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Day 18 [0800 hrs] Just Another Galaxy Salvage

May 6, 2381
0800 HRS
Stardate: 57699.2

[ Lt. JG Tessa May Lance & Lieutenant Nick Chambers ] | Shuttlebay | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Griff [Show/Hide]

Orders always seemed to come at the most inconvenient times. Not only did the Theurgy need more equipment, but they had to scavenge a derelict remnant of the Dominion War at that. Nick was not excited for this away mission. Especially since his last ended up giving him a bad case of the Niga and not one that could be cured easily either. Losing one's faculties to a sickness that he didn't even get to remember the results of seemed...unfair. He'd heard about the sleeping arrangements and the stuns made at the request of Arven. But he was tasked by some new director of the Intelligence department, Pierce he heard her name was, and Frank to head out with a fighter pilot and Romulan. No idea who they were but he hoped he had better luck than his orders to at least make it memorable.

Nick headed towards the shuttlebay to be met by a blonde in the Tactical CONN uniform. No idea who she was but was very beautiful. He heard another pilot, Romulan was to meet them there at some point.

"So...how'd you end up on this mission? And where's the Romulan?"

Tessa smiled at the handsome male before her. He was intriguing but she couldn't be sure why. Must be the mechanic in him. Or was he operations? She really didn't know for sure but she liked him at first glance. Some air about him seemed to scream fun...or was it sarcasm? She couldn't be sure. But she could tell it was going to be a trip once he learned that the Romulan was Lillee. Her former wingmate, who she hadn't had time to meet with as of late. Especially with all that had gone on.

"Well, I was called by Lt. Commander Pierce to join this mission. She had a few items that weren't on engineering's list. Not sure what it is, but must be important for intelligence to get involved." She scratched her head in confusion. "Wonder why she didn't send someone else along from her team...oh well! I'm Tessa, nice to meet you!" She said excitedly before shaking his hand rather heftily.

He shook it back firmly but pulled her close, sniffing her uniform. "Yup, definitely a Lone Wolf. You smell like a wild one..." He said with a devilish smile. "So according to the list we have....hmmm." he looked at the PADD and cycled the list of items to look for on this ship.

Chambers scrolled the items and among them were several. "Let's see....salvage items are...dilithium crystals which is something that can't be replicated, so that's one thing we should be able to transport with us. Pierce asked for kemocyte, which apparently this particular starship carried with it... Then there is benamite crystals, but I don't think it's plausible that the wreckage might carry that since those puppies are very rare."

It was just then that Lillee arrived and Nick's eyes widened that he was getting to ride shotgun with not one but two blonde pilots who happened to be rather attractive in his thoughts. Returning to duty, he reached for her hand. "Hello there. I'm Lt. Nick Chambers. But my friends call me Nick. I was assigned at the recommendation that I've served on a Galaxy Class vessel before and that I work on these systems." He handed her the PADD with the items to obtain. "Think we can head out soon." Chambers said smoothly as he observed the two women he was to share a shuttlecraft with for the duration of this mission.

Re: Day 18 [0800 hrs] Just Another Galaxy Salvage

Reply #1 –
[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu | Shuttlebay | Deck 11 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Pierce

[Show/Hide]

Another day, another mission. After nearly three (mostly) quiet weeks at Qo'nos, and more than a month at Aldea before the intervening fighting and horror of Paris, Lillee was settling into a comfortable routine. The shuttlebay crew was still understaffed, so she was working much harder to help them than a shuttle pilot normally would, but even that became easier over time as more and more shuttles were repaired. It was dull, safe, normal, and Lillee couldn't be happier.

Eventually, she knew, the Theurgy would be heading back into battle. The war between the Federation and the Romulan Star Empire was heating up, and the Theurgy would surely have to intervene, to say nothing of the crusade to exterminate the Infested. There was a great deal of bloodshed and horror to come. For now, though, with the prospect of a boring salvage mission ahead in safe space (as safe as Klingon space got, anyway), Lillee was determined to enjoy the banality of it while it lasted.

