientific research outpost hung in orbit of a Class-O world, there were two shipyard facilities spread out across the expanse of the nebula with a solid portion of the best scientific minds that the Federation could produce.
Toph, a Tiburonian scientist specializing in quantum physics and subspace theory, stood at the center of the research laboratory where most of his work was done. Beside him was his associate, Aedevalyn th’Rhys, an Andorian thaan that Section Thirty-One had assigned to oversee the doctor and his project. That wasn’t much of a problem for either Toph or Valyn since they maintained their quarters close to their work.
“The herigene catalyst is premixed and ready for application, Doctor th’Rhys,” a Vulcan lab assistant told th’Rhys while he was hunched over a console that was joined to the main square-shaped array that stood at the center of the room. Holographic displays hung in the middle while he worked on the new hyper-phasic conduits that were being used for their experiment. Section Thirty-One had arranged his cover at Conundrum Station as a former Starfleet officer who had been dishonored when Admiral Eric Markham had attempted a coup of the Federation back in 2367.
“Thank you, Stuval,” Toph said, checking over his calculations again. Since he had been a mere boy living in the slums of a Tiburonian colony on Ninagirsu, he would have never dreamed that he would have made it out of that poor, disease-ridden and destitute underworld beneath the shining elegance of the nobility to work in technologically superior facilities like those aboard Conundrum Station. Forced to leave behind his old life when Starfleet officers had extracted him for his scientific expertise, he never regretted leaving his parents, his sisters or his little brother behind. Most of the colonies formed by his people during the early 24th century near the border territories of the Rkalan Compact were controlled by corporations that were mostly worried about their financial dividends and gold-pressed latinum, than about things like food, habitable housing, or… He couldn’t think about his much, these days. The Tiburonian just knew that without Starfleet assistance during the Dominion War, those colonies would have fallen to the Jem’Hadar and the Cardassians who had suffered terribly themselves under the tyranny of the Founders.
“I have the readings for the protomatter flow regulators. The plasma conduits are running at 105%,” th’Rhys announced, looking back at the lab-tech before his attention returned to his calculations involving the energy flow to the coaxial flux generators.
When he had been recruited for this project by his handler Novack, he had believed that they were developing a new form of propulsion better than either warp or transwarp travel. Little did the Andorian know that Section Thirty-One had him and Doctor Toph working with materials that could develop a doomsday weapon. He soon discovered through his own curiosity that this weapon that they were building could both take away life and give it; a weapon that had started with two scientists from the 23rd century known as Carol and David Marcus.
“Are any of those calculations for the protomatter’s intermix ratios?,” Toph snapped at him while he moved to seat himself at a console opposite of the Andorian. The Tiburonian treated the thaan more like a research assistant than a partner on this project.
‘If only he knew what I really am,’ th’Rhys thought to himself. Of course, there were some races that lived outside of the Federation who still kept other races as either slaves or as indentured servants. Despite his own miserable past on Ninagirsu, this Tiburonian had been raised among such people that still believed that such behavior was proper. Of course, while he subconsciously treated him like this, Toph was more concerned with the wealth of knowledge and expertise that he had brought to the Rejuvenation Project after seventy-eight years of living in poverty.
“Yes, Doctor Toph,” the Andorian answered, bitterly.
“Then let’s proceed with the infusion of the protomatter with the herigene formula. Now I want to –“
“I still need to run some more simulations with the infusion process. Why don’t you want to –“ Valyn began before he was barked at by the Tiburonian scientist.
“There’s no more time for further tests, th’Rhys!”
Toph’s voice carried over the circumference of the laboratory and the entire staff of researchers, technicians, and engineers in the lab turned to face both men while they argued. Th’Rhys stood up from his seat and was met halfway by the ancient Tiburonian who was pushing his white lab coat back to rest his hands on his hips. His deep magenta eyes met the dark abysmal orbs set in the Andorian’s head that quivered with rage since the old man had been recently diagnosed with Feldak’s cholera, a cancerous disease that shortened a tiburonian’s life expectancy greatly and since he was close to the end of his life, he wanted to finish his work so that history has something exciting to remember him by.
“I received word from Commander Thompson” – the Starfleet officer who commanded Conundrum Station – “that a Rkalan battle group was been located outside of the nebula and they’re already penetrated the outer boundary, destroying the minefield,” Toph said in a low voice and the younger man could see the panic in the older man’s façade.
“How did they discover us here?”
“I don’t know, Valyn… but the commander believes that they should be here soon if not in a matter of hours. Nine hours at the most since their ships aren’t environmentally fit for the region. That-that… they should take my life’s work from me… from us! We-we need to activate the device and-and… and pray to whatever gods that…”
“I didn’t come here to die like a coward, Toph! This project wasn’t created to further your ambitions!”
