Star Trek RPG - Mission #4: "Codex Aelyrr"

Nia is gladdened by Booker's smile and his words, as well as the sight of the chargers appearing in the shuttle. Sweet. As Booker heads over to Eris, Nia takes a surreptitious last breath from her inhaler and tucks it back inside her suit. She then thanks the Armory officer and powers up the shuttle's engines.

However, just when she's about to contact Meyer and give him the signal to begin the depressurization of the shuttlebay, she hears Eris's response to Booker. The Aelyrr's attitude--particularly her impatient question--raises Nia's eyebrows and her ire.

"With respect, ma'am," she says in a voice as hard as her scales, "this isn't a hired shuttle-cab. You're aboard this vessel at my sufferance. I've got the lives of three crewmates in my hands, and I'm risking them all for a piece of paper that has value only to you. So while I assure you that I'm in the same hurry you are, I'm damn well not leaving before I know we're prepared."

She relaxes and lets her tone return to its usual serene smoothness. "...Which we happen to be, now that we're adequately equipped to retrieve the Codex according to your priestess's wishes." Her lips twist sideways. "And by the way, if we do get in a face-to-face fight, you have my permission to remove your helmet and gloves so you can bite and scratch all you want."

With a silent sigh, she glances at the co-pilot's seat to ensure Booker's back and strapped in. Once he is, she'll contact Meyer and the Bridge to tell them that the Tesla is okay to go.

Kylah backs up a step. "Thank you, ma'am; Lt. Thalen." She next looks at Collins, wishing her luck with a silent nod--of course, the security officer seems to be concentrating so fully on her controls that she will probably not notice Kylah's gesture, but Kylah nods just the same.

On her way to the turbolift, she cannot keep her gaze from finding Velir. He too is focused on his job--everyone is but her, naturally--but she wants to see him nevertheless.

Concentrating on the sensors, Rangin can vaguely hear the arrival of Lt Thalen and Captain Singh thanking Kylah for her hard work. It's a good idea, she'd looked so tired when he found her asleep and she needed a rest more than anyone.

Goodnight Kylah, he whispers under his breath and he stops just for a moment as he wonders why he cannot say it straight to her. If only things were not so difficult then he certainly would have wished her that as she headed for some well-earned sleep.

Perhaps he should...perhaps it would help to break down the barriers between them again, a simple act of acknowledgement, Rangin owed her that for certain after all she had done over the last few hours as he leans back from the sensor screen to turn round in his chair and...

...sees her turning away and heading for the turboilift.

Her gaze had passed over him, at least it seemed to have, and he had missed his chance. She looked slightly relieved to be going but there was a half smile just lingering. He sighs feeling guilty for not saying something sooner as he watches her tiredly step onwards, one hand raised to half stifle a yawn. Shaking his head as he turns slowly back to the console, he considers that it would be best to let her sleep first and talk to her afterwards, there is still so much to do here. In fact tomorrow, before the next shift, would be a much better idea as she isn't the only one who could do with a few hours respite.

Hearing the sound of the turbolift doors behind him, he guesses Kylah must be on her way and he considers that he should, no he must do something, even if it's small to show that he is going to work out whatever might be between them or not.

Thumbing open his commuicator, he sends a brief message, "Thank you for everything. Sleep well. Velir." before closing it and going back to the monitors.

"So many Red Alerts in so short a time," grumbles Ajay as he finishes the checklist showing the galley is secure and still annoyed by the lack of sleep that had been disturbed by the Klaxons. He'd been intending to spend an evening brushing up on Vulcan Massage techniques and instead this was the second time in a row the place was on lockdown.

The news of the new furry aliens on board has spread a bit despite them only just arriving and the fact they were now chasing after a bunch of Klingons didn't help his demeanour. Chances of him actually being able to meet said aliens is vanishingly small seeing as he isn't going to be of prepping any food for them from the Lower Galley. Regardless it was done, time to head for the secure area.

Heading for the exit, he feels the communicator go off and he looks down to see a message appear. "read in 6 hours" It was from Nia and his heart sinks. She had only just got back from one dangerous mission, so if he is getting texts like these, she has to be off on another one again. He considers asking a few people to find out what exactly it is that she has planned, but in a Red Alert, they would be manning their posts instead. With a gnawing sense of discomfort he starts moving again. He'd already wished her luck once, it was bad luck to do it again.

Ah, who's he kidding, she'll be back in a few hours demanding a stiff drink and a massage. He grins as the lights flick out and he heads off.

Once he has strapped in and checked his board, Graham turns toward Nia slightly and gives her a thumbs up.

"So, I ah, have heard rumors you knew something about flying. Let's see it first hand."

