Volley for Serve

Posted on Sun Dec 31, 2017 @ 9:28pm by Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit & Lieutenant Cassandra Kennings & Lieutenant Nicole Anderson

2,745 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Dīvide et Impera ~ Chapter One: Sending Out An S.O.S
Location: Approaching Starbase DQ-8
Timeline: 19 hours after briefing.

Reports had been filed, their 'guest' had been transferred to the Brig, and his ship was following along. It had been almost a day since they'd set course for the nearest Starbase, one of the newer bases in fact, even though they'd all just had shore leave not too long ago, there were mutterings of hope that they'd be able to put in for a few days again.

Nicole walked into the brig, nodding to the security guards that flanked the doorway, black bag in hand. She stepped up to the force-field and looked back at the guard at the controls. He lowered the barrier and she stepped inside, placing her bag on the bench that served as the bed, and opened it up, pulling out a tricorder. "How are you feeling today?" she said.

"I've been better," Hunter said, sighing. "I'm stuck in this closet, I'm broke, and I've got hours left to live."

"Don't be overly dramatic," Nicole said. "You're injuries are healed and you're doing fine."

"Until that psycho in cranberry comes for me," he said. "She's ready to have my head on display in her ready room, all for a few diamonds."

"It was more than a few," Nicole said. "But stay strong. We're almost to Starbase 8, and then you'll be off the ship."

"I can't wait," he said flatly.

Nicole gave him a bracing pat on the shoulder, stepped out and nodded to the guard as the brig's security field snapped back on. She left the brig and walked into a turbolift. "Bridge," she said.

A moment later she stepped onto the bridge and walked down to the Captain's ready room and rang the chime.

Though she didn’t hear an audible response, the Ready Room door opened with soft whoosh. Inside, the Captain was seated on the couch, her legs propped up comfortably with a sketch pad in her lap, the open page showing a mountainous scene into which she was apparently adding a large dragon, wings half spread with long neck extended and teeth bared toward a very small figure challenging the reptilian beast with sword and spear..

Over the speakers, the computer was playing music.. a male voice singing something about *When I’m driving in my car, and the man come on the radio / Hes’s tellin’ me more and more about some useless information / Supposed to fire my imagination*

"I've given Captain Hunter his final exam," Nicole said. "Shall I sign off on his transfer orders, as a formality?"

Casting a side-long glance toward the Doctor, one eyebrow arched up in a questioning manner. “You came all the way up here just to ask me that when you could have just rang me up over the com?” Kennit replied. She turned her head to look at Nicole then, shrugged and said “Fine by me.” Then, with a ever so slightly sparkle of mischief in her eyes and in her voice the Captain added, “And yes. I ‘confiscated’ both bottles of that initial test batch of the cinnamon whiskey those two reprobates down in Engineering were cooking up. One of which is over in the bottom desk drawer if you feel the need to test it for quality control purposes. It’s not bad. Needs more cinnamon. Not quite enough of a kick in my opinion."

"I hate cinnamon," Nicole said, making a face. "I'll pass, thanks." She stood up and went over to the replicator. "Two glasses of kaasa juice, five degrees." A pair of glasses of teal liquid appeared and Nicole took them, walking over to the Captain and putting one in front of her before sitting down with her own. "And I thought this was a question best not put out for people to overhear. You've been behaving yourself lately, which is starting to disturb me." She took a sip and eyed the Captain with a wry smirk. "But then again, you're only happy when you're driving someone else crazy, so I imagine you must be ecstatic right now."

The Captain cast a wary eye at the odd coloring and made no attempt to sample the latest concoction from her chief medical officer. Instead, her expression the very picture of innocent bewilderment, asked “Oh? And who is it I am supposedly driving crazy today?”

"Other than me with your repeated threats to 'return my patient' to me?" she parried. "That is one spooked smuggler we have in our brig."

The Captain didn’t respond verbally, but if the smile that flashed across her face for an instant was any indication ..she wasn’t bothere at all by the Doctors words!

On the bridge Alec had seen Nicole arrive at and enter the Captain's Ready Room. He briefly wondered what the CMO wanted to badger Rhea about now. Looking at the main viewscreen he a tiny speck grow larger as they approached. Their destination was in sight. He tapped his combadge, "Captain, we're approaching the Starbase. Thought you would like to know."

"About time," Nicole said, tossing back the last of her drink.

“Thank you Number One. Try not to bump anything when we dock, Starfleet gets testy about that sort of mishap..” the Captain answered over the com.

Alec's reply was quick in coming and you could hear his grin in it. "Aye Captain. We have such a pretty paint job. It would be a shame to mar it with scuff marks by taking out a chunk of the base."

