Guess who ...

Posted on Sun Mar 20, 2016 @ 5:02pm by Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit & Lieutenant Samantha Raylen & Lieutenant Commander Miguel Torres & Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Senior Chief Petty Officer Samantha Summers

2,963 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: The Fall
Location: USS Victory
Timeline: Five (5) days from arrival at Helios Colony.

NOTICE: In order to move things along, this post incorporates an eight (8) day jump forward in game-time. The USS Victory is now five (5) days from arrival at Helios Colony.

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[USS Victory, Deck 8]

Over the past eight days, every system on-board the USS Victory had undergone a meticulous operational status check. The closer the ship brought them to Helios Colony the more likely it was that they would encounter a Borg vessel; damaged or otherwise. In that event, they could not take the chance of a systems malfunction .. however small it might be.

The Victory had just completed a test of the Multi-Vector Attack Mode (MVAM) system, with the XO on the primary bridge overseeing operations from there while she had taking position on Deck 8 to personally observe the function and operation of the ship's docking latches which engaged or dis-engaged according to the command sent by the control program. This was the fifth test of the MVAM system in the last seven days. The first two attempts at separation had not progressed in a time-frame which the Captain considered acceptable due to a slight mis-calibration of the latch system.

A mis-calibration which had.. finally.. been corrected.

The ship had successfully separated and reintegrated in the optimal time-frame as indicated by the engineering specifications for the Prometheus-Class starship. As a reward, the Captain now had to go up to Deck 4 to check in with an engineering crew working on a waste management problem where the work crew lead assigned by the Chief Engineer needed the Captain's signature to complete the repair.

She just hoped they'd cleaned up and fumigated that section of corridor...the smell two days earlier on deck 4 had been quite pungent...

Bridge

Stepping onto the Bridge, as she walked towards the XO the Captain said "What's our status?"

"On course to Helios Captain. No signs of any Borg activity." Alec answered.

Before they finished speaking, an alarm sounded from the rear sensor console. Lt. Davenport immediately pulled up the sensor data, "Unidentified sensor contact at the edge of detection range."

"Boost the feed.. see if you can make an id.." the Captain ordered.

"Aye, Captain," Tom instantly replied. He'd spent the last few days settling into his new position. It'd been quite the adjustment, but he really enjoyed the new challenge. With a few taps on his panel, Tom had increased power to the long range sensors and boosted the gain as much as he could. "I'm detecting a warp signature, Captain. Working to filter out some background radiation to get a clearer look now."

"Put it up on the view screen." Kennit ordered.

Tom immediately complied, tapping three buttons to transfer his readouts to the viewscreen and zoom in on the video feed from the appropriate sensor palette.

Immediately as soon as the image appeared on the screen, it was evident that the four contacts in question had picked up the Victory's presence and were altering course to intercept.

"Go to red alert.." Kennit ordered. "The signature doesn't match the Borg. They're Klingon...what the hell are they doing out here?"

"Evidently, heading right for us," Penny said, quietly, checking her board.

"Maintain current course and heading." the Captain ordered. "Maintain alert and continue to monitor their ships.. if they raise shields or power up their weapons sing out."

"Not literally Penny." Alec added with a grin.

Hearing the XO's remark, the Captain cast a side-long glance at him but didn't speak.

After a moment longer of studying the tactical display, she said "Open a channel and hail them."

Turning so he was facing Rhea, Alec gave her a wink.

Behind them, Lt. Davenport said "This is the Federation Starship Victory, hailing to the Klingon warbirds. Please state your intention."

A deep, rough voice answered "peQ Kovar ghotvam'e'. yaS tlhIngan Duj 'Iw. tlhIngan Duj 'Iw sport ghotvam'e'. qatlh G'tlh ay Qaw' DIvI'! LUT veS ghotvam'e'!"