Eris says, "I understand, Lt. Onn, and of course I'm grateful for the chance to help recover the Codex Aelyrr. I am simply impatient to proceed."

Everyone is buckled in, secure and ready to go in the Tesla.

Singh replies to Onn, "Acknowledged, Mr. Onn. Launch immediately. With our increased speed, you have about two minutes before the Klingons reach the nebula."

Everything looks good on Collins's and Rangin's boards. The Coridanite notices some sensor fuzzing beginning along the leading edge of the nebula; he knows it would be best if the Klingons were stopped before they ever reached it.

Nia murmurs words that acknowledge both Eris's apology and Booker's encouragement. But she's barely aware of what she says. Her thoughts are moving away from the living beings on the shuttle to the Tesla itself. Its sounds, vibrations, buoyancy--all are familiar, like an animal she's broken, trained and ridden all her life.

Her hands are poised carefully on her panel when she hears Singh's approval. "Aye aye, Captain. Waiting for depressurization." Once Nia gets the green light and the shuttlebay doors open, she launches the Tesla and edges it forward. She bites her lip as a reminder to restrain her usual inclination to rush the shuttle out into space. Easy girl, she says inwardly, maybe even mouths the words, which are aimed both at herself and the ship.

Unlike a typical launch, she does little more than hover, bringing her only a few dozen meters out from the Yorktown. Once the shuttle is just clear of the Shuttlebay doors, she engages the starboard thrusters with tiny pulses, carefully turning the Tesla around so it faces the same direction as its parent ship.

"Tesla to Yorktown," she says in a tight voice, having to balance the directional thrusters with great care to match the racing Yorktown's angle perfectly. "We're in position and ready for the tractor beam to be engaged."

Rangin frowns noticing the ever approaching proximity of the nebula, even though it's the ships racing towards it and not the other way around. Calculating the speeds, he sets up a couple of timers showing how long it would take for the respective ships to cross the boundary.

And if they can't stop the shuttle in time, Rangin throws a few scans forward to see what impact the nebula would have on the shuttle and the Yorktown.

Rangin sets up his timers. You are now less than two minutes to the edge of the nebula. Sensor interference will become considerably worse once the Klingons reach the nebula, and given the gas cloud's size, it might take a long time - maybe never - before the the small Klingon craft can be located inside. Sublight travel is Starfleet SOP for travel through a nebula of this density.

Singh says, "Acknowledged, Tesla." She hits the shipwide intercom and says, "All hands, this is the Captain. We'll shortly be engaging in high-warp maneuvers. Hang on; this could get bumpy. Singh out." She then says to those in front of her, "Mr. Pourtash, lock onto the Tesla with the aft tractor beam and hold it within our warp field. Mr. Bennett, take us up to Warp 8.3, and get us out in front of the Klingons. Mr. Collins, stand down torpedoes, charge phasers and lock onto the Klingons' warp drive. "

They acknowledge their orders.

The heavy cruiser surges forward, the warp nacelles protesting the dangerous speeds being asked of them, and the Tesla comes along, beginning to shake with the strain.

Nia grits her teeth and holds more tightly to the panel and prays to the Tesla. Hold on, don't fall apart on me now. This is just the appetizer.

"Onn to Bridge," she says, her voice sounding as if she's jogging. "Our actions need to be in sync for this--especially Pourtash, Collins and me. Remember the order of actions--Pourtash, bring the ship ahead of and around to face the Klingons. Fly right at them.

"When you're at 20 seconds to impact, Collins--hit 'em with the non-destructive phaser, I'd prefer the weapons but that's the Captain's call. Same time, Pourtash, you release the tractor beam to jettison the Tesla and flies the Yorktown up and over them. You'll be large as life and right in their faces. Let the Klingons strain their fat necks staring up at the Yorktown and only the Yorktown.

"Since I can't see anything but the Yorktown's backside, I'm flying blind here until Pourtash releases us. So I need someone to give me a countdown and tell me what's going on. Acknowledge?"

The shakiness bothers her; she doesn't want to sound afraid. It's really the Tesla's straining that's causing it. She throws a quick glance at Booker beside her, then the crew in back.

"Listen up," she shouts over the noise. "Once we're released, we'll slide at warp 8.3 until we're past the edge of the Yorktowns warp bubble. No way we won't feel that change in speed, even with the inertial dampeners. If I can get us close enough beneath the Klingons, we might end up in their warp bubble, which means another impact, this time as we're jerked backwards. But that's only if they stay at warp. Let's hope they don't.

"Either way they're going in the opposite direction, so until I swing the Tesla around to match them, if the dampeners can't adjust fast enough it'll feel like we've crashed into a cement wall. No lie, that's not gonna be fun. Brace yourselves."

