Mission is a go

Posted on Tue Jun 11, 2019 @ 1:18pm by Fleet Captain Rhea Kennit & Lieutenant Commander Miguel Torres & Lieutenant Penelope Naroot & Lieutenant Arashi Tanaka Mr. & Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Senior Chief Petty Officer Samantha Summers

9,903 words; about a 50 minute read

Mission: Plaga Navis
Location: USS Victory

Bridge

Exiting the Ready Room, the Captain addressed Cmdr Torres who was on the bridge taking over the XO position as Cmdr Hunter was leading the away team. “Mr Torres. What’s our status? The away team launch is scheduled for 20 minutes from now.”

Miguel looked up. "Everything is green on our end Captain. I was just about to contact the Ranger and check in on them." he replied.

With a shrug, she said “well..get with it. The rest of you aren’t getting any younger..”

Miguel let out a slight snort then opened the communications channel to the Ranger. "Bridge to Ranger we're all green up here, what's your status?" he asked.

Sitting in the cockpit the copilot seat to be exact, Alec looked positively scruffy. Nothing like a commander in Starfleet. He had on black boots, Khaki cargo pants with pockets galore, a wrinkled shirt and a old style bomber jacket. "Waiting for the rest of the gang to show up." He replied to Miguel's question. "How's everything with you?" He bantered.

"I'm actually finding this seat of yours a bit uncomfortable. I might have to do some adjustments to make it more comfortable." Miguel said with a chuckle in his voice.

Alec chuckled heartily before replying. "Sure go ahead Miguel. Just don't get too comfortable. I plan on coming back."

"Just make sure you don't lose that hooch, that stuff is worth more than gold pressed latinum on this ship." Miguel replied.

"Don't worry Miguel. I'll guard it with my life. I don't want to deprive you of your business." Alec quipped.

Penny stepped on board and slipped silently into the pilot's seat. She began the checklist, her fingers nimbly flying over the board. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her clothes were neat but drab. She felt decidedly boring.

Summers stepped into the ship and grabbed a seat. She checked over her padd and felt around for the small dagger attached to her right shoulder. She had chosen a nondescript jump suit, grayish in color, with black boots. Her hair was pulled back into an ponytail (something that seemed to be a 'trend' on this mission, she joked to herself,) and she wore a ball cap on top of her head, also gray.

Logan entered the shuttle. He was wearing dark colored pants, knee high dark leather boots and a tight fitting tunic. His hair was pulled back and tied. He had a stubble on his chin. On his hip he wore a Klingon disrupter. A long dagger was worn on his right side. Another knife was tucked behind his back, and a third was strapped in his boot. He looked like a typical pirate.

"Yo ho," Penny said quietly, grinning at him.

Summers looked over at Logan and commented, " I thought I had enough with this (pointing to it, ) dagger here. You look like you're ready for anything that might happen. Remind me to stick near you. "

Logan winked at Penny, then turned to Summers. "My motto is to be prepared for anything and everything. The idea in showing strength is to make the other person think twice before attacking."

Summers nodded in appreciation of Logan's motto, then slightly moved the brim of her cap so it was facing him.

On the bridge, the Captain was standing slightly behind Torres as he conversed with Alec on the Ranger. She didn’t speak, but she did first flex her neck making her vertebrae crack then slowly began to crack her finger and knuckle joints with a satisfying crack with each flex.

"Roger that Ranger. Advise when staff has fully arrived. Lunch is in t-minus 16 minutes." he told the XO and closed the channel. He then looked over his shoulder to where the Captain was. He knew she was there. Even if he didn't have enhanced hearing he could have heard the cracking in her vertebrae. "It's just a waiting game." he told her.

"Roger. T-minus sixteen minutes." Alec replied then looked over at Penny. "How we looking Penny?"

"Ship is operational and ready to fly," she said, hiding her smile and deadpanning her voice, speaking so both he and the comm system could hear.

Alec nodded at her reply. "Excellent and what about you? How are you?"

"I am also operational and ready to fly," she said, finishing her checklist. "On your order, Commander."

"Excellent." Alec replied nodding his head, "Glad to hear it. Just a few more minutes and we can be on our way." He looked back at Summers and Logan. "You two ready?"

Summers' eyes went to Logan quickly, then to Alec. " Onward and upward, Commander. "

Logan looked at him. "Let's get this show on the road!"

Arashi had arrived in his disguise as a civilian scavenger. "Sorry I was late. Had to make sure that this disguise fit." He sat down in an empty seat and decided to bring his tanto out and sharpen it. He wasn't going to use it but sharpening family heirlooms and making sure that they were taken care of had a calming effect on him. "So...what's the plan? Are we going to ask for a specific person or are we gathering general intel?" Tanaka asked as he continued to sharpen his tanto.

Alec turned in his seat to look at Tanaka, "Well Mr. Tanaka as we don't know anyone I think the best plan of action is just to get a general feel for the place and make inquires into who is charge and who we can deal with."

"Roger that."Arashi said. He finished sharpening his knife and placed it in its sheath. If this mission led to whoever killed the crew of the ship that they investigated recently then he was all for it. He wanted justice for all those that had died and he would be damned if he stopped and gave up now.

" Commander," Summers began; "Do we go in there with established personas, or just wing it? "

On the Bridge, the Captain stifled a mock yawn and murmured just loud enough for Torres to hear without having the comm system pick it up. "Are they waiting for an embossed invitation delivered on a silver tray?"

Miguel reopened the channel to the Ranger. "Torres to Ranger... Are you and your team good to go?" he asked.

"In a hurry to get rid of us Miguel?" Alec quipped. "However we will be as soon as a couple of late arrivals get here."

Miguel looked behind him slightly. "Not at all sir... however you know how much of a stickler I am with getting things done on time." he told him trying to let him know that it was the Captain that seemed to be in a hurry and not him, without coming right out and saying that.