Kennit snorted, rolling her eyes and then asnwered personally. Speaking in fluent Klingon, "peQ Kovar. HoD Katrijn Kennit ghotvam'e'. ra'wI' ghaH DIvI' Duj yay. anytime 'e' nID 'ej threat chach DaneH'a'... nID majQa'. "

Over the comm came a loud chortle of laughter, then speaking accented Standard General Kovar answered, "Kat'rin! You still waste time with Starfleet dogs?! Do not think I will show you pity. You still owe me two bottles of Romulan ale and a bottle of blood wine!"

Alec looked at Rhea and quirked an eyebrow at her in question."Oh, this should be interesting," He finally stage whispered.

Penny giggled slightly, translating the conversation as she plotted out the intercept course. She Klingon ship was approaching fast, and she felt they'd appreciate a slight game of chicken...with her calculating it down to the nanometer.

"Really.." Kennit answered the Klingon. "I don't remember that.. as I recall.. it was you who owed me.. You lost the bet. I'm still alive.. as is obvious."

"Here's hoping Klingons don't believe in 'do-overs'," Penny whispered to Thomas.

Engineering

Miguel had been feeling anxious the last several days. He was getting tired of drills, as well as constantly looking over system diagnostics for things that didn't need to be checked again for months. But as a result of their current status of not having a real starbase he had to revise his maintenance schedule. They had loaded some of the extra space in the cargo bays with parts that that they didn't ordinarily carry. But it should help them should they get into a situation where they needed to repair systems they normally couldn't. He also had loaded tactical with extra torpedo casings and had worked out a reserve if they needed to drain some antimatter for additional photons. So when the alert status changed to Red he was almost relieved.

"After all the testing, do you expect to separate, sir?" Chris asked from behind his boss. "If so, I'll go man Saucer Engineering."

"At the moment I have no plans to give the command for MVAM separation however.. better to be prepared.. Head down there and be ready, just in case." The Captain's voice came over the speakers.

Miguel muted the channel. "I keep a channel open to the bridge while on red alert so I can respond to the Captain's orders faster." he explained to Halloway who was no doubt surprised that the Captain had heard him.

"Aye, sir," Chris responded. Without another word, he departed Engineering to pickup his bat'leth and made his way to Saucer Engineering. He was internally excited to finally be leading an engineering plant by himself for a battle situation.

When his assistant left Miguel reopened the channel "He's on his way Captain." and then remuted as he sat back and listened.

"Acknowledged.." the Captain answered.

Sickbay

Nicole sighed and closed her tricorder. "Yarin, of all the species I have examined, you are by far one of the grey-ist," she said. They'd spent the last hour giving him a checkup after he'd complained of a headache, and after giving him something for the pain and a lecture about his mental blocks, she'd finished her scans of his physiology and still could thought it defied comparison.

Yarin thanked the Doctor and after leaving Sickbay made his way back to his room. He figured a brief rest would diminish his pain even further. Just as he was reaching his quarters, he hear the telltale sounds of the red alert klaxons. With a slightly weary sigh he quickly ran to the bridge to take his position at the science station.

Nicole, for her part spent the red alert time getting Sickbay into battle mode. When the alert was cancelled, she decided to chalk it up to a drill, and congratulated her team. She sat down at a terminal and sent a quick message to the bridge, asking what the alert was. With everyone on edge, a random alarm wasn't what they needed.

Penny's response came back on her screen in one word: Klingons.

*Broken bones, lacerations, dislocated joints,* Nicole thought, ticking off what her staff was about to be inundated with. She started prepping surgical trays but was surprised when a few minutes ticked by and no casualties showed up. She'd begun returning equipment to storage when Sickbay's doors opened at last and one customer walked in.

"Are you a doctor?" he grumbled at the first human he saw.

"N-no," Maggie said. "But I can--"

"I require a doctor," the klingon said, brushing past her. "Where is the doctor here?"

Nicole came out of the storage closet, arms folded. "I am. And you will sit, be quiet and be tended to, or I will...." she got quiet as she approached him, her eyes narrowed. "I know you," she said.

