Day 20 [1200 hrs.] Enter the Ganymede 7

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Day 20 [1200 hrs.] Enter the Ganymede 7

July 27, 2020, 03:39:22 PM

CWO1 Larrant | Bridge | USS Se'ka | Enroute to Kayvok

Red alert klaxons rang through the cabin of the Ganymede's captains skiff, Se'Ka. Larrant's pod was connected directly into the navigation console via his pod's retractable arms.

"Inertial dampeners at fifteen percent." reported the officer at the ops station. "She can't take much more. She'll fly apart."

"Then we fly her apart, we have to make it to Kayvok before they leave." another officer responded. "Chief, report."

The metallic pod hovering over the Conn Terminal remained silent.

"Chief, report!"

"BEEP. INTERMIX PLASMA FLUCTUATING...... REALIGNING..... ETA..... 1.43 HOURS.... KLINGONS DEPARTURE IN 38 MINUTES... STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY HOLDING....." At that moment a series of EPS conduits began expelling gas and a ceiling panel fell. "BEEP..... CORRECTION...... STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY HAS DECREASED BY TEN PERCENT."

The monotone voice of the Medusan pod sounded so inhuman and unemotional, the exact opposite of the emotional emphasis that Larrant tried to convey through his Mark II E.M.U. They had left the T-Tauri Class Nebula days ago in the race to reach Kayvok before the IKS Vor'nak and IKS ChunDab left for Aldea, pushing the Se'ka to the breaking point. It was only recently that they decided to attempt hooking Larrant directly to the skiff's propulsion system to coax more speed out of it. It was dangerous on many levels. Should the Medusan pod rupture, the crew aboard would risk exposure to the sight of Larrant, worse the pod's matter/antimatter core would breach destroying the skiff completely. Regardless of which happened, they all died. But the importance of their mission was imparted to them and they would complete that mission or die trying. So here they were.....

SD 57551.24| Day -02: 1130 hrs. | Bridge | USS Ganymede NCC 80107 | Krai'jIH'na Nebula

Captain Rexx sat in the captain's chair on the bridge watching the aquamarine clouds swirling on the viewscreen. The Ganymede had to abandon its joint mission with the USS Titan exploring the Gum Nebula deep in the Beta Quadrant due to an unrepairable deuterium leak. They had limped home from one stellar cloud and gas giant to another refilling their tanks. They had finally made it within range of the Federation and had taken this minor detour into Klingon space to prepare for the next leg of their journey back to Mars.

"Report Chief," the Bolian captain ordered the Medusan navigational specialist sitting, or hovering at the CONN.

"BEEP.... DEUTERIUM TANKS WILL BE FULL IN MINUTES..... WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH TO GET US TO THE AZURE NEBULA BEFORE REFUELING..... PLOTTING COURSE TO MAXIMIZE FUEL CONSUMPTION ACCOUNTING FOR LEAKAGE.... ETA SIX DAYS."

"Very good."

"Captain, I am picking up a faint distress call originating from near the Azure Nebula. It's garbled due to our current location but it sounds like the Cayuga" interrupted the officer at OPS.

"On speakers."

[This is Capt--- Anya Zieg--- of the Federat--- Starship Cayuga. We request immedi--- assistance, I repeat, immediate ---istance. We have --ken heavy damage and are without main power. Please, --lp us, you are our only hope. I repeat, th-- is Captain Anya Ziegler of the Federation Starship Cayuga. We request...]

"Chief, how soon can we reach them?"

"BEEP... THE AZURE NEBULA IS IN OUR DIRECT PATH BACK TO SOL BUT IN OUR CURRENT CONDITION WE WOULD REACH THEM IN TWELVE DAYS. TWO IF WE COULD REACH AND SUSTAIN MAXIMUM WARP THE ENTIRE TIME."

Captain Rexx ran his hand over his bald head. "Notify the Cayuga that we are en route. Set a course for the Cayuga best speed possible. We may be late to the party but let it not be said we didn't attempt to attend."

SD 57556.12 | Day 0: 1005 hrs. | Bridge | USS Ganymede NCC 80107 | 10 Days from Azure Nebula at Warp 8.5

"Captain! I am getting reports from the Azure Nebula. The fleet has engaged the Borg!" the OPS officer reported.

"The Borg! Bridge to Engineering, what are our odds against a Borg cube?" Rexx responded.

"Captain, I'm barely holding the ship together maintaining warp right now. Even with assistance we wouldn't stand a chance. If our deuterium problem continues it won't matter...."