As she walked into the shuttlebay with a cup of steaming coffee in one hand, Lillee spotted her companions for the mission easily enough. She didn't recognise the man, but the woman...

"Goldeneye!" Lillee said with a bright smile, happy to see her old wingmate. She was so used to thinking of the human as "Goldeneye" that she hadn't recognised the pilot's name in the mission brief. Nevertheless, she focused on the senior officer. His wide eyes at her appearance was hardly unusual, but it drew an internal sigh all the same, though Lillee remained entirely professional on the outside. She shifted her coffee to her other hand and shook Chambers's hand with no apparent discomfort, having long ago gotten used to the oddly intimate human custom.

"I am PO3 Lillee t'Jellaieu, sir," Lillee said, taking the PADD. "For simplicity, I have no objection if you call me Lillee." At his final comment, she glanced at Tessa, who was noticeably in uniform rather than her exosuit, and a fair distance from the FAB. Confused, Lillee dismissed it, not overly caring. Presumably Tessa had received the same "report to main shuttlebay at 0800" order as her, with some officer, whether Chambers or someone else, not realising that Tessa would be in her Valkyrie for the mission. It was an everyday minor mistake, and even the banality of that set Lillee at ease.

"We can leave immediately, sir," Lillee said with a professional cadence, her usual exotic accent dampened, "but we'll be waiting outside the ship a while. It will take you twenty minutes to launch, yes?" She added to Tessa. "Thirty if your bird isn't on ready five?"

With that settled, Lillee focused back on Chambers. "This way, Lieutenant," she said, leading the officer away as Tessa departed. Lillee led Chambers to a large type-11 shuttle. "The shuttle was prepped last night for a cargo run, in case you want to take more salvage than we expect." Without a second look, Lillee walked into the shuttle, only pausing to confirm that the EVA suits were aboard. She moved up to the pilot's chair and glanced back at Chambers.

"Permission to launch, sir?" Lillee asked, drawing a loose strand of hair behind a pointed ear as she looked at Chambers. "We can wait for Golden...ah, my pardon, Lieutenant Lance to launch while we're in orbit. Our launch window from this bay is only open until 0815, so we may get caught in traffic if we wait here."

Re: Day 18 [0800 hrs] Just Another Galaxy Salvage

Reply #2 –
[ Lt. JG Tessa May Lance ] & [ Lieutenant Nick Chambers | Klingon Space | Shuttlecraft Orion] Attn: @Griff [Show/Hide]

Tessa saw the blonde romulan known as Lillee come into the Shuttlebay. Excitement welled within her at seeing her old wingmate again. Especially after the recent couple of weeks she'd suffered, Lillee was a welcome sight. "Holy smokes! Lillee! Great to see you! I've missed you!" A smile glowed across her face as did her level of interest at seeing she was sharing this mission with her friend.

Chambers on the other hand shook the hand of Lillee and heard her name spoken and rank. He really didn't want to pronounce it and it helped that she shortened it up for him. "Very well, nice to meet you Lillee." A little of his deep voice spoke.

"It appears that Commander Pierce has tasked us with a particular mission along with the supply run. I have no idea who that is but must be important to give that kind of contents. It says the ship we're rendezvousing with is the USS Frontier. Galaxy Class vessel."

Lillee's prompt notice to disembark and Tessa's disappearance was totally lost on him as he was still attempting his bearings. For some reason he kept being put in charge of missions off world. What did he do wrong to get those assignments?

Startled he responded. "Oh, yes. Let's head out." he tapped his combadge to check on Tessa when Lillee beat him to the punch.

"Be ready in 10! I already had her purring like a kitten in the Fighter Bay. Figured you guys could use a Valkyrie escort of sorts." She chuckled over the comms. "Tessa out!"

"Well, let's proceed then." He said following Lillee on board the shuttlecraft. He took note of her glance at the EVA suits. "Would love to see her in one of those...before and after." He joked under his breath not realizing or not if it could be heard. Then he saw her asking to launch.