The klingon looked at her and his own eyes widened in surprise. "Can it be true? The healer with eyes of diamond and the voice of a warrior?"

"K'Vegh?" Nicole said, now grinning ear-to-ear. "What in Providence are you doing here?"

K'Vegh laughed and rushed forward, grabbing Nicole and swinging her off her feet in a hug. "Fighting for glory, the same as you!" he roared in pleasure.

Nicole laughed then glanced around at her staring staff. "Back to work," she said, taking her friend over to a chair. "Sit. Be patient."

"Authority has suited you," he said. "You lead your troops well."

"I'm lucky to have good troops," she said, running a tricorder over him. "I'm just sorry you're trapped here like us."

He waved a hand as if it was of no consequence. "It means taming the Delta Quadrant is now an honor just for us--ARGH!" His cheer resulted in a grunt as she pressed against one of his upper vertebrate.

"Want to tell me how you fractured your C5 vertebrate?" she said, professional annoyance creeping into her voice.

"A...minor accident," K'Vegh said.

"Got into a brawl," Nicole translated, applying a bone knitter.

"It was nothing," he said.

"The other guy hit you harder," she said, knowingly. "So what do you do on board? Other than get into fights."

"I'm the Chief of Engineering," he said, proudly.

"Well done," she said, smiling. "I knew you'd do well. I pity the others on board though."

He laughed and as she patted his shoulder, stood up. "It is good to see you, SuvwI' bom be'."

"You as well my friend," she said, then held up a hand. She walked quickly into her office and came back with a small black device. "Don't be a stranger," she said, handing it to him.

He looked at it and nodded, tucking it into his tunic. "I must go, I am needed elsewhere."

"Die well," Nicole said.

He nodded, then grinned and swept her up in a bear hug again, laughing as he left Sickbay.

Bridge

Previously: "Really.." Kennit answered the Klingon. "I don't remember that.. as I recall.. it was you who owed me.. You lost the bet. I'm still alive.. as is obvious."

"So I see.." Kovar grunted. "I don't suppose you can explain why the Federation saw fit to destroy the Gateway and leave all here in the Delta Quadrant stranded at their mercy?"

"You are welcome to beam aboard.." Kennit answered. "That is a tale best suited for a face to face discussion."

Kovar scowled into the viewscreen. "So be it. I will beam aboard with two of my staff in 15 minutes."

"I will be waiting." Kennit replied. From his place on the bridge Alec commented, "This should be a very interesting discussion to say the least." He looked to Rhea as he said his next. "How do you think Kovar is going to react when you tell him what happened?"

She looked at him, "Pretty much the same as we did.."

Tom glanced behind him for a moment at the command crew before turning back to his console. "Guess who's coming to dinner..." he muttered.

"Klingons." Alec replied not missing a beat, his eyes never leaving the viewscreen.

"I'll hand out bibs and put a drop cloth on the floor," Penny said.

"XO." the Captain stated. "You have the Bridge. I'm going to go greet our guests and.. see if I can answer some of their questions regarding recent events.. even though the only information we have is sketchy at best.

"Understood." Alec answered as he moved towards the captain's chair. "Have fun with your little question and answer session with our guests. I'm sure it will be quite.... enlightening."

"Have someone prepare the Officer's Dining room for service. Make certain they offer some entree's a Klingon would appreciate.." she told him. "I'm going to head down to greet our guests.."

"I'll see to it Captain. I'll stress the importance of making the food especially appealing." Alec promised. " Where do you need me?" He asked, waiting to hear what Rhea would say.

"Stay on the Bridge and make certain we don't fly into a star," she said, ignoring Penny's affronted scoff. "Once the shift change arrives in an hour.. come down for dinner if you've got the stomach for Klingon cuisine.." She entered the 'lift and then departed the Bridge.

"Sure thing. I can go for some gagh as well as some bloodwine." Alec answered smoothly.

"I'll add barf bags to my list," Penny said.

Alec turned at Penny's comment, a slight smile on his face. He gave her a nod "Good point.'' he muttered and then winked conspiratorially at her.

