Recovering

Walking down the corridor, with his phaser rifle drawn and ready to engage the intruders, Lieutenant Commander Cline Lenjir looked behind him to see his security team still so close behind him. His entire security department was now working on removing the Hunters of D’Ghor that had boarded them after ramming Odyssey with their ship. Not sure if their plan was either calculated or reckless, the security chief stopped as they approached cargo bay three. Internal sensors had picked up a large number of Klingon lifesigns in the cargo bay. It was as if they were using it as a command post to coordinate their assault.

Already Lenjir had briefed his teams on what they would do. Deploying not only his security teams, but Odyssey‘s two hazard teams as well, he had planned for them to approach the cargo bay from several angles. The main objective was to remove the Klingon threat, however they all knew the Hunters of D’Ghor wouldn’t make it easy for them. Commander Duncan, being the de facto captain for now, had authorised for Cline to use whatever force was necessary to remove them from the ship. Knowing from his previous encounter with them while rescuing the captain’s sons and their classmates, he knew the Klingons had come on board with EVA-like suits on. So attempting to overwhelm them with gases like anesthizine or neurozine would not be an option. Instead Lenjir planned to remove them from the cargo by depressing the room into space. It may have seemed as an inhumane act, instead of stunning them all, but the fact it took several shots from their phaser rifles to take one of them down, it was deemed the best course of action. They could flush them out and then use the transporters on the Aquarius to transport them into their brigs. However the cargo bay controls had been damaged and to get them up and running, it required each team to manually release the mag-locks for the outer hatches.

Approaching the jeffery tube access they would use, Cline tapped the buttons on the lock to open it. Once the lock clicked that it was open, he pulled the handle up and opened the door. His security team all aiming their phaser rifles down the long tube in case anything came out. Luckily the light from the torches attached to their rifles showed that the long tunnel was clear. Tapping his combadge, Cline called out to the others. “Alpha team to all security teams, we’re in position. I want a status report from everyone else.”

As they entered the tunnel, Cline received a report from every team all stating they were approaching their targets and that so far none of them had encountered the Klingons. So far so good he thought.

After receiving news that every security team was moving in and removing their intruders, Commander Duncan moved away from the security station. He had just updated Lenjir on the news that they were still tracking the Klingons in the cargo bay. He gave them clearance to go ahead with their plan.

“Engineering to bridge.” came the voice of Commander Hunsen over the bridge’s intercom speakers.

Making his way around to the captain’s chair, Duncan responded to his friend. “Go ahead Tremt. Please say you have some good news.”

The Betazoid chief engineer chuckled slightly. “Some good news Max.” He answered. “We should have impulse engines back online within the hour. We can do at least half impulse.”

“That’s some good news. Where do we stand with other tactical systems?” Duncan asked as he sat down in the centre seat. “Perhaps restoring shields or getting a few phaser arrays online would be good?”

“I’ve got damage control teams working on the shield array, should have those back in the next three to four hours. Phasers are a lost cause for the moment, but I’m hoping to get power restored to the forward torpedo turrets.” Hunsen reported.

“Thanks Trent, keep me apprised. Bridge out.” Duncan said as he tapped the control in the chair’s armrest control.

“Getting comfortable?” remarked Senior Chief Petty Officer Court as he stepped off from the starboard forward turbolift. Like everyone else, the senior enlisted officer looked rough. His collar was undone while his jacket was unzipped completely with his sleeves rolled up. Not only was his uniform in a disarray but his hair was a mess with sweat across his face, neck and exposed chest. With a phaser rifle strapped over his shoulder and on his back, Court approached Odyssey‘s acting captain with a PADD in his hands. “I’ve got a head count for you.”

Not looking forward to hearing it, Duncan took the computer device and started to read it while Court told him the statistics.

“We’ve got fifty-eight crew in critical condition, including the captain and our three commanders, while there are still ninety-three people still missing. Thankfully we know that no-one was blown out into space when the hull breached. There’s still areas of the ship we can’t reach and where the internal sensors aren’t working properly. Sensor resolution is below twenty percent, so the computer can’t identify certain lifesigns. I’ve got search and rescue teams, devised mainly from the science department looking for them.” Court shared as he took the seat that Commander Duncan normally sat in to the captain’s left. “How’s Cline’s hunting going?”

“They’ve just arrived at their targets, they should be working on the manual overrides as we speak.” Duncan replied. He gave the PADD back to Court. “Good work on this Tobie, how’s our civilian population holding up?”

“Well, from what I can gather. Using the various crew lounges as areas of shelters has proven helpful in keeping everyone safe while we undergo our little Klingon purge and restore systems.” Court answered. “A number of them have asked why you’ve not given the order to abandon ship and use the escape pods to take them to the colony.”

Duncan looked to his friend and considered his words carefully. “I’ve floated with the idea, but with Tremt stabilising the ship and Doctor Slyvexs’ team still helping others, we’re not abandoning ship yet.”

“I get that, I do, but is it worth evacuating the civilians at least?” Court suggested.

“No, I’m not prepared to separate everyone. We don’t know if another D’Ghor ship could arrive and start using them for target practice.” Duncan said. “And I’m not splitting the ship up either. We need the power systems from the chevron section and stardrive section to keep us afloat until help arrives.”

“Talking of which, any word from the colony yet? Have they sent anyone?” Court asked.

“Not yet, but with T’Rani commanding the Aquarius and helping Cline with his ‘purge’, we’ve got no-way to be certain they’ve got our distress call.” Duncan remarked. “I’m just hoping that the governor is not being stubborn in sending them like he was with the captain.”

Sat upright in the commanding officer’s chair on the bridge of the Aquarius, Lieutenant Commander T’Rani observed carefully as Lieutenant Commander Lenjir’s teams came to completing their mission. The skeleton crew she had with her operating Odyssey‘s support craft, were all working at peak efficiency in such a dire situation. At the moment they were the only sentinel for Odyssey and removing the Klingon intruders was a priority for securing the ship.

“Commander, I’m detecting the cargo bay external doors opening.” announced the Pelian science officer. “The decompression cycle is starting.”

“Onscreen Ensign Jriose.” T’Rani ordered.

The mainscreen showed the large doors from cargo bay three opening slowly and the air rushing from it. Bodies started to flow backwards at fast speeds, all of them Klingons. Satisfied that their mission was succeeding, T’Rani ordered them to start to beam their prisoners up and into Odyssey‘s brig. The proximity alarm then went off.

Jrioise looked up from her console, “Ma’am, sensors are picking up the USS Discovery and USS Shackleton arriving. Captain Bennet on the Discovery is hailing the Odyssey.”

“Accept the call from our end and transfer it to the Odyssey at once.” T’Rani ordered. Knowing that help had finally arrived placed the Vulcan woman at more ease. The arrival of a Century-class with a Rhode Island-class would make a difference to them securing the system further.

Announcements

The Devil to Pay – Conclusion

BFXO Report #25 – Specifications Update