"Yes, yes. Let's head out." Nick said positioning himself into the opposite chair from her. Facing the doors of the bay as he looked onward unsure where this trek was going to take them all. He admired her precision on the controls and the ease that it took to get out there. He was always somewhat nervous of the ships leaving the big ships. Something put him on edge and he didn't yet know why. Granted the last trip he took on a shuttle ended in sickbay with no knowledge of prior events.

"So, since we're shuttlebuddies, what's your story? How'd a romulan end up on a Starfleet vessel? Or is that too personal or forward?"

He was interrupted shortly thereafter as the shuttle Orion had cleared the bay and Theurgy's warp engines. Only to see a Valkyrie doing corkscrews up and beyond the shuttle. "Sorry Lillee, couldn't help it. Looked like a fun target to do this too." She cackled over the comms. "Goldeneye reporting for duty! Let's cook this pig!" She finished doing corkscrews around the shuttle much to the frustration of Chambers and then she warped out towards the USS Frontier.

"Well then. That was interesting. Don't suppose all things on this ship go as wildly." He sighed before pointing to the screen. "Onward. Thataway and follow the crazy driver to the ship. I'm gonna just sit here and admire the scenery..." He said not realizing he was still looking at Lillee when he said it. Something stirred in him at the phrase not realizing he'd been previously infected with the Niga virus and had remnant physical muscle memory from the encounter. Realizing his folly, he turned and adjusted his uniform before staring out the viewscreen.

The Orion warped out towards the Klingon scrapyard in space. Things left over from the Dominion War that were either forgotten or thought totally destroyed. Things little by little the Klingon Empire was using for scraps in their time of hostilities.

The comms opened back up and Tessa was back on them to the shuttle. "I'm nearing the drop point of the wreckage. Scanners read no hostilities in the vicinity. Be prepared and delicate when you land from warp or you might scratch your paint. When you get here, I'll dock and we can head over together. Goldeneye out."

Re: Day 18 [0800 hrs] Just Another Galaxy Salvage

Reply #3 –
[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu | Shuttlecraft Rosalind Franklin | Brestant Shipbreakers Yard] Brestant System Attn: @Pierce

[Show/Hide]

Unfortunately for Nick Chambers, Lillee's sensitive Vulcanoid ears did catch his muttered comment at the EVA suits. His lingering looks at her, while not quite on the edge of inappropriate, did leave no doubt as to what was on the human's mind. A decade and a half of service in two navies had given Lillee a wealth of experience on lavascious men. Her 'exotic' blonde hair had always attracted her more foolish Romulan comrades, and her 'exotic' ears had often attracted even more foolish Starfleet personnel. It had been cute, at first...for the first year.

Heading into year sixteen of her career, Lillee's patience for such men, who were driven more by their balls than their brains, was almost non-existent. As she set a course, Lillee scolded herself to be patient; she knew nothing about Chambers, and he had truly done nothing to warrant scorn. Still, her heckles were raised all the same, and she increased speed to maximum warp to get the journey over with faster. It placed more strain on the shuttle's engines, but just this once, it was worth it. The sooner they were on the wreck and were working, the happier she'd be.

Still, Chambers had asked a question, and it was a fair one. "To answer your question, sir," she said quietly, "I am a defector. I was a pilot in the Star Navy, flying fighters and warbirds. I even fought Starfleet once. When serving aboard a warbird, I was tricked by a Federation spy...manipulated. I eventually had to defect to save my own life, and many others. During the war, Starfleet was desperate for good fighter pilots, and I was better than anyone they had, thanks to my superior training, so I enlisted to fight."

And that was all she said. The following four hours were spent in near total silence, save for occasional systems checks and work talk. Finally they arrived, Tessa's fighter dropping out of warp a minute ahead of them. After the shuttle dropped out of warp, they were presented with a spectacular but depressing sight: shipwrecks. There were hundreds of them, all lined up tight to one another in long rows in deep space, far from any planets. All were horrendously damaged, presenting a ghoulish sight. A large ugly station sat at the centre of the wrecks, with a swarm of shuttles, tugs, barges and freighters passing to and fro. Even as they watched, a tug towed what was left of the aft portion of a Vor'cha-class battlecruiser to its berth.