“It’s happened before... I’d rather not have a repeat. Kennit out.” she said, signing off the comm and then, noticing the Doctor’s expression she asked, “What?”

"Sometimes you seem normal. It bothers me," Nicole said, standing and preceding the Captain onto the bridge.

Kennit laughed, following Dr. Anderson to the Bridge.


****Bridge****

Cassandra came out of the turbolift and made her way to the Communications station on the bridge. She sat down and pulled her old-fashioned earpiece out and affixed it in her right ear. As Commander Hunter signaled the Captain that they were approaching, she reviewed the report she'd sent ahead and watched for a hail from the station.

Nicole walked out of the Captain's ready room and turned to the right of the bridge and sat at the environmental station, crossing her legs and watched the goings on.

Crossing the Bridge, the Captain settled herself into her seat, eyes on the display on the viewscreen reviewing the ship’s current status.

Cass' hand went to her earpiece and she turned from the comm station. "Captain, receiving a transmission from station DQ-8. Admiral Tanner is hailing."

Surprised, Kennit answered “An Admiral? Really?” She made a face. “Best not keep him waiting, put the Admiral on screen.”

"Aye, Captain," Cassandra said, tapping her console.

The image of the station growing in front of them was replaced by an older-looking, dour, dark-skinned, gaunt and pinched-looking Admiral, seated behind a desk, his hands clasped in front of him, and a padd in front of them. "Captain Kennit, I presume?"

“That is correct.” Kennit replied. “I am Captain Rhea Kennit, commanding officer of the USS Victory. What can I do for you sir?” she asked.

"My name is Admiral Rufus Tanner. It is my understanding you are escorting a trading vessel and have its captain in custody, correct?"

She nodded, “Aye sir. We intercepted a civilian merchant ship under attack by a known member of an Orion criminal organization. Contraband items, specifically large diamonds or a size most likely intended for manufacturing of some sort were found in a hidden compartment aboard the merchant vessel.”

Admiral Tanner picked up the padd in front of him. "You make it sound so cut and dry," he deadpanned. "But this report seems to include a few more relevant details. You responded to a distress call that originated past the border of Federation Space. You then fought 'an invisible enemy ship.'" His eyebrows bobbed in mocking disbelief. "You then beamed the Captain aboard and he was required to be admitted to your Sickbay, not due to injuries from his attack, but from an assault in your transporter room." He paused and glared at her over the padd. "You then performed a search of his ship for contraband, despite having no legal jurisdiction and confiscated his cargo, again without jurisdiction." He returned the padd to his desk. "Does that about cover it, Captain?"

Unimpressed by the Admirals speech, and not bothering to hide it, she answered “We are on the outer fringe, but still well within our assigned patrol route which keeps us in Federation space. I have standing orders which were followed to the letter issued by Admiral Harv Bennett regarding any contact with the Orion Syndicate or its sub-groups. Those orders give me full jurisdiction and detail exactly what responses am I to follow, and I did so. To the letter."

"Captain, I did not spend fifteen years with the Judge Advocate General's Corps to have some young hot-shot try to explain the law to me," Tanner snapped. "The laws regarding Kalv'rati diamonds are quite clear: they are illegal to trade within the Federation. The Kalv'rati do not have the same restrictions outside the Federation and our borders are clear. You had no right to assault that man, nor detain him past confiscating his contraband." He let a beat pass to let that sink in. "Therefore, I am ordering you to return Captain Hunter to his vessel and return all of his manifested cargo immediately. The diamonds will remain here at the station and we will have them transported to the Kalv'rati."

“If you don’t like my actions which are mandated by the orders issued by Admiral Bennett, take it up with him.” Kennit snapped, her voice slightly contemptuous..well aware Admiral Bennett outranked this Tanner and that Tanner knew it, he would also know exactly who Bennett was, and by extension..who she was, and wasn’t at all worried about some petty little man lording his rank about here in the middle of fucking nowhere. She was here by choice.. he undoubtedly wasn’t. “My orders instruct me to turn Captain Hunter over to the nearest Starfleet facility, and that is what we are doing.”

"This is a relay base, Captain," Tanner said, "not a prison facility. We are not equipped to hold him, nor do we have cause." He put his hands flat on the table and sat back, the look on his face making it clear he was not willing to debate. "You have your orders, Captain." The transmission ended and the screen returned to a view of the station, still growing as they approached.

“What a pathetic little asshole...” the Captain stated, turning her now dark gaze toward the Doctor without speaking, well aware it was Anderson’s report which Tanner had quoted.

