Singh, T'Var and the two Aelyrr catch the next turbolift to the Bridge.
Vargas slows a little and says, "Yes, Mr. Collins?"
The Red Alert klaxon continues to sound. The corridors fill as Yorktown personnel rush to their duty stations.
Printable View
Singh, T'Var and the two Aelyrr catch the next turbolift to the Bridge.
Vargas slows a little and says, "Yes, Mr. Collins?"
The Red Alert klaxon continues to sound. The corridors fill as Yorktown personnel rush to their duty stations.
Nia nods her thanks to Booker and enjoys the physical connection, too brief but pretty much all the contact they can have right now. But when she sees him give the info to Collins, who of course dismisses him to suck up to Vargas, Nia barely manages to refrain from an epic eye-roll. Apparently Booker's under the impression that a request from a full lieutenant means he can fob the job off onto his little protege.
Oh hell no. Unbelievable. By the time this game of 'Romulan Whispers' is through, the story will somehow get warped to imply that Collins personally uncovered a plot linking the kitties to the Orion Syndicate.
She moves swiftly to Vargas and Collins with a very quick smile to the latter before turning to the former. "I'll take this, Mr. Collins. If my idea's bad, I might as well get the blame for it." And the credit, but Nia doubts she'll hear any of that. Her gaze doesn't left Vargas's.
"Sir. I'm concerned that we're trusting the Aelyrr too readily. Especially with the deaths of the Klingons... It seems quite possible, maybe even likely, that whatever the Aelyrr gave the Klingons might have been lethal sabotage. In fact, for all we know, these Aelyrr could be from one of the factions that wanted to steal the Codex from its rightful owners--whoever they are."
"Of course..." Nia exhales and licks her lips. "I'm sure you and the Captain are taking due precautions, but just in case... I believe we should keep two armed security officers to 'escort' the alleged High Priestess and Eris anywhere they go. And--I'd also suggest bringing Mr. Cheverez and his crew back from the Naradraen." The red lights and klaxon spur her to talk faster. "Sir, if we walk to the Bridge together I can explain more on the way."
Collins is about to speak when Onn barges in. She steps back and waits for Onn to finish. Before Onn has a chance to walk away with Vargas, Collins grabs her arm and pulls her close. "What was that about? You all but knocked me against the wall?" she whispers.
Nia stares at Collins as if she's lost her mind--a possibility that, frankly, Nia's not taking off the table.
"I didn't even touch you, and I simply wanted Cmdr. Vargas to hear my rationale from the horse's mouth. Now let go of me, Mr. Collins," she snaps at the younger woman. "Do you seriously want to get into a physical confrontation with a senior officer, in front of the first officer, during a Red Alert?!"
The absurdity of Collins's choosing this time to put her hands on Nia would be funny if it didn't reveal a shockingly irresponsible sense of proportion. She wrests her arm free and looks at Vargas in some disbelief at his ACoS's lack of discipline, but otherwise ignores Collins to focus on the much more important issue at hand.
Rangin is about to clarify what he said, that the chances or Alveron and Eris being party to the theft of the codex is quite small, seeing as if they had done so, it would be more likely for the Aelyrr to send other Aelyrr after them, instead of Klingons. However, given that the Klingons had worked for some other groups and that they hadn't killed all of those on board the Naradraen, it probably meant they had strict instructions to grab the codex and make sure Alveron, at least, stayed alive. Probably hired by some other religious or political faction...
...and then sees Graham, Onn and Collins talking between each other about having security shadow the Aelyrr, followed by Collins and then Onn approaching Vargas after which Lt JG Collins decides to grab the senior officer. He freezes, almost in shock at the event, and then looks around, and gestures to Kylah who is following to steer clear of what is likely to be a large explosion from the Head of Security. He moves away to the Turbolift to give space, hoping one is there shortly to at least extract him from the situation.
Feeling satisfied that he's conveyed Nia's idea to Collins for her--as she seems to prefer--to bring to Vargas, Graham heads to the Bridge without a second thought or look back.
Rangin and Graham board the next turbolift, which is otherwise empty. Do you allow the doors to close now?
The First Officer looks from Onn to Collins. He says with some asperity, "All right, both of you - as you were. Mr. Onn, your theory had occurred to the Captain and me, and it may have some merit, but for now we have no reason to doubt the high priestess's story, and it was the Captain's decision to proceed on that basis. But thank you for bringing it to my attention. I believe the Captain intends to leave Mr. Cheverez and his Engineering team aboard the Aelyrr ship, but I will mention your other suggestion to her. Mr. Collins, in an abundance of caution, please keep an eye on the Aelyrr once we reach the Bridge, and accompany them anywhere else they go while aboard ship. I don't expect trouble, but of course it's best to be prepared. Anything else, Lieutenants?"