"Ahhhh. yes I do." Alec said knowingly realizing it was Rhea who was anxious for them to be on their way. "I'll give them a few more minutes."

On the Ranger, Zack pulled out his weapons and checked the power packs while they waited to lift off. Three Marine officers arrived shortly, dressed in civilian clothing with day old beard scruff on their faces. They didn't speak, merely stowed their gear and then took their seats.

Suddenly Holbridge was in the hatchway of the shuttle. "Sorry, I'm late." He offered as he took a seat. He had on a baseball cap a t-shirt that read "Risa is for Lovers." cargo pants with plenty of pockets stuffed with who knew what and a bomber jacket completed his outfit. Alec was sure there were weapons hidden all about Holbridge.

"It's alright Mr. Holbridge, "We weren't going to leave without you." Alec replied.

Summers watched Holbridge take a seat and grinned She spoke to him. "It seems that 'ball caps' seem to be the 'norm' for this flight." She doffed her cap to re-tie her pony tail, revealing upwards pointed eyebrows.

Penny looked at Hunter. "Are we ready for takeoff?"

The comm chimed then, the Captains voice sounded slightly husky as she asked “Commander Hunter. Is something wrong with your space ship?”

Alec was about to answer Penny when Rhea's voice came through the com. Not at all Captain. it's as right as rain." The grin on his face coming through his reply.

She hmmm’ed in response, then said “I am curious now as to why you have yet to get underway. Perhaps Lt. Naroot is busy adjusting your throttle systems? Or do you need me to send some people down to give you a push and jump-start the core..”

Penny's face flushed red and she bit her lip to keep quiet, frowning hard.

"Now Captain, while that is extremely considerate." Alec bantered. "I and the rest of the team appreciate you wanting to help. I don't feel a jumpstart is needed at this time. Lt. Naroot says the core is fine as are the throttle systems. However we could use is a nice big sendoff. Filling us with confidence that our Captain, our leader has faith in us and this mission." He was almost laughing as he finished.

On the Bridge, the Captains gaze met that of the Chief Engineer for an instant. She made a short, quick ‘move’ motion with her hand, fingers curled and thumb extended. Stepping around him, Kennit extended her left hand as if to touch the console but instead twin tubules snakes out to link directly to the computer.

On the shuttle deck, an alarm began to sound as the hanger doors opened while at the same time, the exterior hatch on board the Ranger closed and sealed. The atmospheric force field prevented instant decompression while at the same time, the tractor beam activated and..instead of gently guiding a damaged ship to safe harbor on the deck...performed the opposite. The Ranger was lifted from the deck and unceremoniously ejected though the open hanger doors when the tractor beam polarity was reversed.

Zack spoke up. "It would be nice if someone figured out a way for a shuttle to launch instead of just being ejected from the deck."

Penny did her best not to cry as she steadied the ship and brought them around. She'd been embarrassed before, so she knew that feeling, but this was something new, and she was trying to process it while she steered them. She was going to have a lot to write to Oscar in her next report at the rate things were going.

"Everyone get comfy," she said, her voice flat. "We'll be there shortly."

Summers smiled and sat back in her seat and let out a 'whew,' but it came out in its Romulan equivalent.

Marine Staff Sgt. Paul Wood glanced at his two marine companions and rolled his eyes. Typical ‘Fleet.. sit around on the deck and then get their noses out of joint when the Captain rightfully planted a metaphorical boot up their ass to get the mission moving. He yawned, leaned back in the seat and settled in. Despite the pilots assertion that they’d ‘be there shortly’ he knew, as did his companions that the flight to Agadon Reach was a good 10 hours away.

Nap time.

All good marines knew to take time to rest when they could.


[Ten (10) Hours Later:]

Penny dropped the ship out of warp and swung in close to the station, heading for the docking bay. The communications panel lit up and she hit the comm. "What?" she said.

"Unidentified vessel, state your business," a gruff voice said.

"Trade." Alec answered, sounding equally gruff

"Your vessel does not match any known designation" the voice On the comm replied smoothly. “Before we can grant you access you must submit to a sensor scan to determine there is no risk of contamination. If you are a non-oxygen breathing species be advised you will require additional accommodations as our interior atmosphere may not be suitable for your biological needs.”

Penny and Hunter looked at each other. Penny shrugged and brought them within scanning range. A blue-ish hue washed over them. Penny didn't particularly enjoy the sensation, but she repelled the beam as best she could.

“Docking fee for a vessel within your size and classification is 1000 units. An additional 500 units charge is assessed while your vessel is docked. If this is acceptable, acknowledgment is required prior to granting docking access. Otherwise, you’ll have to establish holding pattern as assigned and utilize a transport pod or transport unit to access the station proper. All visitors are required to remain within designated areas as indicated by the station signs and markings.”

Penny leaned back towards Zack. "I left my wallet at home, can you extend me a loan?"

"I used the ship's computer to create a large supply of what they use for units here. So I have plenty." Zack replied.

She turned back to the front and reopened the channel. "Acknowledged," Penny said. "Have a bay ready please."

“Match your speed and rotation to that of Agadon Reach before beginning final approach to the docking bay. Follow amber directional lights to your assigned docking berth. A dock steward will be waiting for your signature to authorize payment.”

As the channel closed, Penny swung around and tipped the nose, matching the turn of the station. Looking like a giant flux-coupler in space, the station turned lazily but steadily, and she found the open bay and kept their swing in time with the station, bringing them in. "Looks cobbled together, almost," she said. "Haven't seen a modular station like this in a while."

They came into the bay and set down. As the magnetic clamps engaged and the ship secured, Penny powered down and sat back. "All ashore," she said.

Summers rose from her seat and stretched, banging her head on the ceiling of the craft. "Ouch!" She yelled. " What neanderthal built this craft anyway?" She shook her head and said quietly, "sorry, just shook up," and sat back down.