She looks at Booker. "As soon as we're underneath the Tesla, phaser the hell out of them. We want their weapons out, then their shields, in that order."

Graham nods, checks the console, and makes preparations.

He's not sure what Nia means about "weapons first then shields"--it just may be that fully disabling the shuttle's weapons requires knocking down her shields.

But he decides she has enough on her plate and he understands commander's intent well enough.

"We want unable to shoot and unable to shield," he replies. "Understood." With a glance toward her, he adds quietly "And don't space the 'magic book.'"

Nia hears Booker, mentally runs over what she just said, and is furious with herself. Shit, get your head in the game. "Damn it," she says to Booker. "I meant to suggest weapons over warp drive, not shields. But I get Singh's rationale for her choice. If they disappear into the nebula and we can't find them, it won't matter what weapons they have. I'd better stop backseat driving before they second-guess my sanity and scrap this plan altogether." She shakes her head. "Thanks, Book. Glad you're here." But not if I end up killing you.

Collins adjusts from the torpedoes to the phasers at Singh's orders and says "Acknowledged!" over the comm to Onn.

Only glancing up for a moment from the console, where he's thinking about the best ways to tweak and target the shuttle's weapons, Graham adds quietly "Don't worry about it, I've got your back, Nia." He smiles as he turns back to the board. "Just fly the hell of this thing."

"Acknowledged, Tesla," Pourtash says, his voice strained. The Yorktown is starting to shake, too. "Stand by."

Thalen syncs the countdown chronometer from the Yorktown with that on the Tesla, so Onn and the others can see the time remaining. He keeps a channel open so that they can hear what's happening on the Bridge. He says aloud, "There are now 23 seconds to impact... 22... 21...."

Bennett deftly brings the heavy cruiser over and then ahead of the Klingon ship, still at extreme speed, looming suddenly directly in front of and above it as she turns. Graham imagines that he can almost sense the startled reaction of the Klingon pilot.

Hanging on for dear life, St. Croix gasps.

Watching the chrono closely, Singh says, "On my mark, fire phasers, Mr. Collins... NOW!"

Pourtash releases the tractor beam and the Tesla heaves like a bucking bronco as it slips out of the Yorktown's warp field momentarily into normal space. The nebula now fills the Tesla's front viewports; the Klingon shuttle is an obvious, irregular black shape silhouetted against it.

Collins fires the phasers. She feels a sense of excitement as she watches the plan unfold.

Confident in Nia's piloting abilities, Graham proceeds with certainty he'll have a firing opportunity. Based on his experience with shuttles--and Klingon spacecraft--he plots two firing solutions, one a "heavy punch" intended to overload its shields and another lower-powered blast with which to target weapons or propulsion without causing a chain reaction that blows the damn thing up.

I hope these jokers stow their weaponry and ammo halfway properly and keep up with minimal maintenance, he thinks.

Nia knows it will take all her best reflexes and skill to get the Tesla under control, especially now that she's cut the engines to their lowest setting--letting inertia work for her to propel them forward--until the shuttle gets beneath the Klingons, ideally without being noticed. She sees the phaser from the Yorktown in a lightning-fast look upwards before refocusing entirely on getting on course. Not an easy task when the thrusters are at minimum power.

"Everybody, hold on, we'll get through this!" she says in a loud but firm voice, wanting the squad to hear her and know she's still confident.

If the shuttle has an option for manual helm control, Nia will activate it and use the controller, which will allow her both better physical control of the shuttle, and also to reroute more energy to life support and weapons.

Rangin suddenly freezes as he notices the one thing in this entire plan that isn't been watched...the Tesla. Quickly he aims some of the scanners at the small shuttle hoping its not coming to come apart at the seams while monitoring its rapid deceleration. If anything is going to go wrong with it, he needs to be able to let everyone know there and then.

His eyes flicker from the timers to the status of the two shuttles to the surrounding area and even the long rage alert scans from the nebula keeping alert to the first hint of trouble; hands held ready to respond as and when, because its always when, something occurs.

Collins's first phaser blast misses its target by only a few meters, the ravenous twin blue spears of phased energy piercing empty space instead. Her second blast squarely hits the Klingon craft's blocky starboard warp nacelle. The Klingon tumbles for a second or two and its warp field collapses. It drops into normal space at once, both Starfleet vessels racing past it.

The Yorktown, going much faster, goes even farther ahead of the two small craft. "All stop," says Singh crisply. "Take us back, Mr. Bennett. Stand ready to fire again, if needed, Mr. Collins. Maintain shields."

Onn has full manual control of the shuttle's helm and nav systems. Life support is stable.