"That ship must've been destroyed recently," Lillee mused quietly, sobered by he vast expanse of death before them. "Maybe by us during the battle. I hate places like this." She sighed, then tapped a control. "This is the shuttlecraft Rosalind Franklin of the Federation starship Theurgy to station Nex-fuf. Requesting permission to land on wreck 1805 for scheduled salvage mission."

"Shuttlecraft Rosalind Franklin," a bored woman's voice answered, "permission granted to land on wreck 1805. Note that we will provide no assistance regardless of your situation if you get into trouble. We're a shipbreaker's yard, not a babysitting resort."

"Acknowledged," Lillee said, then cut off the comm. "Klingon animals. Even if we were about to be burned alive, they wouldn't care. Bringing us in."

It didn't take long to find their destination. Most wrecks were Klingon, so it was easy to spot the Frontier. The once majestic Galaxy-class starship made for a glum sight. Its once bright hull had been dulled by time, with great gouges in the large saucer from weapons fire. Both nacelles were gone, and the deflector dish had been ripped away entirely along with part of the forward neck, likely the blow that had doomed the vessel. The skeleton of the ship was exposed in places where weapons fire had ripped into the ship even after its shields failed, with the front port quarter of the saucer having been severed entirely.

"The Frontier," Lillee said softly as she brought the shuttle around the back of the dead ship. The shuttlebay door opened at her remote control, an emerald forcefield keeping the atmosphere in. Lillee smoothly landed besides Tessa's Valkyrie, then glanced at Nick. "The Klingons will have restored emergency systems; lights, life support, emergency forcefields. We should be safe, but I've rigged the shuttle for remote emergency transport just in case. Lieutenant Lance will be fine in her exosuit. Where would you like to start, sir?"

Re: Day 18 [0800 hrs] Just Another Galaxy Salvage

Reply #4 –
[ Lt. JG Tessa May Lance ] & [ Lieutenant Nick Chambers | Shuttlebay | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Griff [Show/Hide]

Nick spent the better part of the ride in silence unfortunately for him. Awkward silence. He wondered if she heard the offhand comment he had said. Then realized it was likely due to the ears. Not wanting to be that guy, he was about to apologize when he listened to Lillee's reply on her life story. Nodding simply he went back to the silence until they'd eventually arrived and she commented on the scrapyard.

"That is crazy the amount of wreckage there. Granted I saw the Enterprise-D's wreckage and this is very similar to that situation sadly." Her comments on docking with the Nex-fuf were registered with the Klingon woman.

"She's certainly a piece of work. Klingons am I right?" He said jokingly. "In all seriousness, I want to apologize for making this trip weird. I think you may have head my off hand comment. I do that in social situations. Difficulty in new situations and all."

He glanced at the wreck of the USS Frontier. It was a disaster and was a in sad shape compared to what it could have looked like at it's peak. But this was a husk. A shell of a ship. It made him remember the Enterprise before she too was scrapped. Well, the saucer was towed to the Fleet museum but the stardrive was destroyed by the Duras sisters. They got what they deserved too.

"She's in rough shape. Hopefully it's not been stripped of much needed equipment. Despite the systems being dated, she should have things we can still use that are universal."

Tessa landed just prior to the Rosalind Franklin. "Holy smokes is this thing big. And broken too!" She said on her comms.

"Sadly. Let's head to engineering first. I think that should be our first pitstop. Be careful as we don't know what could be lurking onboard with the life support active and the ships' sensors down."

"Think we should wear our exo-suits or environmental suits sir? What if we get to an area we need them?"

"Not a bad idea honestly. Especially with my previous away mission going awry. Something about a Niga virus and what not. I don't remember much unfortunately."