“If this facility is unarmed, then whose damned idea was it to…? Where’s the damned military when you need them, damn it?! Out chasing their tails or something?,” a Tellarite scientist by the name of Dal khaap Ghran shouted over the noise and commotion caused by his superiors. He was a regular consultant to Starfleet and he had recently worked aboard the U.S.S. Triton. His team was working on samples and equipment retrieved from a Sharfi vessel named the Cradle after the Charleston-class starship’s last mission before it was moved to a more secure facility at Deep Space Eleven.
“Thompson told me that the Spartan and the Mackenzie had already departed and are moving out to face the Rkalans. Captain Kailehr ordered her to have Rejuvenation prepped for possible deployment if… if we… lose.” The Tiburonian scientist’s frustration disappeared and depression set in since he was starting to already see his life pass before him. His earlier frustration had been directed towards th’Rhys because he reminded him of the younger man that he had once been. Filled full of ideas for the future, he could see that the Andorian was the Federation’s salvation for the future.
“She’s got to be joking!,” Ghran continued. “Durzan, that gods-damned idiot, would never do that!”
Ghran’s outburst rang through the compartment and it made Toph wondered where he had lost his authority over this think tank. ‘Of course, they do both make sense,’ he thought.
“Your beloved captain isn’t here, Doctor Ghran!,” th’Rhys rebuked him.
“Beloved, my –“
“Hey, we’re picking up something here!,” a member of Ghran’s team said. She was seated next to th’Rhys’ Vulcan assistant, performing communication duties. “I think it’s Starfleet.
“Put’em through,” Valyn said, moving away from Toph to stand next to the long-haired Valtese brunette.
“Mackenzie’s lost her port nacelle and I don’t think we can take out this last cruiser, Conundrum,” the voice of Captain Kailehr spoke over the intercom. The Zaldan sounded calm and composed even though she and her crew were in the thick of battle. “Thompson, inform the good doctor that I want Rejuvenation ready to detonate in fifteen. Implement Plan 22 while you can, Erica.”
“What about evacuation to the Spartan before we detonate?,” another female voice asked her. It was Commander Thompson and like th’Rhys, she was bitter enemies with Toph. Since his arrival aboard the space station, the stationmaster had been the only person capable of killing them from killing each other. Maybe that was why they had enjoyed a brief affair, a few months ago.
“Erica, I can’t even guarantee that the Spartan will make it back to the station, much less survive this battle. You know Admiral Saavik’s orders. We can’t risk the secrecy of this station to –“ The channel was suddenly cut off and replaced with static when the transmission was lost between the Steamrunner-class frigate and Conundrum Station’s operations center. A heavy sigh from Commander Thompson whispered into the ears of the station crew before she spoke to everyone over the station-wide communications system. Sadness could be heard in her vocal pattern when she addressed them and th’Rhys guessed that the ship had been destroyed when Spartan had stopped transmitting. According to the protocols set by Section Thirty-One, he knew what he had to do now.
“All hands, this is Commander Thompson. A situation has arisen and the ships assigned to the station have been engaged by Rkalan battle cruisers. U.S.S. Mackenzie has been lost after our last report from Captain Kailehr. The U.S.S. Spartan has also stopped transmitting and we can’t find her since she left our sensor coverage because of the battle.
“Against the tenets of my better judgment and the orders of Vice-Admiral Saavik, I’ve sent out a general distress call to the nearest starbase and I’m sorry to say that the closest ship from us is four days away at high warp. According to my instructions under Plan 22, I’m ordering that all decks and compartments be secured. I’m also asking all hands, whether you be man, woman, or some other gender, to pick up a weapon and help us defend this station. The work done here is important to the Federation, to Starfleet, and… and… remember, always remembers the Alamo.
“That is all. Thompson out.”
“What’s the Alamo?,” Toph asked but no one answered him. The heavy-duty doors to the lab whooshed open and a quartet of security personnel walked inside. They were equipped with phaser rifles and body armor. Two of them were also carrying cases that they set down on tables to hand out phasers to all of the room occupants. The lead security officer, a chief petty officer, walked up to Toph, th’Rhys, and Ghran.
“Gentlemen,” he said, addressing the three,” Commander Thompson has ordered me to have all of your research material prepared for transport.”
“Transport?,” asked Toph.
“Yes, Doctor. You, Doctor th’Rhys and Doctor Ghran will be escorted from here to an escape pod before the Rkalans arrive to take the station.”
“Damn,” Ghran swore.
“Sorry, gentlemen, but those are the commander’s orders.”
The last thing that the old Tiburonian remembered hearing before he was escorted to an escape pod was a goodbye from a female lab assistant who had been like a daughter to him while he had been in residence at Conundrum Station. Through the escape pod’s view ports after he, th’Rhys, and Ghran boarded it, he could see the silhouette of a Rkalan battle cruiser approach the station. Wherever they ended up, he didn’t know before he fell backwards against his seat into unconscious.