Graham's tactical panel shows the Starfleet shuttle's phaser bank and two torpedoes are nominal, with green status indicators across the board; Onn can see this, too. Graham soon has weapons lock on the Klingons; they still have their shields up.

Rangin sees nothing amiss on any of his sensors. The Tesla and the Klingon shuttle are not far apart, relatively speaking. Bennett and Pourtash snap the switches on their consoles and the Yorktown is, within moments, retracing its course and closing in on both.

Graham grunts with satisfaction, seeing the Klingon shuttle drop out of warp.

He calibrates the phasers and his target for maximum effect on the shuttle's shields and shield generator, privileging that over any other target.*

"Taking the shot in 3, aiming for maximum effect on her shields. She may fire back," he says out loud for Nia's benefit, working the console. In "3...2...1"



*If there is an external shield thingie to target, that's what he targets - if not he's aiming to overload the shields as opposed to pinpoint targeting her engines or weapons.

Nia nods at Booker's words, unable to respond because she's busy biting her lip in concentration as she uses the flight controller in an attempt to even out the Tesla, avoid knocking into the Klingons once they abruptly leave warp speed, and bring the Tesla underneath the Klingon shuttle's belly. Once Booker takes the shot, she releases her lower lip long enough to announce, "Restoring power." If the Klingons have been hit, they'll know the Tesla's here, so there's no point in keeping her offline.

"Aye, Ma'am" Collins says as she aims the phasers again.

Onn steers the Tesla swiftly towards the Klingons.

Just as Graham is about to fire, the Klingons fire first. A powerful, brilliant-red disruptor bolt slams into the shuttle's forward deflector shield, rocking the Tesla severely. Eris makes a low, displeased growling noise that reminds Three Crows of an unpleasant Terran cat she once knew.

Graham and Onn sees that the shuttle's forward shield has, with just that single enemy shot, been knocked down to 73% effectiveness.

The Yorktown is almost back within range.

Nia curses inwardly. Damn it, someone's timing was off. Bennett shot up too soon or Collins fired too late. She suspects the former. At the speed they were going, if the Yorktown had waited until the very last second to swing upwards as intended, the Klingons shouldn't have had the time to notice the Tesla behind her.

Nia realizes she knew this the instant she saw the dark shadow of the Klingon shuttle in the nebula. It was too far away. She shouldn't have been able to see the entire ship, just the front section as she piloted her downward trajectory.

No point in ascribing blame now. Nia focuses on executing an erratic barrel role along a parabolic arc, nothing with a pattern that the Klingons can predict. She wants that shuttle's bare belly open and vulnerable so Booker can phaser the crap out of it.

Graham's ready, fingers on the controls, eyes glued to the screen* to fire the instant Nia's acrobatic flying gives him a shot.



*I'm not sure whether in TOS they looked at "the view screen" or some specific "targeting screen" - whichever is right!

Kylah leans against the wall of the turbolift, trying not to fall asleep while still standing. She feels her communicator vibrate against her upper hip, indicating some kind of text message - it is probably not important. But she opens her eyes and pulls the device out anyway. Her heart gives a little thump when she sees Velir's name despite the awkwardness between them.

When the doors open on the corridor near her quarters, she steps out and pauses briefly to read the message. It is even kinder than she had hoped. With a sleepy smile, she walks slowly forward, absorbing Velir's words and letting herself imagine a time when they will both be happy - and together.

The corridor is empty but for a single young man in a red Engineering uniform walking slowly towards her, a sly smile playing around his lips. "As I live and breathe," he says, "if it isn't Ens. Kylah!"

Her attention still on Velir's message as she walks, Kylah hears the man's words as if through a fog created by her own distraction and lack of sleep. By the time she looks up at the sound of her name, her hand has already lifted to the panel that unlocks her cabin door. The sensor recognizes her and opens with a near-silent whoosh.

Kylah's first response when she sees who's addressing her is surprise, then confusion. Has she fallen asleep? She stops short and wipes her eyes, unsure if her blurred vision can possibly be accurate. But the reddish hair, night-blue eyes, strong but lean build, and attractive but overconfident face are still the same.

"I do not understand..." Backing into the open doorway, Kylah shakes her head in tiny, unconscious movements. "No. This is not possible. How could you be here? When did you--" She cuts herself off as her slow wits struggle to catch up.

That voice. The man who said he was Brold's assistant. His speech had been soft and low in her earpiece... and so familiar.

How could she not have recognized him? He sounds exactly the same.

But then, why should he have changed? It has only been a year and a half since Darren Zweller graduated from the Academy, the class ahead of hers. A flush burns her cheeks and her hands drop to her sides, now in fists. She cannot speak.