To give herself some time to think, Nia puts her hands behind her back, balling them into tight fists.
Hell yeah, I've got something else. I'd start with asking you to take your treating Collins and me as if we were both equally naughty little girls and shove it up your ass. She's the one who behaved violently and threateningly toward a fellow officer, not me. Merciful Seht'Dar, give me strength.
In truth, the endless bad decisions on the parts of both Vargas and Singh--who apparently made her decision to help the Aelyrr without bothering to ask for a report from the boarding party, even though this was supposed to be a debriefing--have long since ceased to surprise Nia. She just looks forward to the day their whole generation retires and heads off to Risa, or maybe the Old Officers' Home of their choice, where they belong.
So they still think the Aelyrr are trustworthy. It's ludicrous that they've bestowed such trust after speaking to these never-before-seen aliens briefly. Once, mind you, and for all of ten minutes!
Nia wants to point out how hypocritical the Naradraen gang is; how these supposedly devout believers wept and wailed and were willing to commit suicide over 'allowing' the Klingons to steal their precious Codex... but then don't utter a single gasp of horror when the Klingons' ship explodes, sending that likely booby-trapped Codex into oblivion. Is that still trustworthy, Commander?
She also wants to bring up Eris and her stone-cold murder of a defenseless Klingon. Then, during the battle, Nia was willing to buy Eris's explanation--she didn't like it, but vengeance can make anyone unhinged and even morally bankrupt; that whole benefit-of-the-doubt thing died at the same time an entire ship of Klingons exploded.
Everything she wants to say... she knows would just get her in trouble. Rather than waste the time and energy, she just takes a deep breath. Relax. "I don't think so, sir," she murmurs evenly. "But I do wish I'd had a chance to report to the Captain alone, away from the Aelyrr. Luck was against me. Even if I'd had the opportunity, of course, it might not have made a difference. Thank you for giving me your time and consideration."
Okay, onward Ho. She turns and starts to leave, but then pauses because she can't help herself. "Sir, I do hope you'll reconsider having only Collins here guarding the Aelyrr. I saw no less than four massive Klingons fail to control them, which is strange in and of itself. Then again," she adds with a charming smile, "Admittedly my bruised arm is proof she has some muscle to her. We'll have to hope for the best. Anyway, I'm sure that display of strength made you proud, Commander. You too, Lieutenant."
With a nod to Vargas--she's a professional, unlike his ACoS--she turns and starts off to the turbolift, catching up with Kylah on her way. Her mind's seething too much for Nia to say anything to the younger woman. Even if it's really just my ego that's bruised, not my arm, it sure would've been nice if Vargas had given Collins even a single, tiny hint that hey, maybe it's wrong to grab and drag a crew member around, especially when she's trying to talk to the First Officer about something kinda important. No, that's just crazy talk. I know better than to expect him to defend me in any way.
Security people stick together, end of story. The whole thing would be unbelievable if Collins were in a different department--but no, she's Security. Hallowed be thy name. I guess it doesn't hurt that she's a cute, young redhead.
Smirking to herself, she strides faster. Guess Vargas hopes he'll get a goodbye bang as a retirement gift. Ah, sorry, commander, but I doubt she goes for senior citizens. Maybe he'll get lucky.
Eyeing the corridor in front of her, she abruptly loses her train of thought. Good grief, is that Booker and Rangin? On a turbolift...alone?! Nia groans inwardly. Now this should be a bucket of laughs. After a second's thought, she isn't sure if she's fast enough to leap in there to prevent the inevitable brouhaha, but she gives it her best. Kylah, beside her, seems just as concerned, though the little Elasian doesn't say a word, because like Nia she speeds up considerably.
I'm not sure adding yourself into the mix is gonna help much, kid. Collins probably has more influence on Booker than Nia does--hey, after all, Nia only nearly slept with him, but Collins is a brother-in-arms, so to speak. Knowing this, Nia still doesn't bother to look back to see if the security officer is heading this way. She doesn't particularly care what Collins does at this point. Or at any time. Mostly she just prays that she can get in between Booker and the guy who seems to annoy him just by breathing. Ensign Rangin, the world's most mild powder keg. A nervous giggle escapes her, but she sobers up quickly. She is deeply concerned that Booker could do something rash and hopes she can stop him.
She also hopes, above all and everything else, that her intuitions about the Aelyrr are wrong.