Before falling asleep, one of his last memories had been of a bright blue flash enveloping him and Ghran.
Starbase Ninety-Five
Her long dark braided mane turned with a slight clinking of her hair beads at the sight of a particularly-handsome young man who passed by the replimat that she was sitting at. The rank pips on his red collar were those of a junior-grade lieutenant and she suspected that he was probably a command-level pilot. Either way didn’t matter to the blue-skinned woman because her mind was spinning with ideas about how to get this human into her bed tonight. Of course, disappointment dashed away her chances to all four points of the galaxy when he walked up to a short felinoid and kissed her passionately on the lips. With her twin hearts soaring but a moment before, Ariel’s ego took a hit when her prospects disappeared as quickly as the glass of Bajoran spring wine in front of her. The captain of the Federation science vessel Tesla was a spectacular woman who has always been a connoisseur of the opposite sex for an indeterminate number of years, whether they were human or not. Her ex-husband hasn’t been Xynali and he had been a fine man until he left her for cheating on him with another officer when she was assigned to the Wyvren as operations officer.
‘When did the cat people get all the damned luck?,’ she asked herself with a sigh.
“Interesting specimen to cast your eyes on,” said another man who sat down across from her. He was a fellow captain by his rank pips and he appeared to be in his late fifties since they were already signs of his hair turning grey. “I just can’t believe that it’s my helmsman.”
“Who’s the cat he’s smooching?”
“Oh, one of the survivors from the Cradle, Aerashai.”
“You must know them,” Ariel stated with a smile while the Argelian bartender refilled her wine glass.
“Of course, I do,” Emeri Durzan said,” since I’m their captain.”
“I remember a Durzan from the Wyvren. Any relation to him?”
“The Wyvren?,” the Betazoid asked her, chuckling. There had been concerns that her memory loss would alter his ability to command but apparently it hadn’t failed enough for the station’s chief medical officer to invalidate her for command while the Tesla finished with her refit. He took a moment to recall his own memories. “Hmm… which letter of the alphabet are you referring to? I think I served on the Wyvren-E.”
“That’s you? You must be old.”
“Not too old.”
“And you command the…,” she paused for a moment to search her memory,”… the Triton, right?”
“You would be correct, ma’am.”
“And didn’t you have a little dustup with the Rkalans lately?,” Ariel asked him,” on Rixion?”
“We did,” Emeri said, though it was a difficult subject to talk about right now. “Do you remember anything?”
Ariel sighed, taking a sip of her wine. He had been asking her this same question for the last two weeks since she had woken up on a holodeck. Slowly, he had helped her regain her life in Starfleet. Her memories were still recovering from her accident… if you could call it an accident.
“The Triton… is she a newer ship?,” she asked him, ignoring the question. He already knew her answer to his question before she could speak it. Per their agreement while he helped her with her recovery, the Betazoid officer was permitted to scan her every so often to try to help her remember what happened to the Tesla and her crew.
“Well,” he sipped ice water from a blue transparent glass,” she might not be as new as the Luna-class but she can cut rings around those Sovereign and Galaxy class ships.” He had a bragging glint in his eye now since he was so proud of his ship and crew. Despite the damage done, the repairs made to the ship had seen her shields upgraded with a series of regenerative adaptive shielding and the next generation in ablative armor that the scientists at the Daystrom Institute could produce.
“Could she? Well –“ Ariel was interrupted by Durzan’s combadge signaling him for attention.
“Durzan here,” he said after taking another sip of his water.
“Windsong here, sir,” the feminine voice of his first officer said from the other side of the transmission.
“What is it, Rebecca?”
“Sir, Admiral Saavik has ordered you to report to her aboard the Ironhide. It looks like something has developed near the Hadirya Nebula,” the commander reported.
“Ok, have the transporter lock onto me and –“
“Chief Sendon is already locked onto you so we can beam you to the Ironhide, Captain. I even told Commander Xon that you might be a little late,” she continued since she was already carrying out the tasks that were still forming in the Betazoid’s mind.
“Give me a moment, XO,” he ordered, looking at Ariel as he stood up from his chair. He rested a hand on her shoulder, smiling. “I’m sorry that we didn’t get much more time to talk…”
“That’s all right, Emeri. I would have liked to have seen your ship. Maybe I’ll give you a tour of the Tesla sometime?”
‘At least, she remembers her ship and her career,’ he thought. “It’s a plan.”
“I only hope that the admiral doesn’t look upon you with disfavor.”