Zweller leans against the bulkhead near her, too close, and then leans a little closer still. "Not possible? Au contraire. Here I am, big as life. I've been aboard since we left Anubis. I'm just sorry I didn't have the chance to see you sooner - you've been quite the busy little Communications officer."

His condescension ignites Kylah's anger, and despite her exhaustion she rises to his bait. "Yes, I have been busy," she says hoarsely. "I have just made First Contact with an unknown race. I helped uncover a corruption and murder scandal. And what about you?"

She flicks a razor-sharp glance at his sleeve cuffs. "Still only an ensign, I see. You were such a high-flyer, the top of your class, supposedly on track to be the First Officer of a great ship. Now you are reduced to fetching water and taking notes for some scientist. What happened, Mr. Zweller? Did you make one too many unwanted advances on the wrong woman?"

For just a moment she has a glimpse of his temper, his rage, sharp and undiscriminating, before he regains control. He laughs offhandedly. "An ensign for now, yes, just like you. I'm actually touched you take such a keen interest in my career. I've followed yours, such as it is, since graduation. But since you asked, I don't mind telling you I'm working for a top Fleet engineer and making the kind of connections in San Francisco that will soon enough, don't worry, move my career well ahead of yours. I haven't been 'fetching water' - but neither have I been making a very public and immediately spurned pass at a superior officer. Or, for that matter, having to be rescued while on shore leave." He shakes his head. "How embarrassing that must have been for you."

His list of supposed achievements fades away once Kylah hears his description of her own activities. She can almost feel the blood draining from her face.

How does he know all this?

Rangin continues to monitor the two shuttles, take readings from the phaser fire and compile for future research.

The Klingons fire twice more, but miss both times as Onn takes the Tesla along a parabolic arc.

Graham sees his chance as the targeting reticule turns green. He fires, squarely hitting the Klingon shuttle once, and then missing. It begins evasive manuevers of its own.

On the Yorktown's Bridge, Rangin sees all this and is continuously recording data. He notes that the Klingons' course will still take them into the nebula, but obviously at a much slower speed. The heavy cruiser soon comes back within phaser range. "Drop to sublight," Singh orders, "but stay with them, Mr. Bennett. Keep us just opposite the Tesla, if you can. Target the Klingons' impulse drive and fire phasers at will, Mr. Collins."

"Aye!" Collins aims and fires one phaser after the other until the Klingons' impulse drive is disabled

"Damn good shot," Nia mutters to Booker, her eyes peeled on the Klingons. Leaving the arc and pivoting the Tesla nearly 180 degrees, she heads back to the enemy, moving up and behind them. "Gonna try to get in place so you can take out their weapons--or at least the shields protecting 'em. We're chasing each other's tails here, and I want us to be the one doing the biting."

She almost snarls, pissed off as always that someone dared fire on her vessel. Each time it happens, she considers it a personal affront. You're not getting away with that, you ugly bastard child of a tin can and a garbage scow.

"Uhn, one of 'em anyway," Booker replies, also not turning from the viewer and console where he's intent on targeting and calibrating--noting that Collins has re-opened fire, he want to make sure he has a shot programmed big enough to disable a weapon but small enough not to destroy the ship.

"Flying's not bad either," he adds.

Collins hits the Klingon shuttle, as does Graham a moment later. Collins hits squarely once more, jabbing at the foe with the powerful forward phasers, and the Klingons' impulse drive goes offline. Another two shots from Graham strike home and the Klingon shuttle's deflector shields collapse. Another shot disables its aft disruptor, nearest to the Tesla. A few seconds later it defiantly fires its forward disruptor at the Yorktown, but the heavy cruiser's shields easily shrug it off.

"Cease fire, all," says the Captain to Collins and, via subspace link, Graham. The Klingon shuttle is now slowing and adrift.

Eris is noticeably purring.

The nebula is tantalizingly close.

When the shields have gone down, Rangin starts scanning the shuttle to see what he can determine about it, and most importantly the crew and the location of the codex.

If it can be beamed off immediately, so much the better.

Inwardly, Collins celebrates the small victory, and awaits her next orders.

Rangin carries out an intensive scan and still picks up three Klingon lifesigns, and the Codex case's distinctive naryen metal, inside the shuttle. The shuttle has three compartments: a small one at the bow (a cockpit or control area, he presumes), a larger one just aft of that, and another, smaller one farther aft. Consulting classified Starfleet Intelligence schematics of the eight known Klingon shuttle classes, Rangin sees that the engineering space, farthest aft, is somewhat larger than on comparable Klingon small craft; it appears to be sealed due to radiation hazard.

