ewink
16th December 2004, 04:18 AM
Disclaimer!
The story contains violence, adult language and situations. It's not
intended for readers under the age of 16.
Feel free to visit my Moon Trek Site at
http://moontrek.douglasavenue.com/ng.html.
The first three Moon Trek stories plus the proceeding chapters of this
story are availible there. I also feel the need to plug my Anime/FanFic
forums at
http://www.douglasavenue.com/mtforums/.
Please dispatch any C&C (all is welcome!) to funkdafied@douglasavenue.com.
Enjoy!
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CHAPTER THREE - PURSUIT
"There is an intrepid class Federation starship closing in on us."
The security officer of the Ek'Skil relayed to Vor'Gal.
"Can they see us?" Vor'Gal asked.
"No." The security officer scoffed. "They are just blindly following
our plasma trail."
Vor'Gal scoffed as well.
"Just like those stupid humans to go flying off without any plan."
Vor'Gal stands and walks over to the security station to take a look
at the readout.
The USS Spock was about thirty light-years behind them traveling at
warp nine.
The Ek'Skil, trying to arrive at their destination the same time as
the hijacked Nerima was traveling at Warp five.
At that rate the USS Spock would over take them in just a couple
minutes.
The Ek'Skil's communication system chirps. Vor'Gal looks to his
communication officer.
"It's T'Sol." The officer states.
"Put him up."
The channel opened and T'Sol beings to speak.
"Vor'Gal, we have a Federation ship tailing us. They are a few light
years away though."
Vor'Gal nods, despite T'Sol's inability to see him.
"Do you think they will engage you?"
"I don't know. It would be unwise if they did though. It's just an
intrepid class and probably would be seriously damaged, if not destroyed,
by the hydroxide sulfate explosion."
"Right. See any other ships around?"
A pause.
"There's a defiant class ship on long range, ahead of us." T'Sol
replies. "I think they are expecting us to head to Earth. But they are
ahead of our turn."
Vor'Gal nods again. Neither the defiant or intrepid class ships would
survive the explosion of the Nerima. Vor'Gal knew the Federation wasn't
stupid. It wouldn't risk two ship and two civilians before determining
their intent.
At least he hoped that was the case.
"Continue on. If they begin to engage you let me know. We'll head
that way to assist."
"Okay. T'Sol out."
The channel closed and Vor'Gal went back to the security station. The
Spock was almost right on top of them. They would pass, but then realize
the warp trail was behind them. It wouldn't take to long to figure out
about where they were.
"Drop out of warp. Disengage cloak." Vor'Gal ordered.
The Spock was at full battle readiness. Her bridge was dark with only
blue and red lights overhead. Her Captain sat on the edge of his seat
while her ops officer carefully read the display.
The tactical officer also watched his displays carefully, waiting for
something he could lock on to.
A sensor blip, a fluctuation, anything.
In old naval combat it wasn't that hard to find a target that you
could not see. You could just listen. Listen for the rudder squeaking or
the propeller spinning. If you had good equipment you could even listen
for someone sneezing or a pen clanking to the deck.
That didn't work in space though. Hiding was a lot easier now.
Everything was about sensor readouts. If you could mask yourself from them,
you could pretty much hide in plain sight.
And that is exactly what the Ek'Skil was doing right now. The Spock
was able to follow her, but not much else.
They had just recently learned that it was the cloaked ship they were
following. The Jacksonville had informed them that they had an eye on the
hijacked vessel.
What worried the Captain of the Spock though was that they may end up
passing the cloaked vessel and then lose her trail.
That almost happened.
"Captain." The operations officer said.
The Captain looked to him.
"We've lost the trail. I think we've passed them."
"All stop. Set up a tachyon field."
The operations officer began to comply, but the field would not be
necessary.
"They're decloaking!" The security officer states.
"Where?"
"Behind us, seven hundred and eight AU."
"Go." The captain ordered the helmsman.
She complied and the Spock quickly warped on top of the Ek'Skil.
The entire crew could only gasp. The Ek'Skil was at least fifty times
bigger than they were. It almost seemed that they could fit into her cargo
bay.
"Hail them." The captain order.
The operations man complied but shook his head.
"No response."
"Open a channel then."
"Open!"
The captain stood.
"This is Captain Alexander Yeltsin of the Federation starship the USS
Spock. You are wanted for violating A-O-A regulations and for assault on
Federation vessels. Stand down and prepare to be boarded."
"He's got balls." One of the crewmen on the Ek'Skil joked.
Vor'Gal chuckled. "The USS Spock, eh? This could almost be ironic."
Vor'Gal turned to his weapons officer.
"Kill them."
The weapons man nodded and began.
The Ek'Skil's phaser cannons opened up and began to pound on the
shields of the Spock.
"SHIELDS HOLDING AT 80%!" Ops screamed.
Yeltsin nodded. "Defensive pattern Omega Three." He told the helmsman.
"Return fire." He ordered the tactical officer.
Both officer complied and the Spock shot off, maneuvering around the
Ek'Skil in hopes of staying out of the line of sight of the phase cannons.
Her phasers began to burn against the Ek'Skils shields.
"Shields holding." The Vulcan weapons officer informed Vor'Gal.
"Their shields are down to 60%."
Vor'Gal just nodded and watched the smaller ship get rocked.
Captain Yeltsin fell from his seat as the Spock was rattled by blasts
from the larger ships cannons.
"SHIELDS AT 30%!" Ops screamed.
"DEFENSIVE PATTERN GAMMA SIX!" Yeltsin ordered.
The helmsman complied.
It wouldn't be much help.
Within seconds the blue glow surrounding the Spock was gone. The
phase cannons began to burn holes into the hull of the Spock.
"SHIELDS DOWN!" Ops yelled as a panel near him exploded.
The lights on the bridge fluttered out and were replaced by the dim
emergency lighting. The helm control went dead.
"HULL BREACHES!" Ops screamed.
There was nothing else to say. There was nothing else that could be
done. There was no more time. All Yeltsin could do was simply look at the
screen and say a quick prayer as several torpedoes barreled towards them.
The torpedoes impacted the Spock in different places, but all at the
same time.
Vor'Gal leaned back in his chair and grinned as the once sleek, gray
ship instantly became a blinding ball of light, soon to be replaced by
open space and some, but not much, debris.
"Re-engage the cloak and resume course." Vor'Gal dryly ordered.
* * * *
The USS Jacksonville slowed to warp five as it came to within a half
light year of the Nerima. On her bridge her Captain, Douglas Park eyed the
view screen; attempting to size up his target.
"Weapons?" Park asked.
"Minimal defensive weapons." The tactital officer replied.
"But that's not what we should be worried about." He continued. "The
explosives on that ship would rip us to shreds, even at this distance."
Park nodded. "That's why we are just to follow them and keep an eye
on where they go."
Park stood and walked up to the operations station.
"Contact Starfleet. Set up a link and feed them our telemetry." Park
ordered.
The operations officer complied and began to send the vital
information to Starfleet.
* * * *
Ranma took his first step onto the bridge for the first time in over
two days. He deeply inhaled the recycled air and took in the smell of the
purifier that wasn't really noticed elsewhere on the ship.
The turbolift doors closed behind him. The on-duty bridge crew all
turned to him, awaiting their orders.
Operations was the first place Ranma turned to.
"How long until we can undock?"
The man standing in the operations enclave responded. "Well, we could
undock now. But unfortunately we won't be ready for flight for another
twenty minutes."
Ranma turned to the engineering station as the engineer on duty there
began to speak.
"The engines are performing an emergency cold start which will bypass
most of the normal cold start procedures, but it still takes about thirty
minutes to get us flight ready."
Ranma nodded to the engineer and turned back to operations as his
terminal began to chirp madly.
"Admiral Larson on subspace." Ops stated.
"In my ready room please." Ranma stated as we walked towards his
office. Just prior to going through the doorway he paused and turned to
the tactical officer.
"Lieutenant, get the weapons ready and set us to battle stations as
soon as we undock."
"Aye." The lieutenant acknowledged as he began to get the torpedo
bays warmed up and the phaser banks charged.
Ranma stepped into his office and had a seat behind his desk. He hit
a button on his terminal and the face of Admiral Scott Larson appeared in
front of him. Admiral Larson was an older man with a grey goatee and grey
hair. He wore wire rimmed glasses that sat on the tip of his nose.
Overshadowing the Admirals features though was the look on his face.
It was a look that bobbled somewhere between fright and concern.
"Good morning, Admiral." Ranma greeted him.
Larson returned the greeting. "Good morning, Captain. How soon can
you be underway?"
"Thirty minutes, sir."
"Good. Once you have undocked hail the USS Jacksonville. They are
following and will be able to relay you telemetry so that you can zero in
on the targets current position."
Ranma grimaced. He didn't care to think of Nabiki and Kasumi as a
target. But this was a military ship and that was, cold or not, a military
term.
"Pops told me about a cloaked ship. Do you have any information on
that?" Ranma asked.
"A little." The Admiral sighed. "The USS Spock caught up with it and
engaged it." Larson paused for a moment before continuing. "They were
destroyed in the conflict. The Spock did manage to get some scans
beforehand though. The ship design is not one we have seen before, but the
composition identified it as Romulan. However there were mostly Vulcan
bio-signs on board."
A look of frustration came across the older mans face. "Of course the
Romulans deny any knowledge of this ship or its purpose, but because of
the fact they have a cloaking device, we know there is some involvement.