“Saavik may be a hard-ass for a Vulcan but she’s a good woman nonetheless,” he said before he was quickly whisked away by a blue-tinted transporter beam. A few minutes later, a short human man walked through the open doors of the Replimat. He had a Petty Officer 2nd class insignia on his gold collar and he moved over to Ariel as quickly as he located her. He snapped to attention before her table as she took another sip of her wine.
“Yes, and what can I do for you, handsome?,” she asked him, a wicked smile on her face. ‘Maybe today won’t end so badly for me after all,’ she thought while she quickly committed the security officer’s appearance to memory.
“Excuse me, ma’am, but Fleet Captain Bossco asked me to escort you over to the Wyvren,” he said while he fought the temptation to grab the Xynali by the nape of her neck and violently throttle her. “And please… don’t ever call me handsome, ma’am. You might not arrive in one piece.”
“And how many pieces would you imagine that be, Petty Officer?,” she asked him with more authority in her voice. He was almost certain that he was going to end up on report again like last week when he smacked an Orion lieutenant for touching his ass without permission. His Starfleet career was only beginning and with the marks on his record, it was almost at an end.
Finishing the last dregs of her spring wine, Captain Ariel adjusted the front of her uniform before she stood up from her seat and walked out of the Replimat with her security escort. “So what does Old Man Bossco want with me anyways, Petty Officer?,” she asked him as they walked together through the wide rotunda of SB95’s promenade. They entered a nearby turbolift and as the doors closed behind them, the security officer smirked at her.
“You’re an officer and you don’t know already? I thought that all of you Academy graduate-types had some kind of ESP or something to keep yourselves informed.”
“Oh, the implant that they insert after graduation?,” the Xynali asked, playing along with his game.
“Yes… ma’am.”
“I used to have it but I traded it to a Corvallen trader for a five-hundred and sixty-seven year old bottle of Tranya made on Intooine.”
The turbolift carrying them was heading for the upper docking sphere of the starbase where Galaxy-class starships like the Ironhide and dreadnoughts like the Wyvren were docked. Other ships like the Rapier, a Saber-class ship, three Miranda-class light cruisers, the Excelsior-class Ixion and Prometheus-class multi-vector tactical assault cruisers Nike and Horus were also docked at the starbase, all of them elements of the Starfleet Rapid Response Command that was Vice-Admiral Saavik’s bailiwick since the Triton’s encounter with the Rkalan Compact.
“Officers,” the petty officer muttered to himself before he tapped his combadge twice in the manner that her superior officer had instructed him to. Looking back at her, he smiled at Ariel before waving goodbye to her. “May we never meet again.”
“What do you mean by –“ Ariel didn’t the chance to finish her sentence when a transporter beam enveloped her and beamed her away. Moved to an undisclosed location, the captain reappeared inside a dark room where only the bright illumination of the starfield outside lit her way. It was a large room that her emerald green eyes quickly adjusted to.
‘By the Forests of Xynal, what the hell is going on here?,” she asked herself, her face curling into a snarl before she assumed an attack position. Putting a hand over her combadge, Ariel found it missing.
“For this, you are looking?,” a deep voice mysteriously questioned her. It belonged to the short green-skinned Admiral who was covered by the shadows of the room before he walked further in from the luminescent doorway. He held up the captain’s combadge before he ordered the computer to reactivate the lighting. Light suddenly blinded the captain and blinking her eyes after the change in environment, Ariel saw Admiral Tattok standing in front of her. The little Horrusi handed back her combadge after she bent down to a knee before him.
“Apologize for the deception, I do, Captain Ariel. Concerned, I was, to maintain operational security for the mission that to give you, I am,” Tattok said with a hard expression. His brown eyes could be as scary as some of the younger officers were led to believe. Ariel knew that the Horrusi could be less intimidating when he wanted to, though it seemed that a small cadre of officers had never been frightened of him like Admiral Nechayev of Starfleet Intelligence.
“Frighten you, did I?”
“I know of some Klingons who are more intimidating, sir,” Ariel said when she took her combadge back. She looked it over for an instant before returning it to its place on her uniform.
“Break it, I didn’t, assure you, I can.”
“You don’t mind if I examine it for myself, do you?”
Tattok mirthfully chuckled. “Difficult, you still are.”
“If you’re thinking that I’m a bitch, please don’t. I don’t question your paternity so kindly don’t question mine.”
Tattok walked over to a nearby chair and climbed up into it. With the light returned to the room, the Tesla’s captain recognized it as the officer’s lounge aboard the Rapier, a vessel that Tattok used for his own missions. Sitting down in the chair and resting in it, the littlest flag officer in Starfleet picked up a padd before looking back at Ariel. The Xynali had moved to stand a short distance in front of him.
“Call you hear to discuss paternity, I did not, Ariel. To brief you on your next mission, my true intention was.”