Transporter Room 3

The Captain entered the transporter room fifteen minutes later, an unopened bottle of Fireball Whiskey in hand. "Have our guests signaled for transport yet?" she asked.

"I was just about to confirm their coordinates Captain," the transporter tech replied.

She nodded, waved for him to continue and turned expectantly towards the transporter pad. After a moment, the transporter began to hum, three tall figures began to take form. Another moment passed and the three very tall, very fit Klingon's stood there, making the transporter pad seem very small in comparison.

A wide smile on her face, Kennit said "SuvwI'na' qan yI'el 'eH, tIj Victory Kovar SoH!"

The Klingon commander stood there a moment, staring at her then stalked forward and proceeded to pull the much smaller, slender form of the Federation Captain into his arms in a powerful embrace as he declared "loQ DaHoHta', QaQ 'IH wa' vIlegh. juS 'Iq poH qaSchoH Qav chech maH nItebHa'!"

Pushing free of the exhubrant hug, Kennit answered "tIqqu' qar'a'." Holding up the bottle of fireball she held, she said "'e' 'ach Hergh lugh ghu' 'IQ. ghoS! Soj neH 'ej ra' jIH HIq qeq. net poQbej ghom discussion qaSpu'DI' QaQ SoHvaD SabtaHbogh choQoylaH'a', jup."

Taking the bottle from her, Kovar introduced his companions and then, arm in arm with Captain Kennit, the quartet exited the transporter room and headed towards the Officer's Dining Hall..

Leaving a bewildered and slightly astonished transporter tech who could not WAIT to get off shift and go tell his roommates about this!

Officer's Dining Room

One table held numerous dishes of Klingon cuisine, prepared by the ship's staff for the evening's business. Most had been replicated due to the impossibility of acquiring the necessary ingredients however, the food was well prepared. A platter of tIqnagh, ghonglIq - the vegetable roasted and sliced as well as offered whole; Garbat; Gladst; targh tIq; Jlnjoq bread; as well as three variates of Klingon Ale, Blood Wine, and of course, Raktajino (served steamed or iced depending on the preference of the drinker).

One wall panel showed recent abuse, the source evident in the form of razor sharp throwing knives still embedded deep in the paneling following an impromptu display of skill by the Klingon General, and matched easily by the Federation Captain.

Speaking in fluent Klingon, Kennit was deep in conversation with Kovar while eating the meal prepared with her guests..

The doors to the officer's Dining Room opened and Alec walked in, his eyes doing a swift survey of the place. He noticed the wall panel embedded with several Klingon throwing knives. Then there was the smell of the food. It was strong and almost pungent but not necessarily unpleasant. Then there was Rhea sitting right among the Klingons, speaking fluent Klingon and seemingly right at home. He walked over to her, "Captain. I hope I'm not intruding."

Looking up at him, Kennit washed down the mouthful of ..whatever it was she was eating from her plate with a healthy gulp of bloodwine before nodding, "By all means Commander.." she told him. "Grab a plate and dig in!"

"Thank you Captain." Alec replied smoothly as he grabbed a glass of bloodwine as well as a plate of gagh. He sat down next to Rhea, "So General, I'm sure the Captain has filled you in on the current situation. What are you and your ships going to do?" As he took a swallow of bloodwine.

Looking at the Victory's First Officer, Commander Kovar just gazed at him for a long moment then said, in accented standard, "We will do..what we will do.."

"Of course sir." Alec answered agreeably. "So will we all. I was just wondering what that would be."

The Klingon just nodded, answering "So you said.." before turning back to his meal, clearly not inclined to answer that question at the moment.

Alec shot Rhea a glance. he wasn't going to be put off by Kovar's reluctance to answer his question. Taking another swallow of his blood wine, he continued. "I mean if we knew your plans we could offer tactical support, perhaps other alternatives.... if of course any was needed." he finished pleasantly as he took a forkful of gagh into his mouth.

~*~

 

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