"Hey Lillee! So glad to connect again for this mission. Typically I don't get the chance to you know, land anywhere. Are you ready to explore this place? Looks like a bad horror film."

"Looks like she's certainly seen better days. Let's go get those dilithium crystals and tag them for storage transport and go get Pierce's other items. We can search for other materials on the way."

Tessa being excited grabbed Lillee. "I call dibs on my partner here!" Locking her arm in one of Lillees as she pulled the other blonde woman close to her. Chambers looked and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, let's go. Follow me. Let's see. We're on Deck 4 right now and need to get to Deck 36,
Section 4 which is Main engineering. Specifically the dilithium crystal chamber. If you get lost tap the LCARS displays on the sides of the walls. I haven't tried on Theurgy but these old ships from the 2360s used them a lot. Especially them typically housing families on the Galaxy class vessels." He said as a matter of factly before walking towards the nearest turbolift.

"Lead the way! Sounds fun." She followed with the group.


Moments later...the turbolift door opened to the entrance to main engineering. Lt. Chambers stepped off the platform first before Tessa and Lillee. The lighting was low, no doubt on auxiliary power but it was enough. Chambers walked over to the center console and began keying in sequences.

"Whatcha doing?" She said teetering over his taller shoulders.

"Checking to see if the generic Galaxy class vessel overrides are still in place for the access to the chamber. It appears so. So shouldn't be too difficult to pull the crystals and tag them. I'm going to go check another console for other usable parts. Basically extra EPS Manifolds, and EPS conduits I can transplant to the ship. If you need anything Lillee for the shuttles, let me know. I know Theurgy needs these parts badly from recent reports."

Re: Day 18 [0800 hrs] Just Another Galaxy Salvage

Reply #5 –
[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu | Wreck 1805 (formerly USS Frontier | Brestant Shipbreakers Yard] Brestant System Attn: @Pierce

[Show/Hide]

Busy piloting the shuttle, Lillee did at least favour Chambers with a smile after he apologised. As a result, she was somewhat less frigid afterwards as they landed, got changed into their EVA suits. The shuttlebay and corridors were dark, gloomy and riddled with damage, lit only by cheap Klingon lights where the main lighting was no longer functional. Tessa's cheerful demeanour helped counter the atmosphere somewhat, but only to a point. Even with her helmet off, Lillee was anxious, and was only becoming more so after the three of them left the turbolift.

As Chambers checked the computer, Lillee crouched down next to what could only be a dried bloodstain on a bulkhead, running a gloved hand around it. The stain was so old that in the poor light, it had no colour, so there was no way of knowing what species it came from. Absorded in melancholy, it took Lillee a moment to realise that she was being talked to.

"Hm?" she said, standing up, before replaying what Chambers had said. "Oh, yes, shuttles. We'll need type 5-G EPS piping, IDG series control components and 45-NC chips for the shuttles. We can...oh, here we go." Moving to another control station, Lillee tapped it experimentally and saw that it was dead. She shrugged, knelt down, took off a panel and began ripping out components, tossing them into a bag without a care. "Primary control stations like this one have all the best toys. The type-9 shuttles are built from the same system architecture, so there are many common components. This station alone could help us refit the computers of six shuttles."

After a minute or so of merry ransacking, Lillee glanced at the towering warp core with unease. It was completely dark, yet it still dominated the bay like a monument. "Is this not...disquieting? It feels as if the ship...remembers...its dead."

Re: Day 18 [0800 hrs] Just Another Galaxy Salvage

Reply #6 –
[ Lt. JG Tessa May Lance ] & [ Lieutenant Nick Chambers | Shuttlebay | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Griff  [Show/Hide]

The ship felt cold, or it would if they weren't wearing their EVO suits. Chambers peered around various corners at the dimly lit husk of a galaxy class starship. It reminded him of the Enterprise to be honest but it was a wreck nonetheless. Clearly not as important either. But it was him, Lillee and Tessa exploring for gear they could take and use on the Theurgy. With many panels still in great condition despite lack of power to test them. Nick knew though when there was damage and so he could easily shuffle through the contents.