As Lt Onn, heads across leaving Collins in her wake, Rangin snaps out of the sight that, given Vargas' demeanour, he didn't reprimand Collins for assaulting a senior officer, even if it was a grab of the arm. He also realises he is stuck in the turbolift with Graham who seems to be happily away with the fairies. Otherwise Rangin would not have expected him to enter the turbolift...actually, it would be quite like Graham to try and get Rangin alone in the turbloft to make another threat. After all, if Collins can get away with it, then every Security person is obviously going to be given such largesse.
Rangin decides it would be better to have more people around and sticks a hand in the doorway stopping the sensors from closing the door to allow Lt Onn and Kylah to enter. And if she doesn't move quickly, Lt. JG. Collins is going to be left behind with Vargas.
Kylah, not for the first time, has no idea what's going on between the various personalities surrounding her. She is very conscious of the possible danger, although she detected no deception from the Aelyrr. Then again, they are hard to read. She didn't detect any deception in Hardin either, and he should have been easy--unless he was a psychopath. Strange that my powers might be getting weaker, while Velir shows mental capabilities he never knew he had...
What strikes her most, while Lt. Onn goes over to talk to Vargas, is the older woman's showing disdain for how one of the Aelyrr--she knows the priestess is Alveron, so the other one must be Eris--killed a Klingon. Since joining the Academy, she has literally never heard anyone arguing against killing Klingons. Maybe coming from a non-Federation planet gives Lt. Onn a perspective the longtime Federation members lack?
All she knows is that while she wanted to avoid the Klingons on the ship, now she is extremely interested in speaking to them. How can she manage it? How--
Her attention jerks away from her inner thoughts when she sees Collins taking rough hold of Lt. Onn's arm and pulling her closer. Kylah's eyes widen and her mouth falls agape. What could this possibly be about? She turns to Graham, who seems to be friends with both women, but her wish to ask what might be happening fades away when she feels Velir's arm leading her deftly away from the confrontation. Not just deftly. Protectively.
Kylah can only follow like a marionette guided by strings. Am I sleeping? Did I drift off in the meeting and all this is some strange dream?
Velir lets go--her back feels chilly now, without his arm there--and continues toward the turbolift. But Kylah lags behind, still curious about what Onn could have said to make Collins display such disrespect to a superior officer. No, any officer. No one should be grabbed like that. She hugs herself and tries to sense what the women are feeling, but anger is so chaotic an emotion that it almost never reveals much. There is no subtlety to rage.
Then again that might not be true. When Lt. Onn strides away from the Chief of Security and his ACoS, the Sidonian's emotions are a cacophony, but Kylah can pluck a few from the mix. A sort of cynical outrage, coupled with... is that genuine fear? Kylah looks more closely at Onn's face. There is absolutely nothing revealed by her expression. Calm, a small smile raising her almost regal cheeks, and a smooth, unhurried stride. She could have just emerged from a Vulcan meditation class. Kylah turns and walks with her, trying to think of a way to address whatever just occurred.
That changes in an instant when Lt. Onn's gaze, now in profile since she is walking by Kylah's side, fixes straight ahead. A small but identifiable flash of dread widens her dark emerald eyes. Kylah turns and identifies the source of the disquiet. It's hard not to. Mr. Graham and Velir, in a small turbolift.
Onn has already passed Kylah, her much-longer legs moving faster to catch the turbolift before it closes. Kylah needs no encouragement and starts to walk quickly herself. She is tired but she does not want something ugly to occur. She reaches the door after Lt. Onn, not surprisingly. "Thank--thank you for holding the door," Kylah murmurs to Velir. She does not know where to stand. Too close to Velir, and it might insult Velir and annoy Graham. The reverse will likely please Graham but both insult and annoy Velir.
So she settles for the middle, as equidistant as possible. This is madness, she thinks dizzily. A Red Alert is underway, there are Klingons in the brig who might be mercenaries or dupes who do not know their comrades have been killed, strangers from an unknown culture on the Bridge walking around with the Captain with no current escort, and much of our engineering crew is to be left behind. And yet I must worry about offending two men who seem to hate each other.
She looks over at Lt. Onn. The woman rarely seems at a loss for words. Will she allay the tension in this small lift? Who will break this awkward silence?
Collins snaps to attention when Vargas raises his voice. In answer to his orders, all she says is "Yes, sir." She'll apologize to Onn later. She didn't mean to be so rough with her, all she wanted to do was know why Onn jumped in, cutting Collins off the way she did. What did she think I was going to tell him? She shrugs internally and heads to the turbolift.
Graham's mind is occupied trying to think about reasons for the Klingon ship exploding. If they were mercenaries, there's the possibility they were more slipshod and careless than real Klingon military...