He designates the compartments A, B and C, from bow to stern. None are bigger than half the deckspace of a Starfleet shuttle like the Tesla. Two Klingons are in A and one is in B; the Codex is also in B.

The Klingons fire again at the Yorktown, which is jostled slightly but again undamaged. Collins sees the forward shields are down by only 3%.

"Stand by phasers, Mr. Collins," Singh says, narrowing her eyes. "Mr. Bennett, stay sharp, and keep us directly in front of them."

"Aye, Captain," Bennett says.

"Tesla, you may resume fire if they turn to fire on you." Alveron places a trembling paw on the arm of the big chair. Collins happens to be looking over at Singh at that moment. The Captain rolls her eyes just a little and adds, "Take care not to breach their hull or destroy them, of course, if at all possible."

Nia beams a smile at Booker for his skilled shooting. "Everyone back there all right?" she asks, leaning back to ensure the passengers know she's thinking of them.

She turns to look at the Klingons, who are stubbornly--stupidly--still firing weapons at the Yorktown. What do they think they're accomplishing?

She hears the discussion on the Bridge and purses her lips for a second, then says: "Acknowledged, Captain. And thank you, Collins." After a hesitation, she takes a deep breath, releasing the tension of the past few moments. "Ma'am. Perhaps we should attempt to hail them again? They're in a pretty bad position and maybe we can resolve this without more firepower? Either way, we need to get the Codex onto the Yorktown, but I await your decision on that, of course. You could just beam it out now, but given what Alveron said... do we take the easy and safe route, which is transporting it onto the Yorktown, or do we give weight to the High Priestess's preference and get ready for a space walk?"

She mutes her mic and says, very very quietly to Booker, "If boarding's their choice, given our position, looks we'd better prepare for rear entry. At least, I'm not taking it off the table." She aims her gaze out at the Klingon ship, but her tilting smile turns wicked. "What are your thoughts, Book?"

Collins turns back to her panels before smiling at Singh's reaction.

Graham frowns. "Sensible surrender isn't usually the Klingons' style..."

After a second he thinks Nia might have meant a double entendre and he clears his throat. "Uh, ah, well if we go in--especially since one of the Klingons seems to be staying close to the codex thingie, we can't guarantee it won't be collateral damage in a firefight. Or for that matter that one of these shithe-- uh mercenaries will destroy it out of spite."

He shrugs. "I don't know they're religious beliefs, but if I were in the high priestess' shoes I'd have Yorktown pluck it out of there by transporter if at all possible."

Booker's lack of response to her humor makes Nia vow to decide, once all this is over, if she's wasting her time. There's nothing worse than being with someone who doesn't laugh with you. Even when in danger. Maybe especially in danger.

"If it were up to me, I'd do the same. But it's the Captain's call. She's already decided it was worth it to chase the Klingons to the edge of a nebula for this Codex. If she wants to go whole hog and respect the Aelyrrs' beliefs, that's what I'm gonna do. But yeah, transporter's the way I'd go.

"Frankly I'd even go the opposite route rather than wasting time--beam the Klingons off the shuttle, then let us go in and retrieve the thing manually. Of course, the Klingons have those anti-transporter devices, so--"

Nia blinks and leans back in her chair, realizing she never gave this a thought. "Crap. What if they use one of those anti-transporter deals--or similar tech--on the Codex? Even if the Priestess gives us the go-ahead, we may not have a choice but to go in."

Staring at the other shuttle, she shakes her head wearily. "Let's hope they're not smart enough to think of that. Because you're right, it's hard to imagine the Klingons giving up if we ask them to. I mean, it's worth a shot--talking's almost always worth a shot. Especially if the one with the Codex is the same as the one I was chasing back on the Naradraen. I never saw a Klingon turn and run so fast. Coward like that might be willing to take a deal if it means he won't get hurt." She shrugs. "Guess we'll find out soon what the captain decides."

Rangin flicks his gaze of the varying results coming back from the scans and starts to disseminate the information as best he can to those who it would be useful.

Scans and layouts of the ship get passed off to Collins at Tactical and to the Tesla to help pinpoint the best place to fire if needs require it. He also passes off the detail about the locked off area, just in case they were going to try and get across.

"Ma'am", Rangin addresses the Captain, "confirming three Klingons on board. There is also an radiation hazard on their shuttle. Given the shuttle's configuration I would recommend seeing if we can obtain a lock on the Codex."

Rangin frowns slightly and sees if the unknown radiation signature matches the unknown one that was registered on the Naradraen.

Singh says, "Thank you, Mr. Rangin. Transporter Room, this is the Captain. Scan the Klingon shuttle. Can you get a lock on the Codex case, or any of the individual Klingons?"