Penny glanced at her then popped the hatch, the seals hissing as it released. She unstrapped and let her silver wand slip from her sleeve into her hand. "So...who do we bribe to carry our stuff?" she said to Hunter.

Alec looked around, "Find some deck hand." He told her. He glanced back at Logan, "Mr. Logan your out 'banker' stay close." To the Marines he said. "Stay with the ship. No one gets in except us."

Stalking across the deck, a large alien of unknown species wearing a grey jumpsuit marked with orange reflective stripes was heading straight toward the dock bay where Ranger had set down. An emblem on his left breast pocket indicated his status as the deck boss. Round and squat, the deck boss was 4’ tall and almost as wide as he was tall. His face was square, flat mouth with no nose visible and large ears. Taking position at the hatch, he stood waiting, a data PaDD in hand.

"Hi." Alec greeted the ball? "Crew and I came to do some trading. Got plenty of good stuff. "Alec Hamilton is my name and this is my pilot." He said indicating Penny. The others he would introduce as needed.

"Hi," Penny said, smiling and waving.

Samantha looked at the squat being and whispered to the closest person, " Talk about squat, round and..what?"

Zack went over and spoke to the alien. "You the one we pay for docking?"

Samantha raised her right eyebrow in an 'Vulcanish way,' as she looked around. " Fascinating," was all she said.

The dock steward stared at them for a long moment, his expression one of unveiled disgust. “Hooomaans.” He said at last, his tone clearly one of unimpressed dislike. “No care why come. Pay fee.” he said, holding out the data PaDD for an ID print verification and authorization of payment.

Alec looked at Zack and then back to the beach ball sized alien. "Our banker." He explained. "He handles all our transactions. "Get a receipt." He told Zack.


Zack placed his right thumb on the PaDD and waited for the beach ball to verify payment.

Arashi stood with his back against a wall, playing with his dagger that his father had given him, staring at the alien taking the docking fee. He really needs to get out more. He seems a bit grumpy Arashi thought to himself and laughed a bit, placing his dagger in the sheath and straightening up. He waited for the group to move before he did anything else. He watched his surroundings to stay aware of anything or anyone that might be a problem.

The dock steward studied the PaDD for a moment then grunted. “Station customs and security check. That way..” he pointed toward a hatch marked with a blue stripe.”

Once through the hatch, the away team found themselves in a customs area where station security had all new arrivals pass though a security scanner. A display screen rotated information in multiple languages while a computerized voice spoke aloud, rotating though the various languages being used.

One was surprisingly enough in an approximation of Federation Standard, provided by past visits to the station from other Starfleet ships. “Welcome to Agadon Reach. Please follow the blue line though security. Weapons and narcotics are not allowed. All weapons and narcotics will be confiscated and held by security. Owners can retrieve their confiscated property upon departure. Security check tags will be provided for claims.”

Summers glanced at the scanner, then back at her compatriots. " What's the plan if we're *buzzed* by the machine?" She whispered to Zack.

Zack looked at the room. "Good question. We might be able to get through with the knives...claim they are a religious symbol, though I doubt they would buy that." He looked around the room. "Unless someone else has an idea.....I say we need a distraction."

"Consider it done," Penny said, giving him a smile. As she stepped up to the scanner, her silver wand slipped out from her sleeve. She faced the scanner, holding it behind her. It lit up and the scanner's lights flashed rapidly. It beeped and the screen scrolled through a set of data before coming up with a message in Federation Standard. "Accepted."

Penny stepped through, tucking her wand back up her sleeve surreptitiously, and beckoned for the others to follow her.

Zack walked through the security checkpoint calmly. When he reached Penny, "Nice trick, you'll have to tell me how you did that one day."

"It wasn't anything, really," Penny said, grinning at him. "See--"

"Not now." Alec spoke as he came up behind the pair, placing a hand on their backs. "Keep moving until we get away from this checkpoint."

Penny took Zack's hand and pulled him to the side and through the next door, nodding to the others to follow.

Holding Penny's hand, they led the others past the security checkpoint.

Samantha slightly smiled at Penny as they walked on. She whispered to her, "you must have some Romulan kin somewhere, to get away with that."

"Not really, no," Penny said, sticking close to Zack. "So, where to?" she said, looking to Alec.

"We find the merchant's area and go from there." Alec replied, his eyes searching for a clue as to what direction that might be.


[Station Security Office]

Guard Captain Mikeal Garibaldi, a Terrellian male who had chosen to make his living off his homeworld, scowled as he watched the group of humans who had just bypassed station security protocols using some sort of magical amazing device which seemed capable of interacting with the stations computer systems perfectly...

Toggling a control on his desk, the head of the station’s security force accessed another section of the systems security protocols and marked each of the. With the facial recognition systems as well as biometric monitoring. There was no place on the station they could go now where he wouldn’t be able to watch and know exactly what they were up to.


[Corridor]

"Commander, I would recommend we find the merchants area and start looking for intel," Zack looked at Alec.

"Agreed Mr. Logan, that's what we're attempting to do." Alec answered as people walked by and around the small group.

"According to this display, the marketplace is 50 meters down that corridor." replied Zack as he motioned to another corridor across the way.

"What about whoever's in charge here?" Penny said. "Maybe they don't even want pirates on board. Shouldn't we ask them if they know if anything's going on? With that much security, somebody's careful about rules."

Samantha spoke to the Commander. "Sir, if it is necessary that we might have to split up to find out what's going on, should we, for safety's sake, pair up?"

Zack spoke up. "Commander, I would advise avoiding security at all times. If they don't want pirates, and that's who we're suppose to be, why advertise our presence?"

Penny blushed hard. "Forgot about that part..." she said, embarrassed.

Zack looked at her. "Forget about it. No damage done."


[Operational Control]

Watching the new arrivals as ordered, Security Office G’linn frowned slightly, “I’ve never seen new arrivals just..stand around for so long. What the vrell are they doing? Just standing in the corridor there between the docking bay and the station proper. Hoomans... the more show up here the more I don’t like them..”