It was sad to see so much blood stains, debris and scorching on the panels and bulkheads. He could see the concern on Lillee's face and Tessa's. Despite Tessa looking almost giddy. Which confused him somewhat. "Something funny Lance?"

She giggled. "It's just so....spooky!" She said dangling her EVO covered fingers at him with a goofy grin.

Chambers rolled his eyes as he proceeded towards the consoles more. Pulling a micro-battery pack he'd put together, he tapped it on the top to activate it and placed it on the console, bringing it to life. As he accessed the terminals, he took note that the ship wasn't just defeated in the Dominion War, but was boarded and scavenged from the inside out. Crew ripped from their stations and shot. Explaining the blood stains.

Lillee responded to his inquiry about the parts and he nodded for her to proceed. "Grab whatever you can and tag it for transport to the shuttle storage compartments. We'll likely have more than we can carry back to the ship. Engineering is gonna love us though!" He said somewhat realistic and somewhat sarcastic.

As Nick leaned towards a console, he failed to see Tessa tugging on one that was nearby that Lillee was interested in. "Yes, these old ships especially Galaxy class vessels had a lot of long range specialties as they were built to be on their own for sometime. Tessa continuing to pull at the box wedged in the console watched some as Nick managed to activate the release chamber for the dilithium storage. It swung open with a loud clang sound. In turn startling the pilot who yanked a little too hard at the equipment.

Nick never saw it coming as it blasted him, as he walked into it, right in the balls. He doubled over slightly hanging on a console, nearly barfing and choking it back. Despite the EVO suits armor, it didn't sustain a lot of the impact from blunt force trauma. Tessa went wide eyed realizing what she'd done and began to crawl over on her knees to him since she was already crouched. Reaching her hands up, she began to pat the front of his manhood with the suit still covering it. She looked directly at the impact zone and his face and felt horrible as she looked back and forth still trying to calm his pain. "I'm so sorry Lt. Chambers! I didn't mean to!"

Pushing her back, he leaned against the console, breathing in painful gasps as he tried to correct himself. "Just...get...back Lieutenant..." He said hoarsely. "I'll take it from here." He turned to face the console this time and closed his eyes to recenter himself. All thoughts of being among two gorgeous blonde pilots was gone from his thoughts as he just wanted to focus on the mission.

Looking back at Lillee, Tessa smirked and stood up finally. Nodding that she felt bad, but it was also a necessary test for him. "So what's next?"

That was when a sound was heard off in the distance of the ship. With the warp core and primary systems offline, you could hear much further than anticipated on a derelict ship.

Re: Day 18 [0800 hrs] Just Another Galaxy Salvage

Reply #7 –
[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu | Wreck 1805 (formerly USS Frontier | Brestant Shipbreakers Yard] Brestant System Attn: @Pierce

[Show/Hide]

Lillee had to cover her mouth to hide her silent laughter at Chambers's incident. She shook her head in mirth at Tessa's complete lack of real guilt, finding herself grateful that Tessa had chosen Chambers for her toy rather than the alternative. Lillee hadn't known that Tessa had such a mischievous streak; their only real interaction had come in battle, after all, when they'd both been seconds from death at any moment.

The sudden bang echoing through the dead ship ended all levity. Lillee glanced in the direction of the sound with unease. "When I said that the ship remembers its dead, I didn't mean to be literal," she said uncomfortably. "That was...oh...just duranium creaking, yes? Something like that." Lillee smiled nervously as she glanced at the other two. "That happens, yes? It's normal for a ship that has been like this for so long."

As much as Lillee tried to sound confident, she was anything but. She had no desire to be mocked for her own beliefs, so she tried to put the thought out of her mind, but a childhood of ghost stories about vengeful dead spaceships was not easily ignored. From outside the Frontier had looked so forelorn, so pained, that the mental image lingered.