Once in the turbolift he realizes he's been blessed with Rangin's presence for the ride. Fortunately, he's suspects Rangin will have nothing to say to him. He's sure in Rangin's little games he's playing, Graham's now a non-entity, someone to be marginalized or embarrassed when Rangin performs for others. He's surprised when it seems Rangin moves to leave, though: if anything Rangin ought to enjoy silently needling him, emphasizing Graham is helpless against his cleverness...
Then he sees that Rangin is holding the door open for a whole cast of characters coming down the hallway...
Huh, what the hell is going on?
There is a brief nod from Rangin to Kylah as she thanks him for holding the door open and as he looks down the corridor, he can see Collins also heading in the same direction. Leaving his hand up, he waits a few moments for Collins to join them, somehow squeezing into the group.
Once in, he activates it to head for the Bridge following the Captain and the Aelyrr.
Graham is aware the silence feels awkward.
I could say "it's good to see you fully recovered" to Kylah, he thinks--except she looks like shit.
Do we have Rangin to blame for that again?
This reminds him of the most recent time he saw Rangin accosting her, in the hallway...
Which calls to mind an idea he'd been toying with.
Graham clears his throat. "It's good to see you back on duty, Mr. Kylah," he says quietly and evenly. "If--ah, when you feel fully recovered we should meet at the gym sometime, there's something I'd like to show you."
Feeling dwarfed by everyone but Velir, Kylah hugs her multiple datapads to her chest, flattening herself somewhat so she takes up less space and, in some fantasy world, becomes invisible. The emotions in such a tight room are thick and oppressive, and she closes her eyes against them. Anger. Jealousy. Resentment. Self-righteousness. They combine into a virtual chorus, and Kylah has no mental earplugs to drown it out.
She hears her name and opens her eyes again. Graham. Gym? He wants to show her... what? What does that mean? She lowers her head slightly, still feeling buffeted by the turbulent emotions of the five other people only inches away. "Thank you, I am feeling better. I was able to work all night. I was worried about you. All of you," she adds hastily. Although she does not know Lt. Onn well enough to worry about her specifically.
"As for the gym... if you think it is a good idea. Whatever you wish," she finishes in a rush, trying to think of the least troublesome answer so she can shut up and ignore the claustrophobia that seems to be crushing her.
Vargas listens to Onn, then says, "As to the bruised arm wisecrack, stow it, Lieutenant. You may ask to speak to the Captain privately if there's more you'd like to say about the Aelyrr. As to another guard for them, point taken." He says to Collins, "You and Graham keep an eye on our guests as long as they're aboard the ship. Let Three Crows handle the Security console on the Bridge for now."
Once Onn is out of earshot, he adds, "You should keep your hands to yourself in future, Mr. Collins. Onn isn't in your chain of command but is senior to you. An apology to her would not be out of order." He leaves for the Brig.
The rest of you take a tense turbolift ride to the Bridge. Singh is already in the big chair, and Bennett is back at Navigation. Alveron and Eris stand near the Captain. T'Var is at Life Sciences, and Three Crows at Security. The Red Alert klaxon stops blaring when Singh punches a button on her chair arm.
The viewscreen is filled with a giant, fiery cloud of debris. Bennett is saying, "...much bigger than would be expected from a Klingon scoutship - three to four times as big an explosion. I don't know what they were carrying to cause such a huge blast."
Collins has a moment to tell Graham of Vargas's orders. Onn, Rangin and Kylah may take their posts as the officers there rise to make way for you.
Fresh from the cosy environs of the turbolift, Rangin is only to glad to get away from the stifling silence. There is little he can say about Graham and no doubt he will be, once again, warning Kylah about how dangerous a person Rangin is.
He heads across to the Science Terminal and gets a brief update from whoever is sat there. Next he will begin scanning the area to see if there is any sign of explosive material or extraneous matter above and beyond that of the Klingon scoutship.
If he gets a chance he will politely enquire of the Aelyrr, "Excuse me ma'am," to whichever he can attract the attention of, "could you tell me what the codex is made of. I would like to confirm for certain whether it was in the explosion or not."
As they exit the lift, Collins motions to Graham to stick with Eris and that she'll stick with Alveron.
Rangin soon brings himself up to speed on the Science console. He sees that Bennett is correct, and that the explosion is much bigger than might have been expected for a ship of that size and configuration. Readings in the vicinity are still very much in flux, but he does see indications of tricobalt residue in the quickly-expanding debris field, which stands almost directly between the Yorktown and the nebula.
