“Coming up on the convoy now.” Ensign Tang tapped at the console as the Defiant-class USS Relentless dropped from warp and slid into the sector. Commander Raelin Korvath sat in the center chair, staring ahead at the distant collection of ships. The Justice and Perseverance were lending their support to the colony and Raelin’s team tasked with identifying the convoy. A convoy that had not filed a flight plan, identified itself, or made any effort to give a sense of innocence. Enough klaxons had rung, and Commodore Fontana’s patience had reached an all-time low.
She leaned forward in her chair. “Estrada, tell me what we see. Charlotte, start the clock and keep your eyes on ‘em. They twitch; I need a shout.” At the science station, Lieutenant Commander Beatrice Estrada had extended the sensors, reaching out to get an idea of what kind of group it was. Estrada sequenced the sensors, running through the various scans. The data flooded back, and she frowned.
“Commander, I’m getting conflicting returns. Each ship is broadcasting an identifier, but the computer is reporting that at least three of the registry names and numbers belong to ships lost within the last month. One destroyed, two that were never located.” Her eyes widened as the data updated and the sensors went through their cycles. “Total of ten ships in the convoy. Five of the registry numbers do not cross-reference with our local or larger databases. Two of them checkout, and the latest sensor data verifies with what I have.”
The light French lilt from Lieutenant Charlotte Pelletier at the tactical station spoke up, “There is more to these ships, Commander. Tactical scans are coming back unintelligible to the computer. Weapons where they’re not supposed to be, and conflicting readings on reactors, power systems…and that’s just on the first look.” Her face was serene, and yet her eyes were blazing with concern.
Raelin slowly shook her head. “Then we do this by the book. Tang, open a hailing frequency to all convoy ships.” The whistle sounded, and she spoke, “This is Commander Raelin of the Federation starship Relentless. Please state your intent and course.” The officers around the bridge all raised their eyebrows. Rarely did the word ‘please’ come out of their CO’s mouth. Raelin rolled her eyes in response, a sly smile tugging at her lips while she waited.
Tang tapped across the glass. “No response. Each ship received the message.” She turned to her CO, “I can repeat the message.” Raelin nodded, and Tan sent the message again.
In the center chair, she was wondering. Raelin asked, “Time to intercept us?”
Pelletier remained perched on her chair, hands working the console as she kept her focus on the threat board while reporting, “Fifteen minutes. Slow buggers,” she observed.
Raelin replied, “They’re not in a hurry. Nothing wrong with slow and steady. Until there is something wrong with slow and steady. Estrada, start tracing their course that got them here. Feed Tang the data and let’s see if anyone on that path talked to them or heard something.”
Ten minutes later, Tang tapped at her console, and the channel closed. “Commander, I’ve got one of the con column. A group of scavengers says they passed this convoy, tried to hail them, and got nothing. They followed ‘em for a bit but gave up after thirty minutes. A few of the small stations I could reach said they didn’t stop for supplies and passed them by. The earliest sighting was ten days ago.”
Raelin turned to Estrada, and the news did not improve. The XO held up her PADD, annoyed. “Impulse trails show slight deviations in course corrections in short and long-distance scans. As far as I can scan, they’ve not stopped or slowed. Just full impulse. Their shields are up, and there’s some interference in identifying life signs. It’s an odd shield frequency. I’m not sure what it’s intended to do, but it’s unlike anything I’ve seen in civilian fleets. Odd doesn’t cover it, commander.”
Raelin grimaced. “Well, shit.” She tapped a button on her chair, “Sho to the bridge.” She turned back to the crew, “We’ve got five minutes until they move past us. Outside of trying to disable ten civilian ships and boarding them, I need something better than that. That plan will require at least Perseverance to support.”
Charlotte asked, “Pardon the insanity of the idea, but what if we simply stood in front of them.” She shrugged at the stares from everyone, including the CO. “It would be a test to see if the autopilot or whoever is directing these ships has a sense of self-preservation.” She pointed to Tang at flight control. “Tang has the talent to avoid our destruction by ramming should the experiment fail.”
Silence fell across the small bridge, and Raelin considered the idea. Pelletier wasn’t as crazy as her reputation would have you believe. She asked the group, “I’m open to ideas.” A few shook their heads, and no fresh plans were forthcoming. Raelin chuckled, “Well, let’s test the limits of the Defiant-class. Tang, let’s get in the way of the convoy. Raise shields.”