"The ship is very large as well. Based on scans it's almost as big as
a Romulan Warbird." Larson shook his head and the look of concern
reappeared on his face. "Ranma, it almost pushed right through the
Sovereign class Columbia like it was tin foil. Her damage is so severe
that she's going to have to limp back to DS9 and be repaired there.
"According to retrieved sensor data, the Spock was destroyed within
minutes of engaging them. It's - it's a ship whose damage inflicting
capabilities rival the Borg."
Ranma nodded. "Do you want us to engage this ship?"
Larson inhaled deeply. "No. But you may have to. We can only assume
that they are en route to intercept the Nerima.
"Ranma, I know this is going to be tough for you. I know who is on
that ship. But here is what needs to happen."
Ranma sits up and nods.
"First, you need to stop the Nerima. Then you are authorized to
dispatch your NSO teams to attempt to regain control of the ship and
rescue the hostages. You will then be required to secure the ship until
armed transports and escort ships arrive and take possession of the
explosives."
Ranma acknowledges this. "Aye."
"There is more. As we both know things rarely go as they are supposed
to. As your father told you, stopping that ship from reaching its target
is your number one priority. I want very much for you to be able to save
your sisters in law, but if necessary, I am ordering you to destroy that
ship, explosives, hostage takers and hostages in all."
Ranma softly nodded. He had no intention of letting Nabiki and Kasumi
die today. Especially by his hand.
"If you come into contact with the second vessel, you are weapons
free and authorized to engage it, but I would recommend waiting for
assistance if at all possible. The sixth fleet is heading back to Sol to
set up a perimeter. They will be able to assist." Larson finished.
"Yes sir."
"I'll get back to you later when I get some more details." Larson
stated. "Larson out."
The screen went black and the UFP logo appeared. Ranma continued to
stare at it for a moment. Not only did he have to stop this ship without
destroying it, he would have to stop it before it reached Sol. The sixth
fleet would not attempt a rescue before destroying the Nerima.
Ranma sighed and stood. He began to walk to his door to inform his
crew of what was happening.
On the bridge of the Sisko, Raye was the first of the awoken to
arrive, She looked to the security station.
"What's up?" She asked.
The security officer looked to her and simply shrugged.
Raye was about to scream bloody murder when Ranma walked out onto the
bridge.
"Commander." He stated.
Raye turned to him. "Yes sir?"
"Please join me in the conference room." He stated as he walked
towards the room. He called back to the security officer as he walked.
"Please send the others there when they arrive."
"Aye."
Ranma actually paused before entering. "Also - If Akane comes up here,
don't allow her in." Ranma walked into the room without waiting for an
acknowledgement.
The security officer had a look of confusion on his face, but
complied.
"Aye."
Ranma motioned for Raye to have a seat at the gigantic grey table.
Raye complied and looked up at her commanding officer.
"Is your team ready?" Ranma asked her rather bluntly.
Raye paused for a moment. "Yes."
Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Why the hesitation?"
Raye sighed. "The leader of Bravo team still needs some." She thought
back to what Shelton had told her. "Leadership training."
Ranma walked over to the window and looked out at the hideous brown
monstrosity gripping onto the front of his ship.
"Well you have about five hours to teach her."
Ryouga and Mina were the next two to walk onto the bridge. Ryouga
took a look around and began to notice the changes. Things he hadn't seen
over the last couple of days.
First off, his helm terminal was turned on. There was still no one
sitting there but the flat touch screens that made up his console were lit
up. Some buttons and lights were blinking gently.
Mina also made note of the changes and turned to the operations
officer.
"Commander." He acknowledges. "The Captain is waiting for you two in
the conference room."
Mina and Ryouga both nodded and began to walk to the room. The
security officer, who had woken Mina from her slumber, made kissey noises
as they pair walked by. Ryouga, being as dense as a box of rocks, didn't
notice but Mina did and burned a dark sneer into the mans eyes.
"Sorry Commander." He giggled as she and her lover walked into the
conference room.
Ranma nodded to all of them and motioned for them to have a seat.
Ranma had already began to fill Raye in on the specifics of the recovery
operation that they were going to attempt.
The specifics that he wasn't going to tell anyone else.
"We'll finish after the meeting, Commander." Ranma informed Raye. She
nodded as Ranma turned to Ryouga and Mina.
"As soon as the others get here we'll start."
Shampoo, Lita and Serena somehow managed to all be on the same
turbolift as it took them to the bridge. They were all pretty quiet on the
ride up. Shampoo and Serena quiet because they were both still half asleep.
Mina quiet because she really wasn't any good at elevator conversation.
Once the lift arrived on the bridge the trio filed out. They all took
a moment to look around at the activity. The operations officer then
cleared his throat and the three girls turned to him.
"Good Morning, Commanders." He greeted. "The Captain is waiting for
you in the conference room."
They all nodded and silently wandered into the meeting.
Ranma nodded to them as they came in and motioned for them to have a
seat. Ranma looked as he was about to start, but Ryouga thought someone
was missing.
"Ranma, where's Akane?"
Ranma, not sure whether he was more annoyed by Ryouga's lack of
respect for his rank or his noseiness, glowered.
"She won't be joining us for this meeting. Medical will have no
activity in this mission."
Raye eyed her Captain softly. He had told her and she knew that he
was lying. But she said nothing and turned to shoot a look at Ryouga. But
someone had beat her too it.
Mina was burning a hole into the back of Ryouga's head with the glare
she was giving him. Ryouga didn't notice, or didn't acknowledge it and
simply began to listen to Ranma; accepting his explanation for Akane's
absence.
"As you may have guessed, we are departing earlier than normal." They
all realized this and acknowledged with a nod.
"A cargo ship containing several thousand metric tons of weapons
grade explosives has been hijacked by possible terrorist looking to attack
Earth."
The group murmured in disbelief. Ranma went on to explain about the
blockade run. He explained about the cloaked ship and the destruction of
the USS Spock. He explained to his senior staff what the plan was and what
they were going to need to do.
He gave them every single detail except one. He didn't tell them who
the ship belonged to and who was on board that ship. He would not risk
Akane finding out that her sisters were in such danger.
Fifteen minutes later he completed his briefing and asked; "Any
questions?"
No one raised their hands.
"Dismissed." Ranma stated. The group, Raye excluded, stood and walked
out of the room to take their positions on the bridge. They had a lot of
work to do and the ship would be flight ready within ten minutes.
Once the doors closed behind everyone, Ranma stood. He turned to Raye
and frowned. "Raye. This will be the first mission for your team, and it
very well could be the most important."
Ranma walked over to the window and looked out again. Raye stood and
walked over next to him.
"I give you my word." Raye said, without looking to Ranma. "I will
bring your sister in-laws back alive and kicking."
Ranma turned to Raye and gave her a weak smile.
"I know you will. Hopefully we should be able to catch up with them
in five hours. You will need to be ready to depart by 10:30."
Raye nodded. "Yes sir."
Ranma turned back to the window. "Dismissed."
Raye ran off, hitting her communicator. "Hino to Shelton. Get
everyone to the NSO briefing room immediately."
"Yes ma'am." A sleepy Shelton replied.
Serena looked to her display screen. All the little indicators on it
were lit a nice healthy green. No red, no yellow; not even the mysterious
aqua. All green. She smiled and turned to the Captain's chair.
"We're ready." She states.
Ranma nods and turns to Shampoo.
"Let's go."
Shampoo nods and stands. She walks up to right behind Ryouga, as she
always does when they need to dock, undock, or just maneuver through tight
spaces.
"Request docking clearance." She called over her shoulder to Mina.
Mina sent the message to DS9 operations. They quickly replied.
"We're clear."
Shampoo turned her attention to Ryouga as Ranma began to speak to
Mina.
"Have you gotten telemetry from the Jacksonville yet?" Ranma asked
her.
Mina nodded in acknowledgement. Ranma turned back to watch Shampoo
and Ryouga.
"Release docking latches." Shampoo ordered.
Ryouga hit some buttons and a shudder went though the ship as the
metal claws that kept the Sisko attached to the station disengaged and
retracted into the ship.
"Back us off, 250 K-P-H, thrusters only." Shampoo ordered.
Ryouga slid down his panel a foot or so and fired up the thrusters.
The ship then began to slowly back away from the station.
"Good." Shampoo stated as she watched the display on Ryouga's
terminal. Rather quickly it showed that they were backed off 10 kilometers.
Far outside even Ryouga's margin of error.
"Okay, port thrusters."
Ryouga complied and hit the corresponding navigational controls. The
thrusters on the port side of the ship fired, causing the ship to turn to
the right. Once the ship was facing away from the station Shampoo smiled
and gave Ryouga a pat on the shoulder.
Ryouga resisted the urge to jump into the air with a loud 'Woo hoo!'.
He quietly waited for the course to be ordered.
Shampoo turned to Mina.
"Course?"
Mina studied the telemetry for a moment.
"3-2-9 mark 3-4 should put us on them in five hours, six minutes."
She replied.
Shampoo turned to Ryouga. Ryouga was one step ahead of her and had
the course plugged in.
"Maximum speed." Ranma order from his seat.
"Aye." Ryouga responded. He entered the speed into his computer.
"Engage." Shampoo ordered.
Ryouga reached down and hit the largest of the button on his terminal.
Outside the ship made some minor adjustments to it's alignment. The
warp engines glowed a bright blue for just a moment. Then with a flash, it
was gone.