Alveron says, "The Codex is written on hanaal paper, very thin and very old, and its carrying case, the Naraeveo, is of the same metal as my armbands."
Graham notices that Eris seems aware of Collins's gesture. The Aelyrr warrior stares at Graham and cocks her head; her eyes widen slightly.
By the time she reaches the Helm, Nia has long forgotten the staggeringly unprofessional, yet entirely predictable, behavior of their First Officer.
She was disappointed that Collins still hasn't learned a bloody thing since she stepped on board the ship, despite Nia's advice to think before she acts--and Nia's willing to bet that she's not the first to have recommended that tactic--but given that the Chief of Security himself tacitly encourages such displays of aggression and disrespect by not immediately addressing them, Collins lacks a decent role model.
By the end of the tense turbolift ride, the only thought Nia bothered with was a mental shrug of Too bad. Waste of potential. Maybe she'll learn as fewer and fewer people respect her as a leader.
But interpersonal conflicts don't matter now. Nia casts a quick glance at the Aelyrr without showing her suspicion, but returns her focus to the large control panel she shares with Bennett.
"Captain, I suggest immediate evasive maneuvers to avoid that debris, if possible." She prepares to get the ship the hell out of the way in any direction Bennett plots, in case Singh gives the order. Her inner engineer adds: "And if the Naradraen doesn't have its shields or engines back yet, I recommend we use our tractor beam to drag her along with us. Or at least extend our shields."
Kylah is aghast at the loss of life, now confronted by the visible and sensor-related evidence of the catastrophic disaster.
Duty-wise, there is not much she can do except half-heartedly check to see if there has been any response from the various messages she sent requesting information about the ancient Caitians. Of course, if the Captain agrees with Lt. Onn's recommendations, Kylah expects to be ordered to contact the Naradraen or Cheverez directly.
After looking in her mailbox, she thinks of the quiet but hard words uttered by the Lieutenant near the conference room. Perhaps Kylah can help gauge the Aelyrr's intentions, at least a little. She closes her eyes for a few seconds and focuses on Alveron. As hard as the Aelyrr are to read, she was somewhat able to take their emotional temperature before. Perhaps she'll be lucky now.
Graham holds up his hands, palms up, disarmingly and smiles slightly as he catches Eris' eyes and approaches the Aelyrr un-hurriedly. "Nothing to worry about, ma'am-I've just been assigned to keep you company and make sure you're comfortable while on the Yorktown."
Rangin takes a brief scan of Alveron's armbands and then feeds the results into the main Science console before getting the main sensors to search the debris.
He also passes across details of the tricobolt signature to Security, to see if they have any weapons, Klingon or otherwise, that match it.
Bennett says, "Neither we nor the Aelyrr ship are in any danger from the debris field, Captain. The Klingon scoutship had been traveling away from us for more than half an hour at just under Warp 3. By the time the field reaches us it will be too diffuse to cause any harm."
"Thank you, Mr. Bennett," the Captain says, leaning forward in her seat. "Mr. Onn, prepare to take the Naradraen under tow with a tractor beam, just the same. Set a course for the Klingon ship's last position, but don't engage yet."
Kylah finds no incoming messages of note since she was last at the Communications console. Alveron, she perceives, is very upset and concerned - about what, the young Elasian officer cannot be sure - but is holding her feelings tightly in check. Kylah then realizes that the Captain is looking at her with concern. Singh says, "You look all in, Mr. Kylah. You've stood a double watch, haven't you?"
Eris says to Graham - a little warily, he thinks - "Thank you, Ensign. It's always good to be in the company of another warrior."
After his scan, Rangin sees that the high priestess's armbands are made of a metal previously unknown to Federation science. It has some of the properties of silver but is clearly not that element on a molecular level. A thorough scan of the debris field will take a few minutes; he begins it.
Ens. Three Crows says from across the Bridge, "Captain, Mr. Rangin has found indications of tricobalt residue in the debris field. Klingons do occasionally use tricobalt explosives."
"Yes, of course," Singh says. "Do your people, High Priestess?"
"No," Alveron replies. "I have never even heard of it."
"Nor have I," Eris says.
"Would a holdful of tricobalt, given a scoutship's cargo capacity, yield this large an explosion?" Singh asks.
Three Crows runs a simulation, and passes along the results to Rangin, too. "Yes, I think so, Captain," she says, "depending on type, structure and trigger method. It's big, but it's possible."