This revelation surprised the young captain since she didn’t believe that Starfleet Command was ready to return her to the Tesla’s center seat. With the repairs finishing on the Oberth-class starship, she almost thought on some level that she had failed Captain Durzan’s retraining and that she had been called to Admiral Dodge’s office to be reassigned to some backwater assignment.
“Does this have something to do with Captain Durzan’s request to search for Aerashai’s world, Admiral?”
“Some discussion, that subject at Starfleet, there has been. But digress, I co,” the admiral said. “Heard of Lesk’Gor-Alya, you have?”
“Who hasn’t? Markham got her promotion to Fleet Captain after she and the Ranger scored a victory there against the Cardassian Fourth Order during the war. Not even the Fifth Fleet was able to do much there, even though she did lose the ship.”
“Admire her, you do. Why?”
“I’ve only met her recently when she was passing by on her way back to Earth,” the Tesla captain explained, crossing her arms over her chest,” but her record does seem to have some impressive points to it. In fact, I think I may have gone to the Academy with her. Why? Didn’t we get custody of the planet after the war?”
“A good location, it is, for a base near the Rkalan Compact,” Tattok agreed with a grim tone. “The Rkalan government, demanding the planet, they are.”
“Well, we won it fair and square from the Dominion. We probably won’t get too formal a diplomatic agreement with them since what happened at Rixion.”
“Many brush fires, the Diplomatic Corps has. Stretched to the limit, they are so… Recommended your services, Captain Bossco has.”
Ariel laughed at this statement. “I don’t even know their language or their customs. And he wants me to negotiate with them? Did his medical officer have him on something when he said it?”
Clearly the Horrusi didn’t understand the reference and ignored it. “An accomplished officer, you are, Captain Ariel. Respect you, many captains do. Ordered, you are, by Starfleet, to proceed to Lesk’Gor-Alya. Investigate the reasons behind the Rkalans’ intentions. Starfleet Intelligence, suggests, Admiral Nechayev does, that the planet, barely suited to support life in a nebula.” He looked down at his padd before handing it to Ariel.
She looked over the information on the padd and frowned. “It looks like the Cardassians were able to strip away some of the planet’s natural resources before Markham showed up. It’s been a few years but… it is a Class-O world.”
“Imagine the picture painted by Starfleet, I can, Captain.”
Ariel sighed heavily, shaking her head in disbelief because she was once again being asked to put herself and her crew on the line between the Federation and a potential enemy, though it was a little unusual to assign a science vessel to such an assignment. “Weird, especially since I command the Tesla and not a bigger ship like the Enterprise or the Atlantis.’
“Can’t Starfleet Command assign some other ship that more… tactically inclined like the Wyvren? If the Rkalans get the Tesla in her gun sights, then I don’t think that one science vessel is going to be able to protect itself against the wanton demands of a Rkalan commander who’s either in a battle cruiser or a dreadnought. We should be just grateful that they don’t have cloaking devices like the Romulans.”
“Sending the Triton with you, I am, because of the threat.” Tattok’s brow rose upward to focus his dark eyes upon the younger-looking woman. Both of them had met when she was a cadet at Starfleet Academy and he was an instruction. After serving together on her first assignment, the Greglich, before he was recalled to Earth for another assignment, they knew that they could trust each other better than the rest of the folks at Starfleet Headquarters.
“I’ll have overall command?,” she asked with some hope. She knew that she wouldn’t because the Tesla was smaller and older than the Charleston-class starship. Where the Tesla had a small complement of ninety, the Triton had a crew complement of three hundred and forty souls and the Xynali didn’t have as much experience as Emeri Durzan.
“Dense, your question is. Underestimate Starfleet, you shouldn’t, when they want you and Emeri Durzan for this mission.”
“Admiral Tattok, I would never underestimate the wisdom of the Admiralty,” she said with a wink.
“Do not. Tell you stories of my sister, I might,” Rapier’s commanding officer said, threatening him with friendly sincerity. After already hearing stories through the Starfleet grapevine about Commander Telka, the Xynali captain was certain that she didn’t want to endure such an encounter, though she was regarded with a great reputation after her mission on the low-gravity world of Albessaron.
“Is this mission going to be just diplomatic with us showing the flag or will we be doing some reconnaissance? I wouldn’t want to ask but you did bring up Rixion, sir.”
“Triton and Tesla, only available ships for this assignment, they are. Reconnaissance, Durzan’s decision for now,” the Horrusi continued with the mission briefing. “No diplomatic blunders. Attack them, you shouldn’t. Tense, the situation gets, wait for them to challenge you. Your own discretion, you must use – “
“Because we’ll be on our own, sir?,” she asked.
Tattok nodded in response.
“Sounds like a damned holiday.”
“Really?,” the admiral commented. “Select replacements for your crew, have you?”