"Understood." Rexx interrupted and closed the channel. His habit of cutting off a conversation whenever he didn't like what was being said was notorious. "Chief, it looks like we may run out of gas reaching the Nebula. I don't think the Borg would accept a time-out for refueling. Are there any pit stops between her and there?"

"BEEP... WE COULD DETOUR TO THE T-TAURI CLASS NEBULA NEAR EPSILON HYDRAE. WE WOULD BE DEEP WITHIN KLINGON SPACE BUT SAFE FROM THE BORG ENCOUNTER. HOWEVER, WE WOULD BE NO CLOSER TO THE FLEET."

Rubbing his head, Rexx responded, "Sorry crew, looks like we will miss the party. Set a course for Epsilon Hydrae's nebula."

SD 57569.31 | Day 5: 1600 hrs. | Captain's Ready Room| USS Ganymede NCC 80107 | Epsilon Hydrae Nebula

Captain Rexx stared at the Asian Admiral on his desk monitor.

"...once your tanks are full, you are to make best possible speed to Starbase 234 and pick up the attached list of survivors from Task Force Archeron. The Ganymede will transport them on its return to Mars."

"Yes sir." responded Rexx.

"Oh, another thing. I have a milk run I need you to take care of for me. You will receive a grocery list in the data packet I am sending you. I'll need the goods on it delivered to a friend in fifteen days."

Captain Rexx was no stranger to Intelligence doubletalk having conducted covert missions for Admiral Anderson in the past.

"Understood."

SD 57568.79 | Day 06: 1100 hrs. | Conference Room | USS Ganymede NCC 80107 | Epsilon Hydrae Nebula

Captain Rexx stood at the head of the table looking at the seven officers selected by Admiral Anderson for a covert mission. "You each have your individual orders. In order to maintain deniability, I have not been made privy to them and wish to keep it that way. You will take our fastest auxiliary vessel to the coordinates in your orders. Looks like the Se'ka will get to see some action after all. You leave in an hour. Dismissed." The Captain turned and left the room without a second thought to any questions the assembled officers might have.

"Why does he do that?" asked one of the seven.

"Not our problem anymore. Our orders say we are being reassigned."

"The USS Theurgy? Isn't that the rogue ship?"

"Yes, apparently we are going to be debriefed further once we get to Aldea."

"I need to go say my goodbyes."

"Chief Larrant, my orders included bringing the Mark-III prototype. It still requires assembly but we should have time over the next fourteen days to make it ready."

"BEEP.... VERY CURIOUS. I AM INTERESTED IN TESTING IT."

"Hey, I think I have decided what our team name should be. The Ganymede Seven!"

NOW | | Bridge | USS Se'ka | Enroute to Kayvok

The entire craft filled with blinding light as the entire ship exploded into pieces.....

--TO BE CONTINUED--

Re: Day 20 [1200 hrs.] Enter the Ganymede 7

Reply #1 – July 30, 2020, 09:39:12 PM

| Cargo Bay | IKS noD'ta | Pursuit Course to Intercept IKS Vor'nak and IKS ChunDab

The Crimson light slowly subsided and the Ganymede 7 found themselves surrounded by Klingons, disrupters charged and aimed at their vital organs.

"What the..."

"Silence, PetaQs!"

On one side, the ring of Klingons parted allowing a thin Klingon to pass through juggling a single na'ran fruit. He lacked the pronounced cranial ridges and muscular bulk of a typical Klingon but for all the stereotypes he missed, he overflowed with confidence.

"Please, excuse my crew. As 'avwI' batlh¹ they take threats to the Empire very seriously. And until your explanation for why you were racing at high warp toward Kayvok to my satisfaction......" he paused as he took a bite into the na'ran, the juices oozing down his go-tee. "... that is exactly what you are. So please, explain yourselves.... but do so quickly. The crew has been itching for live target practice."

| vagh tup pIq | (5 Minutes Later)

The Klingon commander tossed the remains of the na'ran to the floor. "So you six are among those sent from the Admiral Anderson to assist the rogue starship Theurgy and thereby are under the protection of Chancellor Martok. That seems all said and good, but why are you carrying two high yield plasma bombs? Hmmm. Speak the truth! You are in a fact a team of assassins on a mission to destroy the Vor'nak and ChunDab. Your primary target is Chancellor Martok! There is no need to lie so tell me who? Who are you working with? The Romulans? The Kinshaya? Did the House of Reshtarc² send you? Give me answers now?" Unlike most Klingon commanders, this one did not bark his interrogation. No, he used more guile and persuasion.