Kylah looks as alert as possible. "Aye ma'am, I had a double-watch yesterday morning and late last night, with Lt. Thalen's permission. But I was taken off watch shortly after the boarding party left here. I was able to sleep in the meantime." She cannot help giving a sidelong glance at Velir--who could easily reveal that she was sleeping at her keyboard--before returning her attention to Singh. "Regarding the tricobalt... it could have another name in the Aelyrr language. It seems unlikely that the translator could identify the correct word for such an obscure term--it would have to have heard it from them at some point."
From where she stands, next to Alveron, Collins asks of the entire bridge crew "Is there any chance that the Klingons somehow beamed off the scout ship with the codex before the explosion? Any traces of another ship nearby?"
"Checking for any remains now ma'am," replies Rangin as he get the biosensors to look for any signs of biological material although he is not expecting to find any given the explosion. Then again, a few remnants of cells may still be around here or there.
Singh looks unconvinced by Kylah's answer. "That can't have been much rest. Hmm. Take another ten minutes, Mr. Kylah, and then send for Mr. Thalen to relieve you, if you please."
Eris asks, "May I see your scans of the tricobalt residue? Perhaps I will recognize it."
As before, Rangin sees no traces of any other ship in the vicinity. No scans taken while he was aboard the Naradraen revealed any, either. There are faint signs of Klingon biomatter, and some other organic matter, in the large, still-expanding cloud of gas and debris which is all that remains of the Klingon scoutship.
Rangin gestures Eris across to his console to bring up the details for tricobolt while refining his searches, once again, to try and find traces of the scroll covering, which is similar to the armbands, and to decipher what the differing organic matter is drifting in the debris.
Blushing at Singh's order--which tells the entire crew that she is not fit for service--Kylah just nods, murmurs her assent, and swivels to face her currently useless panel. I must have some purpose, why can I not simply sit here and be available for translation if needed...?
The thought of translation reminds her of the prisoners now sitting in the Brig. Eventually they must be told about their lost comrades; why not now? Maybe after hearing their ship has been destroyed, they might speak? Even a few blurted words of anger or sorrow could be a clue; with her knowledge of tlhIngan Hol, Kylah might understand what the translator cannot. Getting virtually thrown off the Bridge might not be a bad thing after all: at least it allows her to test this theory.
My chief trouble will be getting past security--and I will likely fail--but at least I can try.
Eris looks over the tricobalt specs and data. She says, "I am not a scientist, but I recognize this. This is what we call gellyer. It is a very potent explosive, and the Klingons often used it in our civil war."
Rangin determines that the biomatter - none of it bigger than a thumbnail - includes carbon, nitrogen, calcium, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, sulfur and some trace elements distinctive of, if not unique to, Klingon physiology. Dr. T'Var helps him with biomedical cross-references from her Life Sciences console. The young Coridanite xenobiologist sees no trace of the Aelyrr strong, silvery armband metal - which Alveron identifies as naryen - in the debris and gas cloud left by the destruction of the Klingon scoutship. As his scan proceeds and the cloud further dissipates, he is surprised when his console beeps, indicating that there is naryen beyond the cloud.
Graham politely and sincerely--well, nearly entirely sincerely--nods acknowledgment of Eris' comment. While the sensor jockeys are scanning the debris he runs through in his mind what he observed about Eris' apparent combat capabilities while the Aelyrr was struggling with the Klingon...just in case. Didn't look as strong, quicker...apparently tried to use fangs in hand to hand combat...Tail appeared to be for balance only and not a weapon in itself...
Rangin passes the data for the biomatter across to T'Var leaving her to detemine what the extra content may come from, before refocusing back on the curious matter of the naryen.
"Ma'am," he calls out to the Captain, "it appears there is no trace of the codex within the blast radius of the ship. However, there is a trace beyond. Analysing now."
Collins says nothing as she stands there, but listens with interest. Maybe they beamed the codex off the ship expecting another mercenary ship to pick it up? she ponders.
With considerable difficulty, Rangin is able to detect a very faint sign of a spacecraft beyond the debris and gas cloud. It has stealthy design features but is not cloaked. The naryen is inside it. He refines the scan further and sees that it is a Klingon shuttlecraft, heading directly away from where the larger scoutship was, and racing at Warp 7 for the nebula beyond.
Singh walks over to stand at the red Bridge railing near Rangin.
Like so: https://theignorantbystander.files.w...irk-bridge.jpg
"That can't be right," the exclamation half muttered under his breath as Rangin cajoles the sensors into giving him the readings on the small craft. Puzzled by the output, he sets off a diagnostic to ensure the sensors are accurate before half-turning round in the chair, with a slightly perturbed look, towards the captain.
"Ma'am, the sensors are reporting a Klingon shuttlecraft moving at Warp 7 just beyond the blast radius and heading into the nebula. It also appears to be carrying the codex. It's not cloaked and from its size I doubt it will get very far despite its speed, but that does mean that it is likely to be heading for a very specific point and pickup."