[Corridor]

Zack looked around. He spoke in a hushed voice. "Commander. It's not wise that we remain here very long. It may look suspicious a large group staying together. We don't want to attract attention. I strongly suggest we leave the area and split up."

"Agreed, Mister Logan," Alec said. "All right, two teams. Summers and I will take the marines and head to the shops and trading areas to see what 'business' we can do. Naroot and Logan, head to the recreational areas. Even pirates need a drink now and then. If we don't hear from you in an hour we'll come running. Clear?"

"Copy that." Zack responded.

"Let's head out," Alec said. He pointed to the access pathway from the main corridor to the commercial sector and headed off.

Summers followed behind Alec, cautiously looking over those she passed.

"Roger that," Penny said, trying to 'walk casual'. She looked at one of the directional maps. "Says there's an establishment two regions spinward," she said, looking the map over. She flicked her wrist, bringing her silver probe out and scanning the map. She watched the indicator lights blink then pulled it back up her sleeve. "Pretty large too. Good place for people to talk and not be overheard."

Zack nodded as he watched the map. "Maybe we can even find some intel. Let's go." They started to walk towards the rec area.

* * *

Alec watched Penny and Logan head off in one direction while he and Summers head in a different one. "Walk next to me Chief," he said. "Act like we know each other." While he weaved between people all the time looking for clues as to who was in charge of trade as well as trying to get a feel for the place.

Samantha slightly smiled at Alec before replying, "As you wish..." and wrapped her arm through his.

"Much better." Alec replied as they began to stroll down the corridor. He even patted Summers hand in an affectionate manner.

Summers looked at him then said quietly, " Sooo, you ever have dinner on an log cabin porch in the woods?" She felt her face blush pink and quickly looked away.

She looked at Alec before speaking. " You want to walk around a bit more before we 'hit' one of the shops, or would you like to sit a bit?"

He chuckled at her first question, "No, I have never had dinner on a log cabin porch. Sounds romantic though." He looked around, "lets walk around a bit more than we can hit the shops." He suggested.

Summers nodded her head and looked away, not before tightening her arm's grip around him. She spotted their reflection in an mirror from one of the shops. She began to smile then heard a voice in her thoughts....' You *think* you are free, but you are not...'

Unseen behind them, a monstrous towering muscular being, reptilian in nature standing 3.35 meters tall with a long, powerful tail and razor claws tipping each of its four digits on its hands blinked slowly, tongue flicking out to toast the air. A soft hiss, little more than a breathe of air escaped past wicked fangs..

Summers felt an 'itch' go up her spine, and she casually looked around and behind as one whom would be taking all the sights in would. She whispered to Hunter. " Someone or something is near us. And they're not friendly." She looked directly at Hunter and arched one eyebrow.

Several of the other beings present had taken note of them as well, one shopkeeper who was cleaning his storefront saw them, looked them over then spat on the deck with a muttered “Hooomaans..”

Summers slowed her pace and turned towards the shopkeeper, then arched her eyebrow again as she held Hunter tighter. " Not 'Hoooomannn,' but *Romulan!*" She said the word at the Shopkeeper, then quickly looked at Hunter as if she were sorry for speaking out loud.

Alec gripped Summers hand tighter, "Easy Samantha he said calmly using her first name. "Lets go. There are other shops for us to look at. He doesn't want our business."

Samantha Summers looked at Alec for a moment. " Sorry..Alec...yes, let's go see what we can see. " They continued to look over the wares at the various shops. Samantha noticed some earth ware at one of the shops and got Alec's attention. " Look at these, Alec. They remind me of the some of the dishes Mom and Dad had at home...." Samantha stared at the colorful plate then dropped it. " Noooooo..I didn't see these.....*Samantha* saw them.....I just know it..." She turned to look at Alec. " 'Samantha Summers' folks had those plates...all I know is what was implanted in me. Alec...I *am* her..but I'm not! She held on to him tighter..

"Easy Sam. Easy." Alec replied in a soft but firm voice. The last thing they needed was Summers having a psychotic episode. "I don't know everything but you have her memories and that does make you Samantha Summers. The key is learning to deal and live with the new memories you make and the ones you already have and finding a middle ground. where you can benefit from both."

Samantha quietly laughed. " That is what Dr. Freud said to me. ' Take the best of both and build on that.' " She took a few quiet deep breaths. " Ok, back with you..where to next?"

"Alec smiled, Samantha seemed in control once again. "We find where they conduct business, trade whatever you want to call it here. See if we can get a line." He looked around, "There aren't that many humans on this station, so that might help and we still have to meet up with Penny and Zack. Maybe they are having better luck than we are."

Samantha nodded in agreement, then slightly shuddered. " I think I will need a long swim in my lake after this..you are welcome to join me, if you would like?"

"Lets get through this mission first Sam." Alec replied as they wove their way in and around the crowd, all the while looking for something that indicated it was the center for trade on the station.

Samantha kept eyeing the people that Alec and her passed, hoping they'd soon find the trade center. She sighed. " I don't know if we're on the right track..you see anything ahead that might give us a clue?"

Alec was about to reply when Penny contacted him and told him about a person of interest. "Monitor him, stay there, we're coming to you." He looked over at Sam, "Come on. Penny and Logan have something."

" Roger on that..." Summers replied, as the two scurried off.


[Blue Sector]

Seated at a table, Cartwright watched the comings and going in and out of the small bar through half closed eyes. To all outward appearances, the human male was half asleep, nodding into his cups. On the contrary, he was quite alert and missed nothing which was going on around him. The table before him in the small booth was a pitcher of ale, he'd drank half of it though thanks to the judicious use of medication taken beforehand, the effects of the quite potent alcohol were completely nullified. He was awaiting Katya's return, she'd gone to meet with their 'supplier' and arrange for final payment and transfer of the illegal drugs and weapons which they'd purchased from the smuggler's vessel to their own which he noted with a slow, seemingly sleepy glance at his chronometer, should be almost complete. The drugs were slated for use as trade goods with other 'suppliers', smugglers and black market operatives who could provide the more exotic items which Quincy had listed as necessary in order to finalize the device which would be used to release his little viral toy into planetary atmospheres.