Ariel moved over to the chair across from Tattok and sat down. Resting the padd on her lap, she folded her hands in front of her. “Well, Starfleet Personnel’s offered me a few candidates but I haven’t really decided yet. The officer that I selected for first officer was offered her own command so she’s gone off over to the Kumari while they head out for a five-year mission out of the edge of the Crux Arm. She did take who was going to replace Tirek with so I’m still shopping for senior officers.”
“To replace your first officer, difficult it will be. A good officer, he was.”
“Yeah, and I don’t even know if I would want Valeris for my first officer. After reading her file, she’s been tossed around many commands since she was reinstated. Rixion’s the first time that she’s seen action and – “
“Look like a psychologist, do I? The station counselor, tell him, you should.”
Ariel sighed, the fatigue of her duties weighting hard on her. “Yes, I guess I should talk to Emeri.”
“Bridge to Admiral Tattok.”
Tattok tapped his combadge to answer it. “Tattok, this is.”
“Sir, you have a message from Admiral Saavik,” the embodied voice on the other side of the transmission said.
Ariel rose up from her seat and looked down at her friend who rose up from his own chair. “Well,” she said,” I guess I’ll be seeing you when the wind blows me back this way.”
“Safety and wisdom, I wish up you, Captain Ariel,” the Horrusi said, raising his right hand up to his old friend. They shook hands before they left to return to their assigned duties.
Chapter Two
Captain’s log, U.S.S. Tesla, stardate 8287.12;
Acting upon orders from Admiral Tattok, the Tesla and the U.S.S. Triton have been ordered to leave Starbase Ninety-Five for Lesk’Gor-Alya where we will participate in a diplomatic dialogue with representatives of the Rkalan Compact. Since the Federation assumed custody of the Perralyne system at the end of the war, the Rkalans have been itching for a chance to regain the system since they consider it a piece of their territory. Originally the system belonged to the Romulan Star Empire but since the Shinzon incident, relations with the empire have been a bit dicey. And with that, the victor gets the spoils and the headache.
U.S.S. Tesla, NCC-1935, Oberth-class starship
Main Engineering
“Kelkutiv, that plasma conduit had better be up and running at 110%!,” the Tesla’s executive officer shouted as he rounded the corner into engineering. He saw a pair of legs sticking out from underneath the warp core that powered the ship’s propulsion and power systems. Bending down onto his haunches, Commander Greg Bartlett looked over the work that the Efrosian Chief Engineer and one of his assistants seemed to be attending to. To his trained eye, it looked like they were performing some modifications to both the matter-antimatter injectors and to one of the plasma conduits. He also saw on a nearby console was a schematic diagram of the Oberth-class ship’s dilithium chamber and a chemical breakdown of the intermix formula.
“Who are you and why are you yelling at me?!,” a harsh female voice shouted back at him from underneath the core at the same time, that Commander Xre Kelkutiv walked up beside him, his uniform and work belt marked and stained with the assorted oils, greases, and the occasional electrical burn that was associated with his line of work. He held two mugs of hot coffee in his hands while his blue-gray eyes looked over the first officer's embarrassment.
The attractive set of legs belonged to a short, auburn-headed woman with the loveliest set of amethyst eyes as she moved out from under the core. Her clean-cut uniform fit her trim body well and none of it bore any of the damage that Kelkutiv’s uniform had as she sat up and gave a hard look to Bartlett. Her face was filled with anger when she stood up and set her hyperspanner on the work console perched nearby.
“I adjusted the antimatter flow to the primary plasma conduit, enriching the intermix formula with a different blend. We should be able to get Warp Nine-point-Nine-Nine-Seven out of these engines for longer than six hours if we ever need it.” Her voice was sweet like music when she spoke.
“And who is this, Mister Kelkutiv?” ‘Yes,’ the commander thought to himself,’ who is this vision of loveliness?’
“This is Lieutenant Fiona Scott from the starbase,” Kelkutiv said before he handed one of the coffee mugs to her. He picked up the hyperspanner on the work console and returned it to its prior place on his belt. A shy smile broke through the permanent scowl that had formed after the Tesla disappeared when he looked at her. “She reported aboard as my new assistant chief, sir.”
“Is she?,” he asked him. His comment was ignored by the new lieutenant since her scowl was focused on the first officer. She could feel the contempt that the commander felt for the Efrosian and it made her so angry that she threw her coffee at him. Staining the front of his uniform, the older man howled at her over what she had done while attempting to wipe the hot beverage off of him. It only seemed to make the stain even worse.
“You clumsy bitch!,” he screamed at her. “Look at what you’ve done!”
“How can you treat Xre like he’s lesser than you?,” Scott challenged him without a care about him being her superior officer. She didn’t even fear that he had the power to have her thrown in the brig if he so desired it. “You’re a mean son of a bitch! I wouldn’t be your friend if you treated me like that!”