Without thinking he turns back to the console and relays the flight details to the Navigator position for them to start computing a course if needs be.
Nia, finished preparing to tow the Naradraen, raises an eyebrow.
So the Klingons have cloaking ability and shuttles that can go Warp 7. How come they're getting all the cool tech? Acquiring various defeated planets' technology, I suppose. Damn, the Empire clearly has better taste when choosing which planets to conquer than the Federation does when it draws up its diplomatic agreements.
Aloud, she murmurs, "Sure is lucky to have someone who knows what he's doing at the sensors," not bothering to look at the self-proclaimed sensor expert Bennett. Funny that someone--who was so certain of her scientific prowess that she'd put a shieldless ship at risk--somehow missed the presence of an uncloaked Klingon shuttle. Why did it take Rangin to find that shuttle, especially since it wasn't cloaked?
Bennett's overconfidence notwithstanding, Nia doesn't see what the big revelation is. "Okay," she adds with a shrug. "That diversion took up about five minutes of our time, but I don't see how any of this changes anything. So we briefly thought the scout ship exploded and destroyed the Codex. Doesn't seem to have harmed anyone--even the High Priestess and Eris have barely had time to show any grief; I think Kylah showed more concern than they did, but then she's... very sensitive." A basket case, is what Nia thinks, but obviously doesn't comment on that.
"Luckily we've already got a do-over. I mean... Does it really matter which band of Klingons now has the Codex? It's like that Earth saying, 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss.' We are still going after them, aren't we, Captain?"
"Smells like a double-cross to me," Graham says, glancing at Nia and then Collins. "If we're talking mercenaries, somebody either didn't want to share with his cohorts, or else took a contract from a different client on the sly." He shrugs and rubs his chin. "Blowing up the ship keeps things nice and tidy--and it does argue for a rendezvous point or ship some place nearby. But--yes, I suppose an even lower level of scum, but basically six of one, half-dozen of the other."
Three Crows nods at what Graham said; Eris looks thoughtful.
Rangin confirms that the shuttle is indeed moving at Warp 7. He is not sure how long it can sustain such a high speed.
Onn runs a quick simulation on her board and sees that at that velocity, and given its current course and location, it would have left the scoutship less than a minute before the explosion. It will reach the nebula boundary in less than three minutes.
"Pursue it, please, Captain," Alveron says, her voice cracking. "They cannot be allowed to escape, after their crimes. We must recover the Codex."
Singh nods. "Lay in a pursuit course, Mr. Bennett. Warp 8, Mr. Onn, when you're ready. Mr. Three Crows, prepare a spread of four photon torpedos. Set them at half yield; I want a bracketing salvo to knock them out of warp and disable but not destroy them. Fire on my mark."
"Aye, Captain," Bennett and Three Crows say almost simultaneously.
Nia flashes a small smile at Booker when he agrees with her, then snaps her gaze back to Singh. She returns the older woman's order with a crisp, "Jumping to Warp 8 on Nav's say-so, aye Captain," repeating the command to indicate she's understood and will comply--standard for any experienced officer.
Her hands are already in place while her gaze focuses on Bennet's actions on the panel. Once the course is set, Nia will immediately act as necessary.
"Better be ready for company," she says softly, almost a mantra. Could be a Bird of Prey hidden in the nebula. Shuttles aren't ideal for long distance journeys, even with such impressive engines, and the Klingons probably have something more suitable on standby; the mercenaries or pirates or whatever they are have to get home somehow.
'They.' Why am I assuming multiple saboteurs, if that's happened?
Her thoughts give her a frown. "Rangin, don't suppose you can tell how many are on that shuttle, can you? Or ascertain that they are Klingons?"
Temporarily tuning everything else out, Kylah refines her sensors to see if she can pick up any trace of a signal. She concentrates on every slight flux in the wave pattern all along the band to discern if there's anything identifiable as communication coming from--or to--the shuttle. Thoughts of contacting Thalen to replace her are dismissed--hopefully Singh will realize changing horses midstream is not a good idea.
Especially since she feels more alert with a new idea. "Excuse me, Mr. Rangin?" she asks in a quiet voice. "I too have a question. I find it... puzzling... that they are not cloaked, despite our presence. Normally I would assume this would mean they do not have a cloaking device, but given the remarkable capabilities of this shuttle it seems doubtful. So..." She turns slightly to Graham for confirmation, wondering if she is being too paranoid. "Could they be leading us somewhere, intentionally?"