Specially designed to appear as nothing more than a random bit of innocuous space rock, the missiles would actually release the virus as they burned up during atmospheric entry...

Quincy was a very strange little man no doubt about that.

But he was a genius...

There would be nothing left of the missiles, no way to ever determine where the virus came from..

Pure genius..

* * *

Zack and Penny walked into the bar, Penny's arms wrapped around one of his. "Buy me a drink?" she said, sweetly, leaning towards him and whispering in his ear. "Do you want to chat up the bartender or can I give it a go?"

In the corner of his eye he looked at the bartender. "He looks like a bruiser. You sure you want to try?"

"Hm," Penny continued to whisper in his ear, eyeing the bartender subtly. "Yeah he might not be the 'pretty face' type. Okay, I'll grab us a table to do some recon from."

She kissed his cheek and left him, threading her way through the tables, ignoring the glances her way. She sat down at an empty table and looked around. Several people were leaned over their tables, talking quietly, others were sitting back, talking uproariously. A few were alone, staring into their glasses, and one just to her left appeared to be asleep, his drink still in his hand.

Penny continued to look around, her head swiveling like a tourist as she took in every detail.

* * *

Seated in the corner booth next to Jason, Katya watched the little blonde human female as she looked about the bar with wide eyes. She let out a soft snort, "That one won't last long.." she murmured softly. "One of the slavers will get her.. or one of the brothels.."

Following her gaze, Jason pursed his lips dismissively. "You think? She's a slip of a thing...though I suppose for some that's an enticement.. Are you suggesting we acquire her through Gr'gor and pay his fee.. then place her into service on one of the outlying worlds.. make a profit while she's worth it and then off-load her.."

Katya rolled her eyes, "That one? No... no she wouldn't last long enough to even recover the cost of Gr'gor's fee.."

* * *

Penny turned and swept her eyes past the two chatters. She was having an interesting time unraveling all the different conversations going on. Not all were illegal, but her ears picked up quite a bit of conversation that hinted at illicit dealings. She learned their faces, memorized their clothing and filed it away for later by the time her eyes had reached the next table.

She sat back and looked at the sleeping man. His chest was rising and falling slowly, steadily. She tilted her head, thinking, watching him, then her eyes drifted back to the chatters. She wanted to stick her tongue out but didn't want them to know she'd heard. She finally settled on watching a pair of Garenorians have an animated discussion about who should be paying for the next night of 'entertainment.'

"Sometimes I wonder if Oscar was right," she sighed to herself.

Zack kept a watchful eye over the edge of his glass as he drank. He was ready to help Penny if she ran into any...issues. So far, things were relatively quiet.

Penny sat and watched a few more minutes. She was watching the sleeping man again, and starting to wonder about him. She was about to pull out her probe and try to subtly scan him when she suddenly pitched forward into her table as someone slammed behind her. She shoved back and stood up, whirling around. "Want to watch yourself?" she said, before looking up, and up again at the person now towering over her.

The overbearing male looked down and gave her a grin. "Would rather be watching you, cutie," he said, grabbing her and puling her close, an arm around her.

Penny listened to the sounds around her and did some calculations. Her table had stopped moving, the chair behind her had fallen to the side, the bar stool furthest from her, where Zack was sitting, had scraped the floor. Two chairs scraped but stopped, indicating a turn to see the show. From the angles, she knew she had a clear trajectory. By the time she was done smiling up at her new friend, she'd worked out the weight ratios.

She grabbed the hand that had wandered southward to her rear and grabbed it, yanking it and twisting it around, turning in his loosened grip and swinging him over her shoulder, sending him forward directly at the sleeping man's table. The giant landed hard on the table, sliding across and off it, almost hitting the sleeping man.

Almost, except the man had shoved back from the table in time to avoid being struck.

As if he'd been awake and watching the whole time.

"Gotcha," Penny said, happily.

The man stood up and made his way calmly but quickly through the tables to the exit. Penny turned to follow him but was slammed from the side by a friend of the giant who had recovered from his surprise. She wrenched his arms from around her and shoved him off of her. She stood up, seeing the two chatters looking at her, surprised, then picked up the chair she'd been sitting on and held it up like a lion-tamer. "Don't," she said as he rallied himself again.

The bartender had come around the bar and everyone backed down immediately. Penny looked at the now-empty table where the sleeping man had been sitting and sighed. She made eye contact with the bartender and held her up hands. "I'm going," she said. She turned and walked out of the bar as relaxed and vulnerable as possible.

Zack put his weapon away and rushed over to Penny, and escorted her out. ""What was that about?"

On the heels of his statement, a quartet of station security arrived, “Someone want to explain the reports of an assault talking place..”

Zack looked at them. "This poor girl was assaulted by a drunken brute. She was able to escape whatever evil plan he had for her." Zack held Penny tightly. "I should get this child to the medical bay. Who knows what he did he her."

Penny made a mental note to step on Zack's toes later but he might have succeeded in getting them somewhere nonetheless. She let her lip quiver, and her big blue eyes filled with tears as the security man looked down at her. She let out a loud bawl and threw herself at the security officer, her arms going around his waist and holding him tight, crying into his chest.

"It (sob) was (sob) so (sob) scary!" she choked. "He grabbed and I didn't know what he was going to do! I just went in for a drink and the man shoved into me and grabbed me and this guy got up to help me but I shoved the man off and left the bar because I was so scared and I'm so sorry I even went in there!" She cried openly, her tears soaking the man's uniform as she held him tight.