After a moment comes the reply, "Chief Nguyen here, Captain. Sorry - I've tried, but no luck. Same problem we had with the Klingons aboard the Aelyrr ship."

Rangin cross-checks the Klingon radiation signature and sees that it is consistent with Klingon small-craft warp drives generally. It is not like the radiation aboard the Naradraen, which was due to that ship's unusual hadron-pulse drive system.

The Captain says, "Hail them, Mr. Thalen."

He does. "No response, Captain."

She jabs her comm button. "Klingon shuttle, this is Capt. S.P. Singh of the USS Yorktown. You're not going anywhere. Cease fire and surrender. There is no honor in being needlessly destroyed. I await your immediate response."

She looks at Thalen, who holds two blue fingers to his earpiece. He shakes his head. "Still nothing, ma'am."

The Captain closes the channel and opens another. "Singh to Tesla. You know the situation, Mr. Onn. Looks like you might have to force a boarding. Recommendations?"

Biting the inside of her cheek hard, Nia shakes her head and looks at Graham. "Guess I jinxed us. Didn't want to be right about that guess. If you've got any suggestions, let me know."

She unmutes her mic and eyes the Klingon shuttle. "We'll need to get pretty close, Captain. I can do it, but it'd be a lot easier if those aft and forward weapons were incapacitated. Any chance of that, Mr. Graham? Lt. Collins? It'll take a light touch to make sure you don't disturb anything else."

She holds a hand over her mic and turns to the others behind her. "Better prepare to get your helmets on. I know St. Croix and Three Crows have training in EVAs, that's part of the Academy. Eris, what about you?"

"I've got the front," Collins says as she narrows the targeting to take out the only the forward disruptor, maybe even knocking it off its mounts. "but I don't have a clear shot at the back."

Graham shakes his head. "'Klingons being assholes' definitely isn't your fault, Nia."

He squints at the Klingon shuttle and then moves his hands over the phaser controls. "Unshielded and it should be easy to use a ah--gentle caress--to disable the disruptor. I'd be willing to bet you could position us above or below, outside of their field of fire, without breaking a sweat."

"Collins, I'm sure you'll get the forward weapons, if they can be got. Just be gentle. Not that I need to remind you, but think of it as tweezing an eyebrow, not amputating a leg."

When Booker uses her first name, Nia feels something relax inside her--muscles she didn't even realize were tensed. She nods and flashes him a grin. "Sure, I can find somewhere safe. It's all about getting the right angles. Like setting up a pool shot."

She measures the location of the aft weapons and calculates what angle would put the Tesla in position to hit the weapons while remaining out of target.

"I'm thinking underneath at a... maybe 35 to 45 degree angle? I'll bring us up close enough so they're right on top of us, but we're facing aft, the opposite direction. Sort of like--"

Nia checks herself. She's on mic, and using sexual terms isn't how she wants to be remembered just in case this is her last stand. "Uh, like conjoined twins. Then I'll start lowering until their aft hull gets out of our way and you'll have the guns in your sights. Will that work for you?"

She leans forward and squints. She wants to locate the precise position of the airlock--ideally there'll be more than one, but she only noticed one on approach.

She realizes Singh might not know about the chargers. "Captain, I got four antimatter grenades from the Armory. If the airlock needs blasting, we'll be able to do it. Obviously I need to program them to work only on the hatch, not the ship's hull itself."

Where exactly is the airlock (or airlocks)? On the port/starboard side, or closer to the front/back? Trying to picture the setup here.

The Klingons' aft disruptor is already disabled, and their shields are down; see post 2133.

Singh says, "Target and destroy their forward disruptor, Mr. Collins. Single phaser beam; minimum necessary energy."

The shuttle's sole airlock is on the port side and opens directly into compartment B.

Eris says confidently, "I have often used spacesuits before, and will be able to move and fight in this one."

Three Crows picks up her helmet and asks, "Better to do an EVA, or beam in? Pretty tight quarters, it looks like."

Hearing that the Captain may be ordering a boarding of the Klingon Shuttle, Rangin turns his mind to the safety of the Codex in such a situation. He scans the shuttle to see if the Codex has been firmly stowed in an area that will survive decompression or the worst case scenario of it being held in the arms of one of the Klingons, in which case a lot more care would need to be taken.

He wonders what the mercenaries are thinking, outgunned and outclassed as they sit in their shuttle. Then thought occurs to him, that they are going nowhere with shields down and no way to stop him so he turns the scanners on them to see if he can pick up the crew speaking to each other. Advance notice of their plans would be so beneficial, even though Rangin does not understand Klingon, and between Lt Thalen, the comms system and the UT, they should be able to crack it.

Rangin smiles grimly at the sensor panels in front of him, doing what he's always done - watch on an enemy from afar and provide intel.