* * * *
Akane yawned as she slowly sat up in bed. She took a quick look at
the clock.
0642.
She grumbled. It was still early. She wasn't planning on going into
sickbay until 0900. She could snooze for another half hour.
She layed back down and pulled the comforter over her body. She
rolled over and snuggled up against a pillow next to the wall. She grinned
as she started to dose off, watching the stars zip by in the window.
"Wait a minute." She said to the empty room.
Akane sat back up and rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing
things right. There was no Bajor out the window. There was no hideous
brown station there. There were stars.
They were at warp.
Akane sat up and got out of bed. She looked around a bit, but
couldn't seem to find her communicator.
She grumbled and walked to the closest. She grabbed a robe and walked
out into their living room and over to the communications panel next to
the door.
"Saotome to bridge." She said while hitting the intercom button.
"Yes Commander?" Mina replied on the other end.
"Why are we at warp?"
"We were needed for an emergency mission. Do you want to talk to the
Captain?"
"No." Akane sighed. "I'll come see him in a while."
"Okay. Anything else I can do for you?" Mina asked.
"No, thanks." Akane sighed as she ended the communication.
She was bummed. Akane hadn't seen her sisters in years and was
looking very forward to seeing them.
*I'll just contact them a little later on. See if we can work
something else out.* She thought to herself and she went back into the
bedroom to begin grooming herself for work.
* * * *
"Now that I have explained the background of this mission, are there
any questions?" Raye asked the room.
No one raised their hands.
Raye nodded in approval.
"Okay. Now for the nuts and bolts." She said as she turned towards a
blue print of the Nerima.
"These schematics of the ship have been loaded into the holodeck."
Raye explained. "We'll have a couple of hours to run some simulations to
try out different plans of attack. We need to remember the two main
objectives in this mission. First and foremost, we must disable the ship.
This will be Alpha team's objective. Beta team, your primary objective
will be to rescue the hostages.
"We don't know where on the ship they are being held. We do know that
there are two hostages and six hostiles. There are also a lot of weapons
grade explosives on that ship. It might be rigged to take everything out
as a last chance suicide mission.
"Then of course there are the unknowns. Like where the cloaked ship
went. As far as we know it could be flying right on top of them right now.
So we should expect to have to engage more hostiles."
Raye sighed and turned to the group.
"This will be our first mission. Not only do the lives of the
hostages depend on us, but the lives of those at the terrorists target as
well. And right now it appears their target is Earth."
Raye sat down and Commander Shelton and Lieutenant Dowis stood.
Shelton was the first to speak.
"Once we secure the ship the Sisko will transport over security
personnel to take over control of the explosives. We will need to make
sure any booby traps are taken care of as well. One member of Charlie team
will be put with both Alpha and Beta teams. One member of Delta team will
also be placed with Alpha and Beta teams to deal with injuries and the
like."
Lt. Dowis began to speak.
"These are larger groups than I know you are used to dealing with,
but I know everyone here can handle it. You are the best of the best."
Everyone in the room nodded in humble self glory. Raye stood back up.
"Alright, everyone suit up and be in the holodeck in five minutes."
The room all stood and started to move to the exit.
"Chief Yuki." Raye called.
Both Kio and Shelton turned around. Raye looked to Shelton and gave
him a look. Shelton grudging accepted the look and walked out with the
others. Raye motioned for Kio to sit back down.
She did and Raye sat in front of her.
"Chief, I'm sorry I raised my voice with you yesterday." Raye stated.
"With all do respect, Commander." Kio said. "It's not your place to
apologize. I messed up, I got what was coming to me."
Kio looked away for a moment.
"I did some thinking last night."
Raye cocked her head slightly as Kio continued.
"I think you should put on of the officers in charge of Bravo team.
Or maybe promote Sergeant Simpson." Kio trailed off as she noticed Raye
was shaking her head in disgust.
"What happened to you, Chief?" Raye asked.
Kio was taken aback by this question.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand."
Raye stood and walked to her desk. She grabbed a PADD and returned to
where Kio remained seated.
"Platoon leader, 142nd Airborne; Starfleet Land Defense Corps. You
have theater medals for being in the Ticonderoga offensive. The DC-41F
offensive. Three peacekeeping operations. You led the retaking of the
Federation Embassy on Telsa Two from the Maquis. You were promoted three
ranks in six months!"
Raye looked to Kio.
"Why don't you think you can do this? This is nothing compared to
what you've done."
"That was different." Kio dryly stated. "Leading people into a
preplanned operation with very few variables is a lot easier than this."
Kio looked away again. "Besides, I don't know if I can go through
getting someone killed again."
The look on Raye's face softened a bit.
"I was married." Kio continued. "He was a Warrant Officer, different
platoon though. We had quite the insurgency on DC-41F. His platoon's
leader had been killed so our CO had us merged.
We were clearing a Ketracel White factory. I ordered him and a few of
his men to go one way, and we went the other."
Kio began to tear up. "I sent them right into an ambush. They were
all shot dead."
Kio wipes her face and looks to Raye.
"That's why I requested the Sisko. So I wouldn't have to order anyone
else to their death. I would just follow orders and shoot whoever I'm told
to."
Kio sighed. Raye looked at her for a moment.
"Chief - Kio. This -" She held up the PADD. "You're leadership -
something you've been cited for numerous times cannot just be turned off.
And I don't believe for a minute you'd be content just shooting people.
You knew you'd be a team leader when you accepted this position."
"I thought I could do it." Kio meekly replied.
"Why don't you think that now?"
"It took us twelve fucking hours to run that simulation." Kio growled.
She then looked to Raye. "I'm sorry, ma'am."
Raye shook her head, not really concerned about Kio's profanity.
"So? Do you know how many times I took and failed the test for my
promotion to Commander? Six."
"It's not the same."
"Sure it is. I learned something new every time I took that test, and
I assumed you learned something new every time you ran the simulation."
Kio nodded.
"The only thing you couldn't learn," Raye smiled. "You already know."
Kio simply nodded again.
"I can't replace you right now anyway. Your team knows you. They have
been trained to follow you and to work with you. If I were to pull you now,
right before a mission, it could do a lot more harm than good.
"You say you don't want to send them to their deaths, then don't. Go
over there with them. Lead them, and then bring them, and the hostages
back."
Raye stood and motioned for Kio to stand as well. She did.
"I know you can do it. You just need to know that."
Kio still wasn't sure but she did know that she wasn't going to allow
her team to get killed. If she was going to have to go over there she was
going to do it right and bring them all back.
"After we're done, if you still want to talk about leaving Neo, we'll
talk then."
Kio nodded.
"Dismissed."
Kio nodded once more and headed out the door. Raye looked to the
ground.
"I know you're over there."
Shelton popped out from his hiding place.
"I was looking for my contact."
Raye rolled her eyes.
"Let's go."
* * * *
Ranma stood next to Lita at her terminal, watching her run a quick
simulation.
"Now, as I have never dealt with EMP torpedoes before, I can only
assume that this simulation is accurate." She explained to Ranma.
"So their shields should be down for about how long?"
Lita looked to her boss and shrugged.
"Long enough for transport?" Ranma asked.
Again, Lita simply shrugged.
"They shouldn't be able to recover too quickly as that would seem to
make the point of EMP torpedoes pointless." Lita looked up to Ryouga.
"But then there is the other danger."
Ranma nodded. "Run it again and see if it can give you some sort of
average on how long the shields will be down."
"Aye." Lita replied as Ranma walked down to Ryouga.
"Hey buddy." He said to Ryouga.
Ryouga turned his chair around to face his nemesis.
"Ranma."
"Ryouga, you're looking good today."
Ryouga raised an eyebrow.
"Look, it's very important that you match the speed of that ship
perfectly. I really don't want to beam our rescue teams into open space."
Ryouga scowled.
"I'm not incompetent."
Ranma grinned.
"I know, I know. I am just making sure everyone is on the same page."
"All things will be taken care of." Ryouga stated and he returned his
attention to his station.
Ranma sighed and looked back to Shampoo. She was fidgeting.
"Are you okay?" Ranma asked her.
Shampoo nodded. "Just ancy."
Ranma nodded.
The doors to the turbolift hissed open and Akane walked onto the
bridge.
"Ranma, do you mind if I use your office?" Akane asked.
"Not at all." Ranma smiled as he returned to his seat.
"Thanks. My office doesn't have subspace access."
"Who ya calling?" Ranma asked as Akane walked towards his ready room.
"My sisters. Just want to see if they can wait for us to get back to
DS9."
Ranma nodded. "Okay."
*Her sisters?* His brain asked.
"SHIT!" Ranma yelled as his ready room door closed.
Ranma leapt from his seat and bolted across the bridge. He quickly
opened the doors and found Akane sitting at his desk.
"Akane wait."
Akane looked up. "What?"
Ranma sighed. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep this from her for
long. His whole life revolved around not causing her any pain, but now he
would be forced to.
"Come here please." Ranma sat on his couch and patted the cushion
next to him.
Akane was a bit confused, but she complied. Once she was seated next
to Ranma, he inhaled deeply.
Ranma took both of Akane's hands and held them tightly.
"Akane." This was hard. Even harder than when Ranma asked her to
marry him. This was the hardest thing that Ranma was going to have to do.
"Akane, the ship we are chasing down belongs to Nabiki's company."