“It’s all right, Fiona. I’ve gotten used to this since he replaced Commander Fitzpatrick,” Kelkutiv said before he began to walk away from them. He had once been known as La’Farrell when he had been devoted to the Way of the One, a religion from his home world. After finding everyone else but a few members of the crew dead, he had renounced the Way, returning to his original name of Xre Kelkutiv.
He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder since he had the feeling to escape from Engineering before his fellow engineers could see him break down and cry. The Efrosian offer very such strange emotions after the incident and only sessions with the station counselor had helped him through them. Of course, no one had ever stood up for him except for himself and for Captain Ariel. When Xre welcomed Lieutenant Scott this morning in the Tesla’s transporter room, he hadn’t realized that he would have such a strong attraction to her.
“You could, at least, apologize to him,” the assistant chief engineer told Bartlett with her eyes still on him. The dark-skinned man was still trying to deal with the stain on his ruined uniform. “Apologize… sir,” she continued, even though the First Officer was glaring back at her with the same fiery anger that she was releasing towards him. His madness wasn’t so dreadful since he was still entranced by this demeaning young woman. His authority as the ship’s second-in-command hadn’t been challenged like this before.
"I'll have you both in front of an inquiry board.
“Are… are you really sorry, sir? Because,” the Efrosian said, his scowl returning,” I remind you that I have access to the ship’s replicators and sonic showers.”
“Frankly, Kelkutiv... you can go to hell,” he said.
‘She’ll definitely fit in with this crew,’ Greg thought before he walked back the way she came and almost walked head-first into Captain Ariel. He nodded to his commanding officer before he continued on his way away from that section of the ship. The commander hadn't wanted this assignment to the Oberth-class ship but it was the only berth available for him to advance to full commander. Especially after serving on Starbase Ninety-Five for the last eight years as the chief of operations.
“What happened to him?,” Ariel asked her chief engineer after she approached Xre and Fiona.
“He had a little accident with my new assistant, ma’am,” was his answer. There was a little hint of a smile on the corners of his face when he turned to give his coffee to the redhead to replace the coffee that she had wasted on Commander Bartlett. “She and I have been making some modifications to the warp drive.”
“What kind of modifications?”
“We needed to upgrade the matter-antimatter injectors, ma’am. I’ve also made some adjustments to our intermix formula,” Scott explained as she took a sip of Kelkutiv’s coffee. “I got the formula from a friend on the Triton. Heidenbach says that Commander Delacroix swears by it since they used it to keep up with the Cradle.”
‘She possesses a body that could send any man’s mind directly into overload,’ Ariel observed before she realized that her chief engineer had the wonderstruck awe of a man who had a crush on a girl. She allowed her to show her the basic changes that they’d made to the ship during the refit. The Xynali also noticed that the Efrosian seemed to be more concerned with the ship since their disappearance over six months ago. With what their next mission was going to be, it was dangerous to worry him before he actually needed to worry.
“And this is why the Triton’s faster than the Ironhide?,” the captain asked the new assistant chief engineer. She smiled at her after making the remark about Admiral Saavik’s ship being slow.
“The Tesla should be the faster science vessel in the fleet, Captain.”
“I believe we’re going to need the extra speed for where we’re going, Lieutenant.” The captain turned to face his Chief Engineer who had moved over to check some calculations on the master situation console. “Xre, did you get the Emergency Medical Hologram up and running again? Rashilon complained about it again and I don’t know if I can get you any new parts for it. Do you think that you might be able to bypass something or jury-rig it if we need it?”
“The EMH is up and running, Captain. I finished those repairs this morning before the lieutenant –“
“Good,” Ariel said, stopping him in mid-sentence. “I’ll see you later at the staff meeting?”
“If I’m not too deep in my work, sir,” Kelkutiv said, looking up for a moment before returning to his work.
“Bridge to Captain Ariel,” a voice spoke from her combadge. It was Angela Ostillin, the Tesla’s chief of security who had been one of the few people to survive with her. During the Tesla’s refit, she had been promoted to lieutenant commander and to the position of second officer that had been vacated by the death of Lieutenant Commander Charles Alderman, the ship’s pilot.
“Ariel here,” she answered after tapping her combadge.
“Your presence is required on the bridge, ma’am. Admiral Dodge has sent us a replacement for Lieutenant Grunwald,” she reported to her. Martin Grunwald had been the Tesla’s operations officer and she remembered that died, trying to explain the reason behind the strange alien attack that had caused them to disappear for almost half a year.
“Assign them to quarters and – “
“’He’s’ asking to see you immediately, Captain,” the security chief said from her place on the bridge. She was currently in charge while the captain and the first officer attended to their other duties.