Re: Day 18 [0800 hrs] Just Another Galaxy Salvage

Reply #8 –
[ Lt. JG Tessa May Lance ] & [ Lieutenant Nick Chambers | Shuttlebay | Deck 11 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy] Attn: @Griff [Show/Hide]

Chambers was startled too as he hear the sound rattle in the background. Tessa went on high alert, jumping back and forth in a kung fu stance. Despite that, he grabbed his phaser and leaned forward. "Let me go check it out. You two keep aware of your surroundings. No telling what it might be. These ships often carried things in stasis that can get a tad nasty." He paused and turned back around. "Write that down." He said facetiously before parading off into the dark corridor.

Tessa not being one to stay still piped up. "So...should we go back to the ship or keep foraging? This is not my fault." She mentioned to make it obvious it wasn't her since she made the earlier joke of the place being spooky.

Scavenging through and grabbing a hammer, she banged on a console freeing it from the bulkhead. "So what else ya needing? I'm not sure but this looks usable." She said having zero idea what she was doing. Afterall, she wasn't an engineer but a pilot and her expertise didn't lend well to their current scenario.

Running was heard down the hall causing Tessa to freeze. Momentarily, Chambers appeared. "Definitely not alone here. Some one or something is here and there's grunting...." Nick said nearly out of breath. Hoping it wasn't something ominous coming for them.

"Wait? What's coming?"

"Hell if I know lance. It sounds like a boar or pig on earth as it echos in the distance."

"I'm too young to die!!" She said going to her knees partially in terror and partially sarcastic as she attempted to keep the humor in her tone.

Chambers turned to Lillee. "What might we encounter on a wreckage ship in Klingon space?" He inquired as he heard the clicking and grunting and snorting coming closer down the corridor. The look on his face hoping this wasn't going to end with them all as food for whatever it was or a fight on their hands in a dilapidated starship.

Re: Day 18 [0800 hrs] Just Another Galaxy Salvage

Reply #9 –
[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu | Wreck 1805 (formerly USS Frontier | Brestant Shipbreakers Yard] Brestant System Attn: @Pierce

[Show/Hide]

"How would I know? Ah, sir," Lillee added belatedly to her petulance. "The last time I was in Klingon space, I was in a cloaked fighter hoping to score some kills! I can't even imagine..."

Of course, Lillee could imagine, which only made it worse. As another menacing growl echoed through the dead ship, she pulled out her tricorder and held it up. After a few moments of scanning, she froze, eyes wide. Even in the poor light, her face looked pale.

"Gorn," she whispered in horror. "Bury me in ash, they're Gorn! Two lifesigns, this deck, fifty meters and closing from forward! We...we need to get away, now, right now!"

Not waiting for agreement or orders, Lillee swiftly packed up everything and promptly headed aft, around the dark warp core to the back of Engineering. The doors to the corridor beyond were missing, not that they would've held up a pair of determined Gorn in any event. As the three walked, Lillee tapped her combadge.

"Theurgy team to Station Nex-fuf," she whispered, her voice quiet but full of fury, "there are Gorn on this wreck! Why are there Gorn on this wreck!?"

The answer from the Klingon woman was decidedly smug. "Wreck 1805? Oh, I forgot, there was a Gorn team scheduled to visit that wreck today. My sincere apologies, Starfleet, I must have forgotten to inform you about them." Her lie was as thinly veiled as her amusement was obvious. "Is this a problem? Don't you embrace meeting new forms of life?"

"New forms of life?" Lillee muttered angrily as she stopped at an intersection with a wide viewport; they had now reached the aft end of the wreck, as far back as they could go. "What if they try to kill us?"

"Kill them first," the Klingon controller suggested succinctly. "Good luck! Nex-fuf out."

"Veruul!" Lillee cursed before glancing at her crewmates. "What do we do? Try to sneak around them and get back to the shuttlebay? Stand our ground?"

veruul! - asshole!