Akane's expression sobered slightly. She was afraid that she knew
exactly where this conversation is going.
"Both Nabiki and Kasumi are on board and have been taken hostage."
Ranma felt Akane grip his hands tightly. He saw tears begin to form
in her eyes. Ranma felt tears begin to welt in his eyes as well.
"Are-are-they okay?" Akane stuttered.
"I don't know." Ranma softly replied.
Tears began to stream down Akane's face. Ranma pulled her close to
him and held her tightly as she cried on his shoulder.
It seemed like an eternity as Ranma held Akane and watcher her sob.
The pain that Akane was in ripped through his heart. The longer Akane
sobbed the more the pain changed to anger. Anger at whoever did this to
her.
Akane sniffled.
"What are you going to do."
Ranma looked into Akane's deep brown eyes. The whites of her eyes red
from crying. The tears still streaming down her face.
"I'm going to get them back and then I am going to kill the people
who did this." Ranma said, quietly but the anger was obvious in his voice
and his words.
"I want to go." Akane said.
Ranma shook his head.
"No." He stated. "The Neo team will bring them back. You will be
needed here to take care of them when they get back."
Ranma leaned back and pulled Akane close to him. He kissed her
forehead as she continued to weep on his chest.
So many emotions flowed through Ranma as he held Akane for the next
hour. Anger and hate for the people who were responsible for this. Love
for his wife. Pity for the position she had been placed in.
Ranma would not let this go unpunished.
*CHIRP CHIRP*
Ranma looked to Akane who had stopped crying, but continued to allow
herself to be held by Ranma. She adjusted slightly so that he could reach
his communicator.
"Yes?" He asked.
"Captain." Mina's voice stated. "We're thirty minutes out and we have
the transport ship and the Jacksonville on long range."
"Very good. I'll be there in a moment."
Ranma ended the communication and looked to Akane. She understood and
sat up.
Ranma held her hand for a bit longer though.
"You can stay up here if you'd like."
Akane nodded. "I'd like that."
Ranma stood. Akane remained seated though.
"I'm going to stay in here for a while."
Ranma nodded and proceeded to the door. Just before it opening he
turned back to Akane.
"I promise that I will get them back here."
Akane smiled as Ranma proceeded onto the bridge.
She knew he would. Ranma doesn't break promises.
Ranma walked out onto the bridge. He looked at the viewscreen but the
starfield was the only thing on there.
"Not in visual yet?" Ranma asked.
"No sir." Lita replied.
Ranma acknowledged this and walked to his chair. He looked next to
him to converse with Shampoo; but she wasn't there.
"Where's Commander Shampoo?" Ranma asked.
Mina looked up from her terminal.
"She said she needed to go to the restroom, but that was twenty
minutes ago."
Ranma pondered this for a moment.
"Captain." A female called from the security station. Ranma turned
and say Lt. Jansen standing there, working with Lita.
"Yes, Lt?"
"May I speak with you privately?" She asked.
Ranma nodded and motioned for the conference room.
<insert nifty Star Trek doorbell sound here>
"Who is it?" Shampoo called out.
"Ranma." Ranma replied.
Shampoo scrambled to get rid of the empty glasses littering her
living room table.
"One moment!" She called out as she tried to give herself the
appearance that she had just gotten out of the bathroom.
Once she felt that she was ready she walked to the door. Standing
there was Ranma and Lt. Fuchs. Ranma looked over Shampoo's shoulder and
then to Shampoo.
"May we come in?" Ranma asked.
Shampoo uncomfortably nodded and escorted the two men in. Jeff
started to look around the room, sizing up the challenge he was up against.
The place was not a mess, but it wasn't neat.
He looked at Shampoo as she sat down in a chair as Ranma sat down on
the couch. Jeff looked into Shampoo's mind.
What he saw concerned him. He saw pain. Lots and lots of pain. He saw
angst and contempt. He saw far too many negative emotions. The worst thing
he saw though was the artificial wall Shampoo had tried to build to hold
those emotions back.
A wall struggling to stand.
"Shampoo, is everything okay?" Ranma asked as Jeff sat down next to
him.
"Yes. Shampoo fine." She lied.
"I was just concerned. They told me you went to use the restroom over
forty minutes ago."
Shampoo stammered for a moment.
"I think Shampoo have flu." She lied again.
Jeff watched with concern as Ranma leaned forward.
"Why do you think you can lie to me?"
Shampoo stammered again. She had no idea that she was that
transparent.
"I'm sorry I didn't see it before." Ranma leaned back again. "I've
talked to some people and putting it together with my own personal
observations, I think you have an alcohol addiction."
Shampoo scoffed. "Don't be absurd."
Ranma reached his arm behind the cushion he was leaning against and
pulled out a bottle. The bottle was labeled "Titan Vodka Corporation" and
with magic marker "Gosnell's stash! Don't steal!"
"So Shampoo like to drink. Big deal."
Ranma sighed.
"It is a big deal. Not just because it's obviously affecting your job,
but because it's hurting you and the people who care about you."
"No one care about Shampoo."
Ranma sat back up.
"A lot of people care about you, Shampoo. Your co-workers care for
you. Your family cares for you. I care for you."
Shampoo chuckled cynically. "Ranma no love Shampoo."
"Just because he doesn't love you doesn't mean he doesn't care about
you, Commander." Jeff piped up. "He very well could have sent security
down to escort you to my office. But instead he is taking time out from
one of the most important missions in his life to try and help you."
Shampoo lowered her head.
"Shampoo." Ranma said as he went over to her chair and kneeled down
in front of her. He took her hand. "I know how tough things have been for
you. I know how much Moose meant to you. I know how much I hurt you by
marrying Akane and I know what you went through during your abduction.
"I also know that this isn't the way to deal with things. I know you
can't do it alone. Lt. Fuchs is going to help you through this from a
professional stand point."
Ranma squeezed Shampoo's hand.
"And I am going to help you from a personal stand point."
Shampoo looked up at Ranma. The look in his eyes was genuine. He
truly did care for Shampoo and she could see it.
"I can't stop." Shampoo whispered, tears beginning to form in her
eyes.
"That's nuts, Shampoo." Ranma softly stated. "You can do whatever you
want. You are one of the strongest people I have ever met. It pains me to
see you like this."
Shampoo was sobbing now.
"Weak." She cried.
Ranma hated to cut this short but they would soon be approaching the
Nerima.
"Shampoo, you're off duty until you can get this resolved." Shampoo
looked up to him to protest.
"You need time. Time to clear your head."
Shampoo sighed.
"I have to go now, but as soon as we get this done with I'll come
back and we'll talk, okay?"
Shampoo nodded.
Ranma stood up. Shampoo stood as well to walk him out. She was
surprised though when Ranma grabbed her and hugged her. She returned the
hug as more tears began to form.
"Ranma." She sniffled.
"You can do it, Shampoo. I have faith in you."
Shampoo let go of Ranma and he walked off and out of the room.
Shampoo turns to the other man.
"You shrink?"
Jeff laughs. "I guess I am."
Shampoo sighed.
"So what do we do?"
Jeff smiled. "We can talk. I can help you better if I know what's
going on up there." Jeff points to his head.
Shampoo grimaced. This was going to take a while.
"You mind if Shampoo changes first?"
Jeff shook his head as Shampoo walked into her bedroom to change into
civilian clothing.
Ranma returned to the bridge and looked around. Mina was standing at
operations with another ops officer.
"Commander Aino."
Mina looked up. "Sir?"
"I need you to assume the Executive Officer position till further
notice."
Ryouga raised an eyebrow. *What happened to Shampoo?*
Lita also pondered this, and turned to Lt. Jansen.
*I'll explain later* She mouthed to Lita.
Mina nodded. "Aye." She turned to her assistant. "You're in charge
over here then. You may want to get Beckley up here."
Her assistant nodded as Mina walked out of her cubby hole and sat
down in the XO's seat.
"Comfy." She noted.
Ranma noticed the puzzled looks of the bridge crew.
"Commander Shampoo has been relieved of duty to deal with an illness.
She will be fine. There is to be no speculation or gossip about this.
Those of you who are friends with her can discuss it with her after we're
done."
The entire bridge crew replied "Aye."
The Bajoran operations officer, Lt. Kaii, spoke up.
"Five minutes to intercept; in visual range."
Ranma nodded. "On screen."
Instantly, the large tanker shaped ship, the TCIC Nerima appeared on
the viewer. Also in the viewer was the USS Jacksonville - about 1/20th the
size of the transport ship.
Ranma was awestruck. *If that thing is full of explosives, how can
anything survive?*
Ranma didn't plan on testing the Sisko's hull against the explosive
nature of that ship. If all else fails they would just fire at it and flee.
Seems like the best chance of survival.
But that was worst case. He didn't want to have to think about that
too much. First things first.
He hit his communicator.
"Saotome to Hino."
"Yes sir." Raye's voice replied.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes sir." She replied.
"Okay. We're two from intercept. Your team needs to be on the pads
because we don't know how long we'll have their shields down."
"Yes sir." Raye responded.
Ranma ended the communication as Akane walked out of Ranma's ready
room. Ranma looked up to her.
She smiled at him and walked down to where he was. Ranma hit a button
on his terminal and a retractable bench came out to his left. Akane sat
down there and watched the view screen.
"Thirty seconds." Kaii said.
Ranma smiled to her and stood.
"Ryouga, match speed." Ranma lost his smile.