"All right...just...pull yourself together," the guard said, trying to extricate himself from her vise-like grip of his waist. "Was this one of the men who assaulted you?" he said, eyeing Zack.

"No," she sniffled. "No he was someone who stood up to help me. He was very gallant." She smiled at Zack, putting her hands over her heart and running up to him. "I never did thank you for trying to help," she said, hugging him tightly.

The lead guard nodded to two of his aides who went into the bar to take statements and see to the aggressor. "Do you wish to go to the medical center for treatment?" the guard said.

"Yes..please," she said. "I'm still very shaken and my stomach was bruised when the man shoved me." She sounded very meek and was holding onto Zack as if she might collapse. "Could...could he come with me? I don't want to be alone right now." She looked up at the guard, batting her large, innocent blue eyes.

Given an alternative to the prospect of having to personally babysit an emotionally unstable teenager, the guard nodded. "All right. We'll escort you there."

"Thank you," Penny said, breathlessly. They turned and followed the guard, the other one bringing up the rear. The walk was silent as Penny clung to him, holding his hand as if letting go would cause her to disappear. When they reached the medical wing, the guard led them to a desk. "This young lady was involved in an altercation. She's complaining of pain from a blow to the stomach."

"Thank you, we'll take it from here," the nurse said. She smiled gently at the two humans and gestured towards a door to the side. "Please, follow me," she said.

She opened the door, revealing a short hallway and led them down to an empty examination room. Penny stepped inside, still holding Zack's hand. The room was spartan, as most medical rooms were. An examination bed, a computer terminal, a few instruments on the wall for the doctor's use, and the usual medical charts and diagrams that served as 'decor' in a doctor's office.

As soon as the door closed, Penny bolted for the computer, her silver probe slipping out of her sleeve. She scanned it quickly, pictures of the bar patrons coming up on the screen as well as others in the corridors. "Okay so the human population on this station is about 0.001%," she said. "These two are flesh traffickers. This one's into narcotics. This one's waiting for his 'business partner,' and these two wanted some girl to escort them somewhere."

"Interesting. Maybe one of them can give us the answers we need."

"Maybe, but here's my question," she said. "Who's that?" she pointed at someone in the background of the corridor behind the security guards. "He's looking right at the guards, not us, but trying to turn away. Looks like he doesn't want to be noticed, but needs to keep an eye on them. Someone worth finding?"

Zack leaned against the door and peered out, his hand on his dagger. "Does he look familiar to you?"

"Yeah," she said. "He was sitting at a table pretending to be asleep, but I think he was watching everyone, looking for someone like we were. None of the other criminals in the area seemed particularly worried about security. This guy was keeping tabs on them. Probably someone worth following. Looks like he was heading towards--"

Her probe went off with a beep. She slipped it out and looked at the blinking lights. "Someone's coming," she said, pointing it at the computer, wiping the download and standing up. "We need to get out without arousing suspicion."

"We could always feign innocence and let the Doctor clear us," Zack said.

"Nothing's going to make us look innocent," Penny said, then grinned as a thought struck her. "So we need to look guilty!" She pulled her jacket off and pulled her top halfway off one shoulder, pressed him against the diagnostic bed, hooked a leg over his hip and kissed him deep, one hand around his shoulders, the other running through his hair.

Zack was stunned, but he went along with it. His left hand rubbed her shoulders, his right cupping her backside.

The door opened and the doctor came in, stopping abruptly at the scene in front of him. "Ahem," he said gruffly. A moment and he cleared his throat louder.

Penny stepped back, letting Zack get a breath and giggled like a schoolgirl. "Sorry," she said brightly. "Just...heat of the moment. Thought he deserved a reward for being so kind..." she shrugged girlishly, straightening her top.

Zack tried to adjust his pants where the bulge was and straighten his clothes as well.

"I see..." the Doctor said. "And you are here due to an assault?"

"Yes, but, I think I was just in shock. I'm feeling fine now," she said, brightly.

"Evidently," the doctor said dryly. "Run along you two," he said. "I don't have time for teenagers looking for a private corner."

"Yes Sir, sorry Sir," Penny said, giggling again as she grabbed her jacket and Zack's hand and pulled him out of the hospital wing and back into the corridor. When they'd gotten out of earshot she grinned and put her jacket back on. "You're a good actor," she said, grinning. "Okay I think that guy was headed towards one of the cargo areas. Probably to pick something up from whoever he was looking for. Start there?"

Zack smiled at her. "You'd make an excellent intelligence officer. Cargo area it is."

Arashi had just caught up to Zack and Penny after having been lost on the station. He hadn't been lost for very long but was glad to see someone that he knew. "You guys mind if I tag along with you?" he asked hoping he had not been doing anything to disrupt whatever they were doing.

"Hi, Arashi!" Penny beamed, hugging him. "Sure!" She pulled them along to start walking, the marines falling in line behind. "Okay, here's the plan," she said. "We're going to search the cargo bays. We're looking for someone who we think is a person of interest. Zack and the marines will take the odd numbered bays, Arashi and I will take the even numbered bays. Zack and I know who we're looking for. If the guy isn't there, move on. If he is, get close to hear and see what intel you can get, then we get out. Captain says we can't be seen."

They walked up to the cargo areas and she paused. "Everybody cool?"

Zack waited for any replies or questions. When none were forthcoming, Penny nodded at him.

"Okay. Laki maikaʻi everybody," she said, grabbing Arashi and heading for the bay to their right.

Zack looked at the marines. "Fall in on me, guys, but don't make it look like we're on parade, okay?

After the brief little scuffle created by the hysterics of the little blonde, Ivanov and Cartwright paid their tab and then departed, heading back toward the cargo bay where the transport was now loaded and ready for departure. Aboard the transport Cartwright knew Quincy was hard at work, installing the guidance system into the test module for launch. The transport was a small, sleek vessel obtained from a seller here in this universe. It would garner no attention as they departed, and once they reached the target zone they would drop the test module into a rocky debris belt from which point it would make its way toward a small research outpost located on a habitable moon where a Federation science station was located. A perfect test, the station had been built onto and a small support colony established. With 4500 residents of multiple species..they would soon learn the truth genius of Quincy’s rather unusual mind.