"Honest, we are not working with anyone. We are being reassigned by orders of Admiral Anderson. We don't want to risk the Alliance with an intergalactic incident," responded one of the Starfleet officers.

"So you continue to hold to that falsehood like a coward. Martok is expecting seven Starfleet officers, and though I am a Klingon, I can still count."

The captive officers looked around to notice one of their members missing. "We were seven, you must not have beamed us all out in time. Our navigator...."

"Silence!" the recently calm Klingon commander bellowed before alarms began blaring across the deck.

During the whole exchange, in a containment field out of sight, the damaged plasma bomb as the Klingons referred to it, opened. A psychedelic cloud of gas escaped and quickly entered the second plasma bomb sitting adjacent to the first. The pristine second pod began to come to life, indicator lights began to blink as the metal sphere started to hover in the air. Larrant had survived the explosion of the Se'ka, his Mark II EMU too damaged to operate. Luckily the Klingons had mistaken both devices as weapons to study and use against their enemies. In doing so the Mark III EMU was available for Larrant to inhabit.

Two plasma beams blasted from the front emitters on Larrant's pod disrupting the containment field surrounding him. The blast also sounded the alarms on the noD'ta's cargo deck.

"I AM HERE...." Larrant announced from behind the Klingon commander.

Turning to confront the new enemy, the commander pulled a dagger from his hip and responded, "How did you get aboard!" Half of the 'avwI' batlh followed suit with targeting their weapons on the flanking newcomer.

Standing where Larrant should have been was a tall dark humanoid in a Starfleet Uniform. "I AM LARRANT, A MEDUSAN OFFICER THAT WAS IN THE DAMAGED CONTAINMENT POD YOU BEAMED ABOARD. THANK YOU FOR THAT. YOU ERRONEOUSLY THOUGHT IT A WEAPON. WE ARE AS MY ASSOCIATE CLAIMS ARE ADMIRAL ANDERSON'S APPOINTED TRANSFERS FROM THE USS GANYMEDE TO THE USS THEURGY UNDER PROTECTION OF CHANCELLOR MARTOK. WE ARE UNFORTUNATELY LATE FOR OUR MEETING WITH HIM ON KAYVOK. COULD YOU AS THE EMPIRE'S HONOR GUARD GIVE US A LIFT?"

The Klingon commander's eye twitched as he pondered the situation. "Gggrrrr... give me a moment." Pulling a communicator from his belt using his other hand, "Bridge.... connect me with the Chancellor's ship." He fidgeted with the disrupted in his dominant hand as he waited.

"This is the Vor'nak. Explain why you would interrupt the Chancellor's meal." came the tense voice of the communication officer on the Vor'nak.

"This is Tor'mak of the 'avwI' batlh cruiser noD'ta. I have a Starfleet force of seven claiming to be the one's Anderson sent to Martok." Tor'mak could hear the voice of Martok in the background.

"The Chancellor wishes to thank you for picking up his guests and requests that you accelerate to meet us en route along our heading in order to transport them to us. He congratulates you on service to the Empire." With that the communication link was closed.

Tor'mak turned his back to Larrant and faced the bulk of the Starfleet officers. With open arms he exclaimed, "Well, it seems all is in order." With a toothy smile, he continued, "Any guest of the Chancellor is a guest of the 'avwI' batlh! Put those weapons away," he ordered the Klingon crew. "These are the Chancellor's Starfleet friends and protected as long as he holds office."

| Captain's Ready Room | IKS noD'ta | Later After Much Posturing

After the Ganymede 7 had been secured in quarters, Tor'mak sat alone in his ready room. He pulled a na'ran from a bowl on his desk, then pressed a button opening a bulkhead panel behind him. Turning to face it, Tor'mak saw a static covered image of another Klingon covered in shadow. "Inform the High Master that the Chancellor has polluted our Empire with even more Starfleet trash. The rogue Starfleet vessel is hiding at the following coordinates." Tor'mak tapped some keys on the covert console. "For the Empire!"

"For the Empire!" replied the shadow figure and the screen went black.

Tor'mak turned back around as the bulkhead panel closed. Smiling in pride of his actions, he took a deep bite out of the na'ran in his hand.

-FIN-

¹ 'avwI' batlh = Honor Guard
² House of Reshtarc