"Red alert. Prepare to assault."
The story contains violence, adult language and situations. It's not
intended for readers under the age of 16.
Feel free to visit my Moon Trek Site at
http://moontrek.douglasavenue.com/ng.html.
The first three Moon Trek stories plus the proceeding chapters of this
story are availible there. I also feel the need to plug my Anime/FanFic
forums at
http://www.douglasavenue.com/mtforums/.
Please dispatch any C&C (all is welcome!) to funkdafied@douglasavenue.com.
Enjoy!
------------
CHAPTER THREE - PURSUIT
"There is an intrepid class Federation starship closing in on us."
The security officer of the Ek'Skil relayed to Vor'Gal.
"Can they see us?" Vor'Gal asked.
"No." The security officer scoffed. "They are just blindly following
our plasma trail."
Vor'Gal scoffed as well.
"Just like those stupid humans to go flying off without any plan."
Vor'Gal stands and walks over to the security station to take a look
at the readout.
The USS Spock was about thirty light-years behind them traveling at
warp nine.
The Ek'Skil, trying to arrive at their destination the same time as
the hijacked Nerima was traveling at Warp five.
At that rate the USS Spock would over take them in just a couple
minutes.
The Ek'Skil's communication system chirps. Vor'Gal looks to his
communication officer.
"It's T'Sol." The officer states.
"Put him up."
The channel opened and T'Sol beings to speak.
"Vor'Gal, we have a Federation ship tailing us. They are a few light
years away though."
Vor'Gal nods, despite T'Sol's inability to see him.
"Do you think they will engage you?"
"I don't know. It would be unwise if they did though. It's just an
intrepid class and probably would be seriously damaged, if not destroyed,
by the hydroxide sulfate explosion."
"Right. See any other ships around?"
A pause.
"There's a defiant class ship on long range, ahead of us." T'Sol
replies. "I think they are expecting us to head to Earth. But they are
ahead of our turn."
Vor'Gal nods again. Neither the defiant or intrepid class ships would
survive the explosion of the Nerima. Vor'Gal knew the Federation wasn't
stupid. It wouldn't risk two ship and two civilians before determining
their intent.
At least he hoped that was the case.
"Continue on. If they begin to engage you let me know. We'll head
that way to assist."
"Okay. T'Sol out."
The channel closed and Vor'Gal went back to the security station. The
Spock was almost right on top of them. They would pass, but then realize
the warp trail was behind them. It wouldn't take to long to figure out
about where they were.
"Drop out of warp. Disengage cloak." Vor'Gal ordered.
The Spock was at full battle readiness. Her bridge was dark with only
blue and red lights overhead. Her Captain sat on the edge of his seat
while her ops officer carefully read the display.
The tactical officer also watched his displays carefully, waiting for
something he could lock on to.
A sensor blip, a fluctuation, anything.
In old naval combat it wasn't that hard to find a target that you
could not see. You could just listen. Listen for the rudder squeaking or
the propeller spinning. If you had good equipment you could even listen
for someone sneezing or a pen clanking to the deck.
That didn't work in space though. Hiding was a lot easier now.
Everything was about sensor readouts. If you could mask yourself from them,
you could pretty much hide in plain sight.
And that is exactly what the Ek'Skil was doing right now. The Spock
was able to follow her, but not much else.
They had just recently learned that it was the cloaked ship they were
following. The Jacksonville had informed them that they had an eye on the
hijacked vessel.
What worried the Captain of the Spock though was that they may end up
passing the cloaked vessel and then lose her trail.
That almost happened.
"Captain." The operations officer said.
The Captain looked to him.
"We've lost the trail. I think we've passed them."
"All stop. Set up a tachyon field."
The operations officer began to comply, but the field would not be
necessary.
"They're decloaking!" The security officer states.
"Where?"
"Behind us, seven hundred and eight AU."
"Go." The captain ordered the helmsman.
She complied and the Spock quickly warped on top of the Ek'Skil.
The entire crew could only gasp. The Ek'Skil was at least fifty times
bigger than they were. It almost seemed that they could fit into her cargo
bay.
"Hail them." The captain order.
The operations man complied but shook his head.
"No response."
"Open a channel then."
"Open!"
The captain stood.
"This is Captain Alexander Yeltsin of the Federation starship the USS
Spock. You are wanted for violating A-O-A regulations and for assault on
Federation vessels. Stand down and prepare to be boarded."
"He's got balls." One of the crewmen on the Ek'Skil joked.
Vor'Gal chuckled. "The USS Spock, eh? This could almost be ironic."
Vor'Gal turned to his weapons officer.
"Kill them."
The weapons man nodded and began.
The Ek'Skil's phaser cannons opened up and began to pound on the
shields of the Spock.
"SHIELDS HOLDING AT 80%!" Ops screamed.
Yeltsin nodded. "Defensive pattern Omega Three." He told the helmsman.
"Return fire." He ordered the tactical officer.
Both officer complied and the Spock shot off, maneuvering around the
Ek'Skil in hopes of staying out of the line of sight of the phase cannons.
Her phasers began to burn against the Ek'Skils shields.
"Shields holding." The Vulcan weapons officer informed Vor'Gal.
"Their shields are down to 60%."
Vor'Gal just nodded and watched the smaller ship get rocked.
Captain Yeltsin fell from his seat as the Spock was rattled by blasts
from the larger ships cannons.
"SHIELDS AT 30%!" Ops screamed.
"DEFENSIVE PATTERN GAMMA SIX!" Yeltsin ordered.
The helmsman complied.
It wouldn't be much help.
Within seconds the blue glow surrounding the Spock was gone. The
phase cannons began to burn holes into the hull of the Spock.
"SHIELDS DOWN!" Ops yelled as a panel near him exploded.
The lights on the bridge fluttered out and were replaced by the dim
emergency lighting. The helm control went dead.
"HULL BREACHES!" Ops screamed.
There was nothing else to say. There was nothing else that could be
done. There was no more time. All Yeltsin could do was simply look at the
screen and say a quick prayer as several torpedoes barreled towards them.
The torpedoes impacted the Spock in different places, but all at the
same time.
Vor'Gal leaned back in his chair and grinned as the once sleek, gray
ship instantly became a blinding ball of light, soon to be replaced by
open space and some, but not much, debris.
"Re-engage the cloak and resume course." Vor'Gal dryly ordered.
* * * *
The USS Jacksonville slowed to warp five as it came to within a half
light year of the Nerima. On her bridge her Captain, Douglas Park eyed the
view screen; attempting to size up his target.
"Weapons?" Park asked.
"Minimal defensive weapons." The tactital officer replied.
"But that's not what we should be worried about." He continued. "The
explosives on that ship would rip us to shreds, even at this distance."
Park nodded. "That's why we are just to follow them and keep an eye
on where they go."
Park stood and walked up to the operations station.
"Contact Starfleet. Set up a link and feed them our telemetry." Park
ordered.
The operations officer complied and began to send the vital
information to Starfleet.
* * * *
Ranma took his first step onto the bridge for the first time in over
two days. He deeply inhaled the recycled air and took in the smell of the
purifier that wasn't really noticed elsewhere on the ship.
The turbolift doors closed behind him. The on-duty bridge crew all
turned to him, awaiting their orders.
Operations was the first place Ranma turned to.
"How long until we can undock?"
The man standing in the operations enclave responded. "Well, we could
undock now. But unfortunately we won't be ready for flight for another
twenty minutes."
Ranma turned to the engineering station as the engineer on duty there
began to speak.
"The engines are performing an emergency cold start which will bypass
most of the normal cold start procedures, but it still takes about thirty
minutes to get us flight ready."
Ranma nodded to the engineer and turned back to operations as his
terminal began to chirp madly.
"Admiral Larson on subspace." Ops stated.
"In my ready room please." Ranma stated as we walked towards his
office. Just prior to going through the doorway he paused and turned to
the tactical officer.
"Lieutenant, get the weapons ready and set us to battle stations as
soon as we undock."
"Aye." The lieutenant acknowledged as he began to get the torpedo
bays warmed up and the phaser banks charged.
Ranma stepped into his office and had a seat behind his desk. He hit
a button on his terminal and the face of Admiral Scott Larson appeared in
front of him. Admiral Larson was an older man with a grey goatee and grey
hair. He wore wire rimmed glasses that sat on the tip of his nose.
Overshadowing the Admirals features though was the look on his face.
It was a look that bobbled somewhere between fright and concern.
"Good morning, Admiral." Ranma greeted him.
Larson returned the greeting. "Good morning, Captain. How soon can
you be underway?"
"Thirty minutes, sir."
"Good. Once you have undocked hail the USS Jacksonville. They are
following and will be able to relay you telemetry so that you can zero in
on the targets current position."
Ranma grimaced. He didn't care to think of Nabiki and Kasumi as a
target. But this was a military ship and that was, cold or not, a military
term.
"Pops told me about a cloaked ship. Do you have any information on
that?" Ranma asked.
"A little." The Admiral sighed. "The USS Spock caught up with it and
engaged it." Larson paused for a moment before continuing. "They were
destroyed in the conflict. The Spock did manage to get some scans
beforehand though. The ship design is not one we have seen before, but the
composition identified it as Romulan. However there were mostly Vulcan
bio-signs on board."
A look of frustration came across the older mans face. "Of course the
Romulans deny any knowledge of this ship or its purpose, but because of
the fact they have a cloaking device, we know there is some involvement.