Zack entered the cargo bay and stayed near the back wall, crates giving him over. He pulled out his tricorder and started scanning.

Penny and Arashi entered the opposite bay and Penny immediately heard the lack of noise. No sound of footsteps, rustling of clothing or even gentle breathing. "We're alone," she said, quietly. She slipped her wand out and walked over to a computer terminal, accessing the cargo manifests for the bays. She scrolled through recently transferred loads and started cross-referencing items. "Arashi," she said, "I think our person is about to disappear." She pulled up cameras from the bay where the ship was registered and groaned. The ship their target was going to escape on was seated two berths over from their own ship.

"C'mon," she said to Arashi. "we have to get back to the landing bay." She ran out of the bay as fast as she could. She spent the eternity of minutes that they ran coming up with scenarios, wondering how they were going to avoid being seen in a large bay, editing some rap battles she'd been working on, and tweaked a curry recipe her mother had been sharing with her. They reached the landing bay and walked in, immediately ducking behind a ship. Penny nudged Arashi and pointed at one of the men standing there, the one she'd recognized from the bar. She leaned in and breathed in his ear. "Circle around. See if you can get a good look at the other one," she said under her breath.

Arashi nodded and went around stealthily as he could to see who the man was. He hid behind a pile of storage containers and pulled out a tricorder and scanned him. Once the scan finished he closed the tricorder, sneaking out as he did so. He made sure that there were a few pictures of him in the tricorder's memory so that they could see who the guy was and if he was a part of this disgusting mess.

Zack saw Penny run towards the landing pads. He took off after her.

Penny crept closer, walking on her fingertips and goes to keep her noise to a minimum and finally got close enough to get a good look at the man. She slipped her probe back out and, setting it to silent, pointed it at him, hitting him with every scan she could think of. When it finally lit up showing it was done, she crept back and out of the bay, watching the man enter his ship to leave.

She crept backwards with Arashi coming around as well, scanning the ship as it took off, trying to get a read on the engines and remembering every detail she could. She looked at her wand and read the blinking lights. If her face could get pale, it would have. She hit her combadge. "Naroot to Hunter...we have a problem."

Alec answered instantly. "A problem? Can you be more specific Penny?" He asked as he slowed to a stop to listen to her.

Arashi had just caught up to Penny and was a bit out of breath. He was out of his element with this type of mission but he did his best. He saw the ship leaving and he knew that it was going to be an issue. "So what is the plan? We can't just let them get away, am I right?" He said and looked toward the ship. He was worried but he had to stay calm.

Zack caught up to Arashi and Penny. "That the man we're looking for?"

"Yup," Penny sighed as the ship lifted off relatively silently, then spoke into her communicator again. "Zack and I found a POI, but when I scanned him....Sir, he's reading as from the Other Universe."

Alec swore softly as Penny told him about a POI. "Very good Penny. Maintain a discrete distance. Summers and I will come to you and Mr. Logan."

Penny closed the channel and watched the ship move out of the bay's forcefield. "Shouldn't be hard," she said.

Zack was taken back by that response. "Are you sure?"

"Yup. His Quantum Signature matches exactly," she said.

Zack thought for a few minutes. "Then we need to know what his plans are. Any way to plant a tracker on his ship?"

"Not unless you can jump through the forcefield and catch him," Penny said as the ship pulled away. "But we have a visual of the ship and I got a scan of its engine signature. I'll push the engines once we're out of here and signal the Victory to meet us. Once you and I are back on the bridge, you can track him from Ops and I'll head him off. It'll take some time but hopefully we can figure out what they're doing on our side of the playground."

Moments later Alec and Sam arrived. "What have you got?" He asked Penny and Logan.

"An ion wake and a dream," Penny said. "We found a guy lurking in one of the bars and he gave us the slip and by the time we got away from the authorities and on his trail, he was already loaded and taking off. But I got some scans off him as he was departing, and I have his picture. I don't know who he is, but he's not from our universe. If we hail the ship we can have them warp in, grab us and hopefully get on his trail."

Completely unnoticed by the human party, they were being hunted. Standing 3.61 meters, the Hunters watched their quarry with keen, alert eyes. A Scout had brought word of the careless group..and among the reptilian Ss’sik.. humans had been discovered to be quite a delicious delicacy. Even just one would bring a huge price on the market. The more they could capture..the higher the profits would be and.. capture them all and they would keep two for their own feeding...

"I'll contact the ship and have them pick us up, then track that ship....."

Summers' shoulders twitched. 'Something' was 'wrong,' but she couldn't quite recognize it. Looking around, she spotted..'yech.' "Commander," she quietly touched Hunter's shoulder.." Something is wrong, I feel like in an microscope.."

Zack's pulled out his weapon and looked around the cargo bay.

Looking around, something just didn't seem right.. it hit him. There were no cargo bay staff. Where earlier the bay had been full of workers and personnel tending to business, now it was just them. And their ship was at the far end of the bay, a long distance off. When the attack came, there was no warning.

From behind, the first Hunter struck. Lunging toward the away team with inhuman speed, a towering reptilian charged at them. The alien was huge, a monstrous vision in deep green tones with reddish tint to his thick armored hide. A mouth full of ragged, but razor sharp teeth bared as the being let out a deafening roar. Marine Corporal Magelietta Rossa turned, took one look at the nightmare bearing down on her and screamed as she drew her phaser and fired. The beam struck the towering brute square on, but had little effect. The reptilian staggered, it's flesh burned and scorched by the phaser blast but due to the alien's very different biology the phaser had little other effect other than to seriously...deeply...piss it off!