Collins rolls her eyes at Onn's eyebrow tweezing comment.

"On it!" she says to the Captain and fires at the Klingon's forward disruptor.

Zweller is still watching Kylah, a satisfied smirk on his face. She is trying to control her anger - and her alarm, although really, what can he possibly do to her on the Yorktown? Spread more gossip? He cannot harm a reputation that is already tarnished, mostly thanks to her own stupidity. Even with lies. 'Spurned by a superior officer'... Does he mean Hardin? Is that what is now being added to her misadventures on that mission? Both offensive and ridiculous.

But his implication that she should be ashamed of having been attacked on Anubis is vile. She licks her lips and attempts to gather strength despite her sleep-deprived, foggy thoughts. Kylah will not let Darren Zweller make her feel small. Not again.

"I see no reason why I should feel embarrassed at having been kidnapped," she says, her voice cool even though she wishes she could slap the smirk from his face. "And I cannot imagine what you have heard. But none of it is true, and you know it. Nothing has changed since the Academy."

The instant she blurts this, she shrinks inwardly and falls silent. Not only is this none of his business, but it is false. Everything changed, back on OC3.

He notices her altered demeanor at once, and grins with a look that suggests he knows something she does not. "'Kidnapped,' eh? And under very... interesting circumstances, too, I hear. It's amazing how much scuttlebutt you can pick up on after just a few days on a starship - especially when you have a good contact aboard. But where are your manners? Aren't you going to invite me in? You must've regretted your mistake in throwing me out of your quarters last time."

"A contact?" Kylah can hardly believe her ears. "A contact with whom you talk about me?" Claustrophobia sets in. That explains how he knew where to find her. At once she darts a look down both sides of the corridor, half-expecting to find some henchman lurking nearby. She remembers too well that night two years ago when he brought a friend into her room, cornered her, tried to intimidate her into--into being with both of them.

She feels sick. "Of course I will not let you in. And I do not care what rumors are spread about me. I am too tired to care. Please, Mr. Zweller--" Kylah stares up at him, then continues more quietly after a ragged sigh. "Darren. You are not... you were never a fool. You must know you are wasting your time. Why? I do not understand, I am nothing to you. Why do you need information about me from others? Why search me out? What do you want?"

He leans back and laughs. "Right, I'm sure you don't understand. Are you really still playing the ignorant virginal princess? After all the attention you've grabbed for yourself in only... what is it now, barely over a month in service? I must say I'm impressed, Kylah. When I heard about you and that rock star, not to mention the billionaire murderer - so many conquests, all in the space of a few days - I knew you were making up for lost time." He looks her up and down, then leans forward. "It shows, you know."

Kylah gives a sharp inhale and unconsciously tilts away, as if needing protection from his intimate murmur. "What shows?"

"Your experience. You look older. Like you've...seen things. Done things. There's still that don't-touch-me vibe, too, but you're not nearly as wide-eyed and innocent as you were. The combination is even more incredible than at the Academy. And your body in that uniform--"

"Stop. Stop it," she hisses. Two crewmembers are passing by, talking casually, and one of them casts a glance in their direction. "Do not talk about me like that!"

"Oh. I'm sorry. Am I embarrassing you? In front of others?" His emotions are again heated and resentful despite the smile on his face. He is barely controlling himself. "Not pleasant, is it?"

Kylah can sense his contempt radiating out to her. She says nothing until her shipmates enter the turbolift and the corridor is empty again. "So that is it. You still bear a grudge for what happened?" She searches his face. "After all this time, you still think you were wronged, that night? You and that other boy had me alone, you were about to force me to--"

"There was no force involved," he says curtly. "You're the one who nearly stabbed me." His eyes shift downwards to her hips and thighs, then slowly return to her face. "But that's not an option now, is it? I heard you lost your last knife. Among other things."

The words are slow and deliberate, very quiet. Anyone else hearing it would think it merely conversational. But Kylah's every nerve is alert. How did he know about that? What is he implying? "You--you had better go. I have a roommate and she will be--"

"She's on the Bridge, occupied with the Red Alert."

He even knows whom she rooms with. The air around them feels stifling. "I still wish you to go. Please. I--I have not slept in so long. I really have to go to bed."

"Yes." His blue eyes are stone-like. "I was thinking the same thing."

When he steps toward her, Kylah backs up again, now inside her quarters, and instinctively jerks her arm up toward her door panel to shut and lock it. But his hand is quicker and he grabs her wrist, preventing the movement. She splutters his name but he only draws her closer as his left hand rises, revealing some steel-gray device Kylah does not recognize.

"This won't hurt," he murmurs.

The door whisks shut behind them.