"The ship is very large as well. Based on scans it's almost as big as
a Romulan Warbird." Larson shook his head and the look of concern
reappeared on his face. "Ranma, it almost pushed right through the
Sovereign class Columbia like it was tin foil. Her damage is so severe
that she's going to have to limp back to DS9 and be repaired there.
"According to retrieved sensor data, the Spock was destroyed within
minutes of engaging them. It's - it's a ship whose damage inflicting
capabilities rival the Borg."
Ranma nodded. "Do you want us to engage this ship?"
Larson inhaled deeply. "No. But you may have to. We can only assume
that they are en route to intercept the Nerima.
"Ranma, I know this is going to be tough for you. I know who is on
that ship. But here is what needs to happen."
Ranma sits up and nods.
"First, you need to stop the Nerima. Then you are authorized to
dispatch your NSO teams to attempt to regain control of the ship and
rescue the hostages. You will then be required to secure the ship until
armed transports and escort ships arrive and take possession of the
explosives."
Ranma acknowledges this. "Aye."
"There is more. As we both know things rarely go as they are supposed
to. As your father told you, stopping that ship from reaching its target
is your number one priority. I want very much for you to be able to save
your sisters in law, but if necessary, I am ordering you to destroy that
ship, explosives, hostage takers and hostages in all."
Ranma softly nodded. He had no intention of letting Nabiki and Kasumi
die today. Especially by his hand.
"If you come into contact with the second vessel, you are weapons
free and authorized to engage it, but I would recommend waiting for
assistance if at all possible. The sixth fleet is heading back to Sol to
set up a perimeter. They will be able to assist." Larson finished.
"Yes sir."
"I'll get back to you later when I get some more details." Larson
stated. "Larson out."
The screen went black and the UFP logo appeared. Ranma continued to
stare at it for a moment. Not only did he have to stop this ship without
destroying it, he would have to stop it before it reached Sol. The sixth
fleet would not attempt a rescue before destroying the Nerima.
Ranma sighed and stood. He began to walk to his door to inform his
crew of what was happening.
On the bridge of the Sisko, Raye was the first of the awoken to
arrive, She looked to the security station.
"What's up?" She asked.
The security officer looked to her and simply shrugged.
Raye was about to scream bloody murder when Ranma walked out onto the
bridge.
"Commander." He stated.
Raye turned to him. "Yes sir?"
"Please join me in the conference room." He stated as he walked
towards the room. He called back to the security officer as he walked.
"Please send the others there when they arrive."
"Aye."
Ranma actually paused before entering. "Also - If Akane comes up here,
don't allow her in." Ranma walked into the room without waiting for an
acknowledgement.
The security officer had a look of confusion on his face, but
complied.
"Aye."
Ranma motioned for Raye to have a seat at the gigantic grey table.
Raye complied and looked up at her commanding officer.
"Is your team ready?" Ranma asked her rather bluntly.
Raye paused for a moment. "Yes."
Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Why the hesitation?"
Raye sighed. "The leader of Bravo team still needs some." She thought
back to what Shelton had told her. "Leadership training."
Ranma walked over to the window and looked out at the hideous brown
monstrosity gripping onto the front of his ship.
"Well you have about five hours to teach her."
Ryouga and Mina were the next two to walk onto the bridge. Ryouga
took a look around and began to notice the changes. Things he hadn't seen
over the last couple of days.
First off, his helm terminal was turned on. There was still no one
sitting there but the flat touch screens that made up his console were lit
up. Some buttons and lights were blinking gently.
Mina also made note of the changes and turned to the operations
officer.
"Commander." He acknowledges. "The Captain is waiting for you two in
the conference room."
Mina and Ryouga both nodded and began to walk to the room. The
security officer, who had woken Mina from her slumber, made kissey noises
as they pair walked by. Ryouga, being as dense as a box of rocks, didn't
notice but Mina did and burned a dark sneer into the mans eyes.
"Sorry Commander." He giggled as she and her lover walked into the
conference room.
Ranma nodded to all of them and motioned for them to have a seat.
Ranma had already began to fill Raye in on the specifics of the recovery
operation that they were going to attempt.
The specifics that he wasn't going to tell anyone else.
"We'll finish after the meeting, Commander." Ranma informed Raye. She
nodded as Ranma turned to Ryouga and Mina.
"As soon as the others get here we'll start."
Shampoo, Lita and Serena somehow managed to all be on the same
turbolift as it took them to the bridge. They were all pretty quiet on the
ride up. Shampoo and Serena quiet because they were both still half asleep.
Mina quiet because she really wasn't any good at elevator conversation.
Once the lift arrived on the bridge the trio filed out. They all took
a moment to look around at the activity. The operations officer then
cleared his throat and the three girls turned to him.
"Good Morning, Commanders." He greeted. "The Captain is waiting for
you in the conference room."
They all nodded and silently wandered into the meeting.
Ranma nodded to them as they came in and motioned for them to have a
seat. Ranma looked as he was about to start, but Ryouga thought someone
was missing.
"Ranma, where's Akane?"
Ranma, not sure whether he was more annoyed by Ryouga's lack of
respect for his rank or his noseiness, glowered.
"She won't be joining us for this meeting. Medical will have no
activity in this mission."
Raye eyed her Captain softly. He had told her and she knew that he
was lying. But she said nothing and turned to shoot a look at Ryouga. But
someone had beat her too it.
Mina was burning a hole into the back of Ryouga's head with the glare
she was giving him. Ryouga didn't notice, or didn't acknowledge it and
simply began to listen to Ranma; accepting his explanation for Akane's
absence.
"As you may have guessed, we are departing earlier than normal." They
all realized this and acknowledged with a nod.
"A cargo ship containing several thousand metric tons of weapons
grade explosives has been hijacked by possible terrorist looking to attack
Earth."
The group murmured in disbelief. Ranma went on to explain about the
blockade run. He explained about the cloaked ship and the destruction of
the USS Spock. He explained to his senior staff what the plan was and what
they were going to need to do.
He gave them every single detail except one. He didn't tell them who
the ship belonged to and who was on board that ship. He would not risk
Akane finding out that her sisters were in such danger.
Fifteen minutes later he completed his briefing and asked; "Any
questions?"
No one raised their hands.
"Dismissed." Ranma stated. The group, Raye excluded, stood and walked
out of the room to take their positions on the bridge. They had a lot of
work to do and the ship would be flight ready within ten minutes.
Once the doors closed behind everyone, Ranma stood. He turned to Raye
and frowned. "Raye. This will be the first mission for your team, and it
very well could be the most important."
Ranma walked over to the window and looked out again. Raye stood and
walked over next to him.
"I give you my word." Raye said, without looking to Ranma. "I will
bring your sister in-laws back alive and kicking."
Ranma turned to Raye and gave her a weak smile.
"I know you will. Hopefully we should be able to catch up with them
in five hours. You will need to be ready to depart by 10:30."
Raye nodded. "Yes sir."
Ranma turned back to the window. "Dismissed."
Raye ran off, hitting her communicator. "Hino to Shelton. Get
everyone to the NSO briefing room immediately."
"Yes ma'am." A sleepy Shelton replied.
Serena looked to her display screen. All the little indicators on it
were lit a nice healthy green. No red, no yellow; not even the mysterious
aqua. All green. She smiled and turned to the Captain's chair.
"We're ready." She states.
Ranma nods and turns to Shampoo.
"Let's go."
Shampoo nods and stands. She walks up to right behind Ryouga, as she
always does when they need to dock, undock, or just maneuver through tight
spaces.
"Request docking clearance." She called over her shoulder to Mina.
Mina sent the message to DS9 operations. They quickly replied.
"We're clear."
Shampoo turned her attention to Ryouga as Ranma began to speak to
Mina.
"Have you gotten telemetry from the Jacksonville yet?" Ranma asked
her.
Mina nodded in acknowledgement. Ranma turned back to watch Shampoo
and Ryouga.
"Release docking latches." Shampoo ordered.
Ryouga hit some buttons and a shudder went though the ship as the
metal claws that kept the Sisko attached to the station disengaged and
retracted into the ship.
"Back us off, 250 K-P-H, thrusters only." Shampoo ordered.
Ryouga slid down his panel a foot or so and fired up the thrusters.
The ship then began to slowly back away from the station.
"Good." Shampoo stated as she watched the display on Ryouga's
terminal. Rather quickly it showed that they were backed off 10 kilometers.
Far outside even Ryouga's margin of error.
"Okay, port thrusters."
Ryouga complied and hit the corresponding navigational controls. The
thrusters on the port side of the ship fired, causing the ship to turn to
the right. Once the ship was facing away from the station Shampoo smiled
and gave Ryouga a pat on the shoulder.
Ryouga resisted the urge to jump into the air with a loud 'Woo hoo!'.
He quietly waited for the course to be ordered.
Shampoo turned to Mina.
"Course?"
Mina studied the telemetry for a moment.
"3-2-9 mark 3-4 should put us on them in five hours, six minutes."
She replied.
Shampoo turned to Ryouga. Ryouga was one step ahead of her and had
the course plugged in.
"Maximum speed." Ranma order from his seat.
"Aye." Ryouga responded. He entered the speed into his computer.
"Engage." Shampoo ordered.
Ryouga reached down and hit the largest of the button on his terminal.
Outside the ship made some minor adjustments to it's alignment. The
warp engines glowed a bright blue for just a moment. Then with a flash, it
was gone.