Collins considers all the theories that are being bandied about. But she's not concerned. Although the Federation's mission is one of peace, she knows every Academy graduate is trained to be ready for anything. Reflexively, she readies herself to jump into action, then remembers, almost sadly, that she's just a bodyguard for now.
Rangin works furiously, not only to answer all the questions being thrown at him, but to coax every possible reading out of the sensors to give them an edge. His hands are no longer tapping away at the panel in front of him, just a careful nudge here and there, a slight adjustment, a little extra in one direction, a little less in another.
The bio scans have been passed off to T'Var and he hopes she is making good progress with them, although the same thought as Lt Onn occurs and then something further. "Dr T'Var, are we getting any life signs from the shuttle at all? Because if we are following something on automatic, shooting at it isn't going to help." On a hunch, he also adds a note to the extraneous bio signs from the shuttle debris to T'Var asking if the extra matter could be classified as Aelyrr.
He swivels the chair round again to face across to the Comms area and sees Kylah fixed in place, concentrating while still waiting for an answer from him. "Mr Kylah, can you see if there is any kind of homing beacon or signal being used on this trajectory." He taps a few keys passing across the trajectory before turning back round. "You will probably have a better chance if there is anything there, than I will."
Kylah nods. "I am already trying to find any signal or attempt at communication, either from a living being or a computer, going to or from the shuttle. The nebula might cause interference, but I will try to account for that."
Bennett plots the intercept course and nods to Onn, who sets and engages the warp drive. The Yorktown leaps forward, the engines' drone going higher and higher before leveling off. In seconds, the heavy cruiser is racing towards the debris cloud.
Rangin and T'Var focus the lateral sensor array's biosensors. They determine that there are three Klingons aboard the shuttle, which is about half again as big as a standard Starfleet Class F shuttlecraft.
T'Var says, in response to Rangin's question, "The biomatter in the debris cloud might be Aelyrr too, I suppose, but I see no sign of it. There's nothing distinctively Aelyrr about these readings."
Kylah detects no beacon or signal that might be guiding the shuttle into the nebula. She discovers, however, that the shuttle is now broadcasting a repeating coded message on a different subspace band than the Yorktown had earlier been jamming from the scoutship.
Three Crows says, "Torpedoes ready, Captain." She adds, concerned, "It'll be a tricky shot, though. At this speed, I can't guarantee that the shuttle won't be significantly damaged or even destroyed."
"Two steps ahead of me as usual, Mr Kylah." Rangin shakes his head ruefully before returning to his sensors
Kylah reports the transmission to her shipmates, and immediately alerts Lt. JG Garcia, in hopes that the decryption expert might be able to assist in decoding the message--there might be only a faint chance, but it is better than none.
The news about the number of Klingons aboard the shuttle belatedly reaches through her focused mind, and she inhales sharply. Only three? With the four Klingons aboard the Yorktown, that means...
"There were at two dozen on board that scout ship," she says in quiet horror. "If these three betrayed their cohorts, they killed nearly twenty of their own."
"Captain", Collins says upon hearing Three Crows assessment of the shot "I could do it, sir. Easily." She doesn't step forward yet. She half expects the Captain to tell her to shut up and stay where she is.
Nia winces inwardly at Collins's remark. Full points for enthusiasm, but none for tact. In any event, all the discussion of torpedoes seems premature.
"Captain, with respect, I think using torpedoes at all might be too dangerous to the very precious item that we've been asked to retrieve. Maybe there's another option?" She licks her lips and stares at the viewscreen, not that there's much to see yet except the rapidly approaching debris cloud.
"First, while we were supposed to be safe because we were far from the debris, our trajectory is heading us right into the cloud. Not sure that's ideal when we can swim around, above or below it. No offense, Bennett," she says offhandedly.
"Second, what about the tractor beam? Hate to sound like a broken record, it's not like I love grabbing stuff, but I'd much rather try to lasso that ship than potentially blow it up, along with the valuable cargo.
"And third," she adds, her eyes looking up automatically while she tries to calculate. "At Warp 8 we should get to... wherever the Klingons are heading... before they do. Once we get close enough to them, launching a shuttle of our own will give us the ability to flank them. Yeah, our shuttles are much slower than theirs, but pure inertia would keep us at Warp 8--hell, we'd have to use a few pulses of the engine in reverse just to slow down. Coming from it head-on, both the shuttle and Yorktown have a better chance at accuracy so we can avoid blasting that thing to pieces."
Rangin also focuses a set of the sensors ahead of the path of the escaping shuttle. If something is going to appear, he wants to be ready for it and give as much warning as possible to the Yorktown