Re: Day 18 [0800 hrs] Just Another Galaxy Salvage

Reply #10 –
[ Lt. JG Tessa May Lance ] & [ Lieutenant Nick Chambers | Wreck 1805 (formerly USS Frontier | Brestant Shipbreakers Yard] Brestant System] Attn: @Griff [Show/Hide]

Chambers heard Lillee's frustrated response but agreed with it nonetheless. "I can understand that." He held his phaser rifle closely as she announced that they were Gorn. Nothing he wanted to hear at all.

Lance stood there grinning like an idiot Chambers thought. What the hell is she so excited for? It was at that moment Lillee checked in with the Klingon woman assigned to managing the wrecks. She seemed snide and less than enthused. The banter back and forth almost forced a chuckle if it weren't for the fact they were in definite danger.

Lillee's suggestion for standing or sneaking back to the shuttlebay caused him to briefly struggle on what to do in this situation. But not Tessa. She walked on calmly into the corridors. Not slowing any but towards the sounds.

"Lance! Lance! As your superior, I order you to return right now! Back to the shuttle!" He waited and started to turn and ignore it when they heard a scream down the corridor after Tessa had disappeared completely. He looked at Lillee with utter shock on his face as it went white as a ghost before he bared his rifle at the entry and climbed behind a bulkhead container. "Ready weapons!"

It was then that a sound could be hear not of just Gorn, but human sounds too. It was laughter? Before too long, Tessa re-emerged with her hands up. "Whoa! Hold on guys! They're scientists. I told them we were looking for something and they actually happened to know where to get it. They didn't know why but said they'd help us."

Bewildered he looked in shock. "You talked to the Gorn and got them to help us?"

"Yeah, they needed something from the medical bay and I told them where to find it. You can say hello if you want. They speak terran languages too."

Chambers slapped his face as she explained this. "Ugh, why did I bring a fighter pilot..." He muttered quietly.

Tessa giggled as she realized why Chambers did what he did. Daredevil genes die hard for the Wolves. "Eh, they just needed directions. Sometimes it helps to think happy thoughts before running into a fight." She beamed back at him. "Anyhow, we shouldn't see them again. I told them that Chambers was scared of Gorn and they laughed, and then I laughed, and then we both laughed. Then they left and told me where to get that kemocyte stuff whatever it was." She waved for them to follow her down the now dimly lit corridor.

Re: Day 18 [0800 hrs] Just Another Galaxy Salvage

Reply #11 –
[PO3 Lillee t’Jellaieu | Wreck 1805 (formerly USS Frontier | Brestant Shipbreakers Yard] Brestant System Attn: @Pierce

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As Tessa cheerfully marched to a grizzly death, Lillee swore under her breath. "I am not saving her ass a second time," she muttered angrily as she drew her phaser and increased the setting to kill. "The first time, she flies too close to an Elements-cursed Borg cube, I understand. This is just foolish!"

She glanced at Chambers, who evidently agreed, but there was nothing for it. Neither of them were inclined to run to the rescue. After a while, Lillee's headed tilted as she concentrated. That was laughter, definitely laughter...human laughter. And talking, though even Lillee's ears couldn't discern the words. What manner of strange thing was happening?

"I don't like this," Lillee said with concern. "Gorn are wild, unpredictable, feral. Just look at that Gorn on our ship; he went crazy on Praxis. I have heard horrible things about what he did. Those two Gorn wouldn't think twice about eating us."

When Tessa returned, however, Lillee stared in astonishment. She remained slack-jawed through the explanation, not believing a word of it, and so she pulled out her tricorder. Sure enough, the Gorn lifesigns were now moving away.

"You are crazy, Goldeneye," Lillee said in bafflement. "Even fpr a Wolf, you are out of your mind."

Fortunately, the rest of the mission proceeded without incident. Nobody was eaten, the Klingons and Gorn behaved, and despite obvious inclinations, Chambers did nothing to force Lillee to castrate him. Nevertheless, Lillee found herself unsettled by Tessa's merry disregard for mortal peril. It wasn't even unusual; most Wolves had that attitude through the simple necessity of what they did for living.

More and more, Lillee was finding herself glad to have transferred out when she did.


-FIN
 
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