* * * *
Akane yawned as she slowly sat up in bed. She took a quick look at
the clock.
0642.
She grumbled. It was still early. She wasn't planning on going into
sickbay until 0900. She could snooze for another half hour.
She layed back down and pulled the comforter over her body. She
rolled over and snuggled up against a pillow next to the wall. She grinned
as she started to dose off, watching the stars zip by in the window.
"Wait a minute." She said to the empty room.
Akane sat back up and rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing
things right. There was no Bajor out the window. There was no hideous
brown station there. There were stars.
They were at warp.
Akane sat up and got out of bed. She looked around a bit, but
couldn't seem to find her communicator.
She grumbled and walked to the closest. She grabbed a robe and walked
out into their living room and over to the communications panel next to
the door.
"Saotome to bridge." She said while hitting the intercom button.
"Yes Commander?" Mina replied on the other end.
"Why are we at warp?"
"We were needed for an emergency mission. Do you want to talk to the
Captain?"
"No." Akane sighed. "I'll come see him in a while."
"Okay. Anything else I can do for you?" Mina asked.
"No, thanks." Akane sighed as she ended the communication.
She was bummed. Akane hadn't seen her sisters in years and was
looking very forward to seeing them.
*I'll just contact them a little later on. See if we can work
something else out.* She thought to herself and she went back into the
bedroom to begin grooming herself for work.
* * * *
"Now that I have explained the background of this mission, are there
any questions?" Raye asked the room.
No one raised their hands.
Raye nodded in approval.
"Okay. Now for the nuts and bolts." She said as she turned towards a
blue print of the Nerima.
"These schematics of the ship have been loaded into the holodeck."
Raye explained. "We'll have a couple of hours to run some simulations to
try out different plans of attack. We need to remember the two main
objectives in this mission. First and foremost, we must disable the ship.
This will be Alpha team's objective. Beta team, your primary objective
will be to rescue the hostages.
"We don't know where on the ship they are being held. We do know that
there are two hostages and six hostiles. There are also a lot of weapons
grade explosives on that ship. It might be rigged to take everything out
as a last chance suicide mission.
"Then of course there are the unknowns. Like where the cloaked ship
went. As far as we know it could be flying right on top of them right now.
So we should expect to have to engage more hostiles."
Raye sighed and turned to the group.
"This will be our first mission. Not only do the lives of the
hostages depend on us, but the lives of those at the terrorists target as
well. And right now it appears their target is Earth."
Raye sat down and Commander Shelton and Lieutenant Dowis stood.
Shelton was the first to speak.
"Once we secure the ship the Sisko will transport over security
personnel to take over control of the explosives. We will need to make
sure any booby traps are taken care of as well. One member of Charlie team
will be put with both Alpha and Beta teams. One member of Delta team will
also be placed with Alpha and Beta teams to deal with injuries and the
like."
Lt. Dowis began to speak.
"These are larger groups than I know you are used to dealing with,
but I know everyone here can handle it. You are the best of the best."
Everyone in the room nodded in humble self glory. Raye stood back up.
"Alright, everyone suit up and be in the holodeck in five minutes."
The room all stood and started to move to the exit.
"Chief Yuki." Raye called.
Both Kio and Shelton turned around. Raye looked to Shelton and gave
him a look. Shelton grudging accepted the look and walked out with the
others. Raye motioned for Kio to sit back down.
She did and Raye sat in front of her.
"Chief, I'm sorry I raised my voice with you yesterday." Raye stated.
"With all do respect, Commander." Kio said. "It's not your place to
apologize. I messed up, I got what was coming to me."
Kio looked away for a moment.
"I did some thinking last night."
Raye cocked her head slightly as Kio continued.
"I think you should put on of the officers in charge of Bravo team.
Or maybe promote Sergeant Simpson." Kio trailed off as she noticed Raye
was shaking her head in disgust.
"What happened to you, Chief?" Raye asked.
Kio was taken aback by this question.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand."
Raye stood and walked to her desk. She grabbed a PADD and returned to
where Kio remained seated.
"Platoon leader, 142nd Airborne; Starfleet Land Defense Corps. You
have theater medals for being in the Ticonderoga offensive. The DC-41F
offensive. Three peacekeeping operations. You led the retaking of the
Federation Embassy on Telsa Two from the Maquis. You were promoted three
ranks in six months!"
Raye looked to Kio.
"Why don't you think you can do this? This is nothing compared to
what you've done."
"That was different." Kio dryly stated. "Leading people into a
preplanned operation with very few variables is a lot easier than this."
Kio looked away again. "Besides, I don't know if I can go through
getting someone killed again."
The look on Raye's face softened a bit.
"I was married." Kio continued. "He was a Warrant Officer, different
platoon though. We had quite the insurgency on DC-41F. His platoon's
leader had been killed so our CO had us merged.
We were clearing a Ketracel White factory. I ordered him and a few of
his men to go one way, and we went the other."
Kio began to tear up. "I sent them right into an ambush. They were
all shot dead."
Kio wipes her face and looks to Raye.
"That's why I requested the Sisko. So I wouldn't have to order anyone
else to their death. I would just follow orders and shoot whoever I'm told
to."
Kio sighed. Raye looked at her for a moment.
"Chief - Kio. This -" She held up the PADD. "You're leadership -
something you've been cited for numerous times cannot just be turned off.
And I don't believe for a minute you'd be content just shooting people.
You knew you'd be a team leader when you accepted this position."
"I thought I could do it." Kio meekly replied.
"Why don't you think that now?"
"It took us twelve fucking hours to run that simulation." Kio growled.
She then looked to Raye. "I'm sorry, ma'am."
Raye shook her head, not really concerned about Kio's profanity.
"So? Do you know how many times I took and failed the test for my
promotion to Commander? Six."
"It's not the same."
"Sure it is. I learned something new every time I took that test, and
I assumed you learned something new every time you ran the simulation."
Kio nodded.
"The only thing you couldn't learn," Raye smiled. "You already know."
Kio simply nodded again.
"I can't replace you right now anyway. Your team knows you. They have
been trained to follow you and to work with you. If I were to pull you now,
right before a mission, it could do a lot more harm than good.
"You say you don't want to send them to their deaths, then don't. Go
over there with them. Lead them, and then bring them, and the hostages
back."
Raye stood and motioned for Kio to stand as well. She did.
"I know you can do it. You just need to know that."
Kio still wasn't sure but she did know that she wasn't going to allow
her team to get killed. If she was going to have to go over there she was
going to do it right and bring them all back.
"After we're done, if you still want to talk about leaving Neo, we'll
talk then."
Kio nodded.
"Dismissed."
Kio nodded once more and headed out the door. Raye looked to the
ground.
"I know you're over there."
Shelton popped out from his hiding place.
"I was looking for my contact."
Raye rolled her eyes.
"Let's go."
* * * *
Ranma stood next to Lita at her terminal, watching her run a quick
simulation.
"Now, as I have never dealt with EMP torpedoes before, I can only
assume that this simulation is accurate." She explained to Ranma.
"So their shields should be down for about how long?"
Lita looked to her boss and shrugged.
"Long enough for transport?" Ranma asked.
Again, Lita simply shrugged.
"They shouldn't be able to recover too quickly as that would seem to
make the point of EMP torpedoes pointless." Lita looked up to Ryouga.
"But then there is the other danger."
Ranma nodded. "Run it again and see if it can give you some sort of
average on how long the shields will be down."
"Aye." Lita replied as Ranma walked down to Ryouga.
"Hey buddy." He said to Ryouga.
Ryouga turned his chair around to face his nemesis.
"Ranma."
"Ryouga, you're looking good today."
Ryouga raised an eyebrow.
"Look, it's very important that you match the speed of that ship
perfectly. I really don't want to beam our rescue teams into open space."
Ryouga scowled.
"I'm not incompetent."
Ranma grinned.
"I know, I know. I am just making sure everyone is on the same page."
"All things will be taken care of." Ryouga stated and he returned his
attention to his station.
Ranma sighed and looked back to Shampoo. She was fidgeting.
"Are you okay?" Ranma asked her.
Shampoo nodded. "Just ancy."
Ranma nodded.
The doors to the turbolift hissed open and Akane walked onto the
bridge.
"Ranma, do you mind if I use your office?" Akane asked.
"Not at all." Ranma smiled as he returned to his seat.
"Thanks. My office doesn't have subspace access."
"Who ya calling?" Ranma asked as Akane walked towards his ready room.
"My sisters. Just want to see if they can wait for us to get back to
DS9."
Ranma nodded. "Okay."
*Her sisters?* His brain asked.
"SHIT!" Ranma yelled as his ready room door closed.
Ranma leapt from his seat and bolted across the bridge. He quickly
opened the doors and found Akane sitting at his desk.
"Akane wait."
Akane looked up. "What?"
Ranma sighed. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep this from her for
long. His whole life revolved around not causing her any pain, but now he
would be forced to.
"Come here please." Ranma sat on his couch and patted the cushion
next to him.
Akane was a bit confused, but she complied. Once she was seated next
to Ranma, he inhaled deeply.
Ranma took both of Akane's hands and held them tightly.
"Akane." This was hard. Even harder than when Ranma asked her to
marry him. This was the hardest thing that Ranma was going to have to do.
"Akane, the ship we are chasing down belongs to Nabiki's company."
Akane's expression sobered slightly. She was afraid that she knew
exactly where this conversation is going.