The enormous alien released a piercing, air-shattering, howl of pain and fury, its cry echoed from a dozen other aliens all responding, all attacking now.

Reaching Rossa, the first beast responded to her futile attempt to hit at it with a knife she'd carried at her belt by snapping it's jaws shut over her forearm, severing the limb just below the elbow.

Penny rushed towards Rossa and caught the marine as she stumbled back, shock and pain already showing on the marine's face. Nurse mode kicked in and she dragged her back, spun and kicked out, her boot connecting with the reptile and her denser body forcing it back a bit. It stopped, surprised at being staggered and Penny took that moment to rush backwards, pulling Rossa with her, a trail of blood marking their retreat to the ship.

She hoped the others were okay as she dragged her patient behind the ship and out of sight. She pulled off her jacket and took off her shirt, quickly wrapping it around the stump of the arm. Rossa was shivering as blood loss left her in shock and Penny smacked her face. "Stay awake!" she shouted. She wrapped the arm expertly, silently blessing Doctor Pulaski's "emergency medicine" course at the Academy. She took her bra off next and quickly slipped her jacket back on and pulled it tight, hooking it as closed as she could to preserve her modesty a bit. She grabbed a piece of debris on the ground and splinted the arm, then tied her bra around the arm tight as a makeshift tourniquet. The shirt was already incredibly bloody, and most of Penny was covered as well, but it was all she could do until they were secure in the ship.

Summers pulled out her knife and assumed an defensive posture as she stayed close to the wounded as all began to climb back into their craft.

Hunter was fast but Penny was faster reaching the Marine first, so he quickly opted to pop the hatch and get everyone aboard. "Come on Chief! We are leaving!" Giving her an incredulous look at her holding a knife to ward off a monster.

Zack pulled back, walking backwards, looking for the Hunters.

Arashi followed quickly after the group to protect the wounded and to make sure that the aliens that attacked the Marine were not following them. He got on board and sat down. He wanted to stay and fight but he knew that the Marine that was hurt bad needed to get to sickbay on the Victory if she were to have a chance to survive.

As Hunter opened the hatch, Penny picked up Rossa and carried her inside, sitting her on a seat and strapping her in. When Zack came on behind her, she grabbed him and put him in the seat next to Rossa. "Hold her arm above her head," Penny said. She wiped her bloodied hands on her pants and opened up the medkit on the ship, pulling out the programmable hypospray. She set it and injected Rossa quickly, then reprogrammed it and injected her again, then reprogrammed and injected a third time, handing the hypo to Zack. "Give her an injection in thirty minutes. Shout if the blood from her arm turns black, and no matter what, keep her awake."

"Hold her arm above her head, check. Thirty minutes...then injection, check. Keep her awake. Rossa….talk to me."

Rossa groaned, her eyes rolling around in her head. "Hurts..." she wheezed.

Penny grabbed the second medkit and handed it to Hunter for any other bumps and bruises, dropping into the pilot's chair once they were all aboard and brought the engines online, bloody fingerprints on her console. "Hang on to something!" she said, throwing the ship into reverse and sailing out the docking bay backwards. She swung them around and shot into warp as quickly as she could, part of her mind regretting they didn't fill out the proper disembarkation paperwork.

Summers took that time to stand up to adjust her seat, and whapped her head on the top..again.. " Ohhhh .." She sheepishly looked around at the others before continuing..." Nuts! " And sat down.

As soon as they were clear of the station, Alec was on the com. "Calling Victory! Lost sheep enroute. Have a medical emergency. Highly suggest you get off your hands and rush best speed to meet us."

Arashi wiped the sweat off his forehead. He had been running pure adrenaline and it was starting to wear off. He heard Summer's exclamation and looked toward her. "You okay over there?" He asked her, laughing a little bit.

Samantha looked over at Arashi and slightly grinned. " A-ok, Lieutenant, thanks for asking."

"Sit down and buckle in," Penny said, nudging the engines a decimal place or two past Warp 8, trying to shave off some time.

Summers nodded and did so, breathing a sigh of relief, or tension.

Alec looked over at Penny as she boosted the engine's higher. "Fly the ship apart if you have to Penny. Get all you can out of the engines. By the way good work. That was quick thinking with your field dressing. You probably saved Rossa's life."

Penny looked back at Rossa. The woman was white as a ghost. The odds of her surviving the trip back was slim. "That's nice to think, but the odds aren't in her favor," she said, quietly. "At least she'll be among friendlies."

"Does the medkit contain a needle and some tubing? Maybe we can transfuse blood to her from one of us?" Zack looked at the others.

Penny sighed and nodded to Alex to watch the engines. She turned and moved to the back, leaning over Rossa, checking her pulse and looking at the arm. Rossa's breathing was ragged and her skin chalky white. Penny took the hypo from Zack and reprogrammed it and pressed it to her neck.

She handed the hypo back to Zack and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"I'm just a nurse," she said quietly. "Meatball surgery is Nicole's strength. I could maybe do something if we had materials, but we don't, we only have basic medkits. Right now, if you're religious, pray. If you aren't, just be there for her. Right now, all we can do is hope." She pulled back, tears leaking from her eyes as she looked at him. "I'm sorry," she said to him, then moved back to the cockpit. She sat back down in her chair and took a breath, watching the stars streak by.

Alec watched as Penny went back to check on Rossa. When she returned he said softly. "Penny, why don't you go and sit back there with Logan, Rossa and the others? I can handle things up here. Talk to her, keep her conscious, keep her warm, prevent shock, though I think that may be too late. You've stopped the blood flow and are doing all you can." He nodded to the back of the shuttle. "Go and talk to her. I'll request emergency beam out for Rossa directly into Sickbay."

Ooc: welp. Since nothing was considered or allowed for me to respond to here with events trucking right on along including actions which should have been given time to allow the storyteller to respond before getting to the shuttle...

Fuck it.

You’re back on the ship. Go to Sickbay

 

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