Nicole met the Captain's gaze with her ice-blue eyes and didn't blink. Her nostrils flared briefly and she sat back in her chair, trying not to let a hint of "I told you so" enter her expression.

Alec stood to one side of Rhea and listened to her debate with Tanner who, in his humble opinion, was just a petty, no-talent, second-rate bureaucrat. His eyes flicked to Anderson who sat perfectly still except for her flaring nostrils and then to Rhea who was doing a remarkable job of not loosing her temper. He leaned toward her, "For clarification Captain, you can't return Captain Hunter via the airlock without a suit. " He shrugged his shoulders, "You looked like you were contemplating it."

Cassandra stood up and quickly glided down to the command deck and stood on the Captain's other side, leaning in. "Captain," she said, quietly, "there is a way to turn this to our favor." When the Captain glanced at her, she pressed on. "His orders were to return Captain Hunter to his ship, but that's all we're ordered us to do. If your orders are to investigate a possible connection to the Orions, then we've just been offered the perfect lure." She glanced at the smuggler ship on the screen. "If Captain Hunter is part of the Syndicate, then following him may lead us to his contact, or at the very least where he's delivering his contraband. If he isn't a member, then that Orion may attack him again, giving you another chance to take him out. Either way, we have a chance to follow the rat to the lair."

Kennit looked at Sanders for a moment without speaking, then simply nodded. Her orders were more on the line of ‘kill them when you find them’, but Sanders’ assumption worked. “Command thinking Miss Sanders.”

To Alec, she said “Number One. Have a tracker mounted on that ship. Do it quickly.”

"At once Captain." Alec replied crisply, turning away from Rhea as he tapped his combadge and made the appropriate call to have the tracker mounted aboard the freighter.

Then, looking at the Doctor she said in a far too calm, easy-going tone of voice “Doctor Anderson. Perform a final medical assessment on your patient and confirm he is medically fit to return to his ship prior to transporting him over.”

"I'll make sure to be thorough for as long as I can," Nicole said, turning and sending a note to Sickbay to prepare a list of exams.

To Alec she added, “Inform our personnel who have been over there to prepare to return to the Victory.”

Alec nodded his acknowledgement of Rhea's order. Tapping his combadge again he contacted the freighter. Informed the three Victory pilots of the change in plans and to prepare to return to the Victory.

“Did you notice it...” the Captain said suddenly.

Alec exchanged a look with Cass and Anderson. Focusing his attention on Rhea, he asked "Notice what Captain?"

"Perhaps a little specificity, Captain?" Cassandra said.

“Admiral Tanner,” The Captain replied, her voice making his name somehow profane. “He didn’t so much as blink to learn that a known member of a dangerous Orion criminal organization is operating out here. No reaction at all, almost as if I hadnt mentioned it at all. That son of a bitch knows they’re here. He’s probably been bought...”

Alec groaned at Rhea's comment. "Well that's a kick in the head. So we can't trust the bastard but maybe we can use him." He looked at the three women. "What if we supply him with misinformation? So he can't rat out our true intentions."

"We're faced with three scenarios," Cassandra said, leaning against the command rail and folding her arms in thought. "Best case scenario: he's innocent of any wrongdoing, just arrogant and blusterous. Mid-case scenario: he is fully briefed on the Orion situation in this sector, but did not deem the Captain 'need-to-know.' Worst-case scenario: he's involved somehow. Thankfully that is the least likely." She bobbed her eyebrows in hope. "But if either of the two latter scenarios are true, anything we say he'll be privy to the minute we're caught being involved. We'll have to be careful."

"What are our intentions?" Nicole said. "If we're going to shadow the smuggler's ship, we hardly need to broadcast that. We do exactly what we're supposed to do: go back on patrol. Our patrol just happens to be a in a specific direction that someone else sets and accidentally might go out of Federation space."

Silent for a moment, the Captain cocked her head to one side, a sign those who knew her best recognized as one which meant she was contemplating a less than standard operating procedure. “We have Mr Torres install a Subspace beacon, utilizing a non-standard frequency which is undetectable by all sensor systems except one which has been calibrated to hear it. We do have a small supply aboard.. courtesy of the Theoretical Research Department..”

"You're welcome," Cassandra said. When the Captain looked up, she shrugged. "The Questor Group has done some leg work for them before."

Kennit didn’t seem too phased by her counselor’s statement. She just grunted our a short “uh huh.. I’ve clashed with the Questor Group once or twice. As I recall it was a fairly simple assignment, easily completed.”


No one spoke for several moments, and finally with a waggle of her fingers the Captain spoke. “Well? What are you waiting for? A hand written instruction guide? Shoo!”


~*~

 

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