"Both Nabiki and Kasumi are on board and have been taken hostage."
Ranma felt Akane grip his hands tightly. He saw tears begin to form
in her eyes. Ranma felt tears begin to welt in his eyes as well.
"Are-are-they okay?" Akane stuttered.
"I don't know." Ranma softly replied.
Tears began to stream down Akane's face. Ranma pulled her close to
him and held her tightly as she cried on his shoulder.
It seemed like an eternity as Ranma held Akane and watcher her sob.
The pain that Akane was in ripped through his heart. The longer Akane
sobbed the more the pain changed to anger. Anger at whoever did this to
her.
Akane sniffled.
"What are you going to do."
Ranma looked into Akane's deep brown eyes. The whites of her eyes red
from crying. The tears still streaming down her face.
"I'm going to get them back and then I am going to kill the people
who did this." Ranma said, quietly but the anger was obvious in his voice
and his words.
"I want to go." Akane said.
Ranma shook his head.
"No." He stated. "The Neo team will bring them back. You will be
needed here to take care of them when they get back."
Ranma leaned back and pulled Akane close to him. He kissed her
forehead as she continued to weep on his chest.
So many emotions flowed through Ranma as he held Akane for the next
hour. Anger and hate for the people who were responsible for this. Love
for his wife. Pity for the position she had been placed in.
Ranma would not let this go unpunished.
*CHIRP CHIRP*
Ranma looked to Akane who had stopped crying, but continued to allow
herself to be held by Ranma. She adjusted slightly so that he could reach
his communicator.
"Yes?" He asked.
"Captain." Mina's voice stated. "We're thirty minutes out and we have
the transport ship and the Jacksonville on long range."
"Very good. I'll be there in a moment."
Ranma ended the communication and looked to Akane. She understood and
sat up.
Ranma held her hand for a bit longer though.
"You can stay up here if you'd like."
Akane nodded. "I'd like that."
Ranma stood. Akane remained seated though.
"I'm going to stay in here for a while."
Ranma nodded and proceeded to the door. Just before it opening he
turned back to Akane.
"I promise that I will get them back here."
Akane smiled as Ranma proceeded onto the bridge.
She knew he would. Ranma doesn't break promises.
Ranma walked out onto the bridge. He looked at the viewscreen but the
starfield was the only thing on there.
"Not in visual yet?" Ranma asked.
"No sir." Lita replied.
Ranma acknowledged this and walked to his chair. He looked next to
him to converse with Shampoo; but she wasn't there.
"Where's Commander Shampoo?" Ranma asked.
Mina looked up from her terminal.
"She said she needed to go to the restroom, but that was twenty
minutes ago."
Ranma pondered this for a moment.
"Captain." A female called from the security station. Ranma turned
and say Lt. Jansen standing there, working with Lita.
"Yes, Lt?"
"May I speak with you privately?" She asked.
Ranma nodded and motioned for the conference room.
<insert nifty Star Trek doorbell sound here>
"Who is it?" Shampoo called out.
"Ranma." Ranma replied.
Shampoo scrambled to get rid of the empty glasses littering her
living room table.
"One moment!" She called out as she tried to give herself the
appearance that she had just gotten out of the bathroom.
Once she felt that she was ready she walked to the door. Standing
there was Ranma and Lt. Fuchs. Ranma looked over Shampoo's shoulder and
then to Shampoo.
"May we come in?" Ranma asked.
Shampoo uncomfortably nodded and escorted the two men in. Jeff
started to look around the room, sizing up the challenge he was up against.
The place was not a mess, but it wasn't neat.
He looked at Shampoo as she sat down in a chair as Ranma sat down on
the couch. Jeff looked into Shampoo's mind.
What he saw concerned him. He saw pain. Lots and lots of pain. He saw
angst and contempt. He saw far too many negative emotions. The worst thing
he saw though was the artificial wall Shampoo had tried to build to hold
those emotions back.
A wall struggling to stand.
"Shampoo, is everything okay?" Ranma asked as Jeff sat down next to
him.
"Yes. Shampoo fine." She lied.
"I was just concerned. They told me you went to use the restroom over
forty minutes ago."
Shampoo stammered for a moment.
"I think Shampoo have flu." She lied again.
Jeff watched with concern as Ranma leaned forward.
"Why do you think you can lie to me?"
Shampoo stammered again. She had no idea that she was that
transparent.
"I'm sorry I didn't see it before." Ranma leaned back again. "I've
talked to some people and putting it together with my own personal
observations, I think you have an alcohol addiction."
Shampoo scoffed. "Don't be absurd."
Ranma reached his arm behind the cushion he was leaning against and
pulled out a bottle. The bottle was labeled "Titan Vodka Corporation" and
with magic marker "Gosnell's stash! Don't steal!"
"So Shampoo like to drink. Big deal."
Ranma sighed.
"It is a big deal. Not just because it's obviously affecting your job,
but because it's hurting you and the people who care about you."
"No one care about Shampoo."
Ranma sat back up.
"A lot of people care about you, Shampoo. Your co-workers care for
you. Your family cares for you. I care for you."
Shampoo chuckled cynically. "Ranma no love Shampoo."
"Just because he doesn't love you doesn't mean he doesn't care about
you, Commander." Jeff piped up. "He very well could have sent security
down to escort you to my office. But instead he is taking time out from
one of the most important missions in his life to try and help you."
Shampoo lowered her head.
"Shampoo." Ranma said as he went over to her chair and kneeled down
in front of her. He took her hand. "I know how tough things have been for
you. I know how much Moose meant to you. I know how much I hurt you by
marrying Akane and I know what you went through during your abduction.
"I also know that this isn't the way to deal with things. I know you
can't do it alone. Lt. Fuchs is going to help you through this from a
professional stand point."
Ranma squeezed Shampoo's hand.
"And I am going to help you from a personal stand point."
Shampoo looked up at Ranma. The look in his eyes was genuine. He
truly did care for Shampoo and she could see it.
"I can't stop." Shampoo whispered, tears beginning to form in her
eyes.
"That's nuts, Shampoo." Ranma softly stated. "You can do whatever you
want. You are one of the strongest people I have ever met. It pains me to
see you like this."
Shampoo was sobbing now.
"Weak." She cried.
Ranma hated to cut this short but they would soon be approaching the
Nerima.
"Shampoo, you're off duty until you can get this resolved." Shampoo
looked up to him to protest.
"You need time. Time to clear your head."
Shampoo sighed.
"I have to go now, but as soon as we get this done with I'll come
back and we'll talk, okay?"
Shampoo nodded.
Ranma stood up. Shampoo stood as well to walk him out. She was
surprised though when Ranma grabbed her and hugged her. She returned the
hug as more tears began to form.
"Ranma." She sniffled.
"You can do it, Shampoo. I have faith in you."
Shampoo let go of Ranma and he walked off and out of the room.
Shampoo turns to the other man.
"You shrink?"
Jeff laughs. "I guess I am."
Shampoo sighed.
"So what do we do?"
Jeff smiled. "We can talk. I can help you better if I know what's
going on up there." Jeff points to his head.
Shampoo grimaced. This was going to take a while.
"You mind if Shampoo changes first?"
Jeff shook his head as Shampoo walked into her bedroom to change into
civilian clothing.
Ranma returned to the bridge and looked around. Mina was standing at
operations with another ops officer.
"Commander Aino."
Mina looked up. "Sir?"
"I need you to assume the Executive Officer position till further
notice."
Ryouga raised an eyebrow. *What happened to Shampoo?*
Lita also pondered this, and turned to Lt. Jansen.
*I'll explain later* She mouthed to Lita.
Mina nodded. "Aye." She turned to her assistant. "You're in charge
over here then. You may want to get Beckley up here."
Her assistant nodded as Mina walked out of her cubby hole and sat
down in the XO's seat.
"Comfy." She noted.
Ranma noticed the puzzled looks of the bridge crew.
"Commander Shampoo has been relieved of duty to deal with an illness.
She will be fine. There is to be no speculation or gossip about this.
Those of you who are friends with her can discuss it with her after we're
done."
The entire bridge crew replied "Aye."
The Bajoran operations officer, Lt. Kaii, spoke up.
"Five minutes to intercept; in visual range."
Ranma nodded. "On screen."
Instantly, the large tanker shaped ship, the TCIC Nerima appeared on
the viewer. Also in the viewer was the USS Jacksonville - about 1/20th the
size of the transport ship.
Ranma was awestruck. *If that thing is full of explosives, how can
anything survive?*
Ranma didn't plan on testing the Sisko's hull against the explosive
nature of that ship. If all else fails they would just fire at it and flee.
Seems like the best chance of survival.
But that was worst case. He didn't want to have to think about that
too much. First things first.
He hit his communicator.
"Saotome to Hino."
"Yes sir." Raye's voice replied.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes sir." She replied.
"Okay. We're two from intercept. Your team needs to be on the pads
because we don't know how long we'll have their shields down."
"Yes sir." Raye responded.
Ranma ended the communication as Akane walked out of Ranma's ready
room. Ranma looked up to her.
She smiled at him and walked down to where he was. Ranma hit a button
on his terminal and a retractable bench came out to his left. Akane sat
down there and watched the view screen.
"Thirty seconds." Kaii said.
Ranma smiled to her and stood.
"Ryouga, match speed." Ranma lost his smile.
"Red alert. Prepare to assault."