“Any ideas why his pants are on fire, Angela?”
“I wouldn’t know, ma’am, except that he’s a Vulcan.”
“Ok, then do you have any idea why he wants to see me so urgently?”
“He merely asked me to tell you that it was with the most urgency.”
Captain Ariel stood outside the briefing room and waited for a few minutes in the short passageway that connected the bridge, her ready room, and the briefing room together. She had looked at the internal security monitor on the bridge before coming here and she still felt the loss of Martin, who she had considered to be one of the most valuable members of her original crew. The tall human officer could always make someone laugh, even in the tensest of situations and this new officer, she believed, wouldn’t be able to replace the sort of dedication that Martin had brought to her ship. The Xynali was also still a little ticked at Admiral Dodge assigning someone to her senior staff without consulting her, the ship’s captain.
‘When I get a chance, I’m gonna look up this joker’s service record,’ she thought before she strode into the briefing room. Her green eyes instantly focused onto a short Vulcan with wheat-colored hair that was shoulder-length which was unusual for a member of his species. He stood at attention , reminding the captain of another officer who she knew when she had served aboard Fleet Captain Bossco’s Wyvren.
“Ensign Syelak, reporting aboard as ordered to carry out the duties of Operations Officer, ma’am,” he said, nodding to her as she walked over to the replicator behind her chair. She ordered herself a teacup of Orange Spice Tea with sugar for herself before turning to face him. Syelak was still standing at attention when she sat down in her seat and took a meager sip of her hot drink.
“At ease, Ensign. I’m not one of those captains who hold up to formalities… much.” She took another sip of her tea before setting it and its accompanying saucer down on the tabletop in front of her. “Do you have your orders with you?”
The Vulcan handed her an isolinear chip that he had been carrying with him and she put into the padd sitting on the table. Pressing a few buttons with her right thumb, the captain casually looked through his service record before she took another sip of tea. “You came over from the Ironhide?,” she asked him politely. “I’ve heard some tales that Captain Selaih is pretty choosy when it comes to her senior officers. Admiral Saavik must have offered her a better officer if she gave you up to me.”
“Their orders are merely a requirement of the service that Starfleet provides to the Federation, ma’am. It is the privilege of their officers to follow such orders,” Syelak said while he still stood at attention on the far left side of the long table.
“Nice speech. Did you write it yourself or did Selaih do it for you? Or maybe it was sewn into your uniform when it was issued to you?”
“Ma’am?”
“Take a seat, Ensign.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the Vulcan said, moving and sitting down on the left side of the table in the chair usually reserved for the first officer. Though a Vulcan, he seemed to be uncomfortable in the Xynali’s presence and she guessed that it was normal for a new officer in a new environment to be unfamiliar with a new ship and a new captain.
“According to this,” she said, holding up the padd,” that you’ve been out of the Academy for a few years now. Why is that? And do you have any idea why Admiral Dodge or Admiral Saavik assigned you to the Tesla before I could present my finalized personnel list?” Her questions were forward and honest as she set the padd and her teacup back down on the table.
“Captain, I believe I have been assigned to the Tesla because of your mission to Lesk’Gor-Alya.”
“So you’re Starfleet’s ‘eyes’?”
“Yes, ma’am, though I have no allegiances to Starfleet Intelligence.”
“What about Section Thirty-One?” This question shocked the young Vulcan. There weren’t too many members of Starfleet who had heard about the clandestine agency at the heart of the Federation. “Because I don’t need their type aboard my ship. If you’re with them, you can leave now… the easy way… or the hard way.”
“Captain Ariel, I promise you that I have no correlation with Section Thirty-One.”
Ariel scowled at this. “There’s an old saying on Xynal, Ensign. ‘Only Nixon could go to China.’”
“Ma’am?”
“Tell me something… what do you know about me?”
He raised an eyebrow before answering her. “You were born on the planet Xynal in the Xindi Free Territories but raised on Earth. Your mother was the first Xynali ambassador to the Federation and she was the Xynali councilor before her death from natural causes, eight years ago. Your father is a shipwright and he remarried to a painter after his first wife’s death. You were once married to Ullak, a current member of the Xynali Tribal Council and you have a daughter named Keyleira who is a Starfleet lieutenant.
“Starfleet Command promoted you to Captain during the Dominion War and you commanded the Saber-class ship Broadsword at both Battles of Chin’toka, losing the Broadsword during the Battle of Cardassia Prime. You’ve commanded the Tesla for the last six years which is one of the last three vessels of her class remaining in service. You have been awarded the – “
“That’ll be enough, Mr. Syelak. I’m guessing because of your assignment and because of your association with Admiral Saavik, that extra precautions are required. Am I correct, Ensign?”
“Yes, ma’am.”