“Captain’s starlog, February 9th, 2155. Challenger’s crew have worked hard through the night to fix as much of our battle damage as possible. Words cannot express the tremendous pride I have for the crew’s efforts. We now are left to deal with ramifications of the attack and how we plan to rescue our missing comrades.”

Captain Burton was aching all over from the sleep he had missed. He had been awake for almost a whole day now. He had grabbed an hour’s nap earlier, but he couldn’t rest knowing members of his crew were elsewhere and not safe. 

He was walking down E deck towards the main conference where he would be meeting with the representatives from the other ships in the convoy he led. Once he entered the room, he was pleased to see that everyone was present and all sat around the central table, chatting quietly. His presence made them stop and pay their attention to him. He walked over to the chair at the head of the table and took it.

“Thank you all for coming at such short notice.” He began with. “I know we all want to get back to our own ships and quickly get underway.”

“That’s an understatement.” Ambassador Gouth spoke under her breath but loud enough for everyone to hear; typical Tellarite sarcasm. 

Burton ignored the comment as he looked at Secretary Campbell to his right who just shook her head, indicating to him to let Gouth say it without giving her the satisfaction of a response. “Ambassador Magerit,” Burton said, looking to the Andorian zhen to his left. “I believe the Kemaree was able to retrieve the long-range sensor scans it took after the Orions escaped.”

She nodded in response. “Fortunately for us, yes, unfortunately they were damaged. However, my science officer has been able to retrieve most of the data and has been able to determine the direction the Orions headed.”

“Where have they gone to?” asked Ambassador Soron who sat opposite to Magerit.

She looked at the Vulcan man for a moment and in her eyes, she seemed to hesitate about revealing the information to a former enemy but then in an instant she replied. “They’ve headed towards a star system that is less than eight light years from the Sol system.” She turned to the two Humans at the table. “I believe you call it the Wolf Three-Five-Nine system.”

Burton and Campbell both exchanged glances at each other. Burton quickly spoke up. “That makes sense for them to head to the Wolf Three-Five-Nine system. There are a number of asteroids in the system that would let you hide almost an entire fleet from long-range scans. Starfleet once considered using it as a staging ground for defence purposes but decided against it. We didn’t want to deploy such a large force from the home territories.”

Gouth interjected. “Perhaps after this mission is over, Starfleet will reassess that decision.” 

“If we are to be successful at retrieving our missing crews then we need to act now.” Soron added in a cool tone. “We should make our way to the Wolf Three-Five-Nine system at once.”          

Campbell looked around the table. “I’ve got no qualms of going in to find those who have been kidnapped, but are we prepared to engage the Orions?”

Soron answered the question. “I’ve spoken with the First Minister T’Pau and she has agreed to send two more ships to help with our search and rescue efforts. Both ships are Suurok-class and I am sure would be able to meet us at the Wolf Three-Five-Nine system by the time we arrive.”

“Six ships working together should be enough.” Burton said, assuring the Foreign Secretary. “So, it’s agreed then? We leave for the Wolf Three-Five-Nine system to see if the Orions are there.”

“And if they are captain?” Magerit inquired.

“Then we’ll find out where our people are being held and rescue them together.” He replied with conviction.

Unknown Orion Pirate Frigate

An unknown lapse in time had passed, leaving Alcott disoriented in remaining capable of maintaining any semblance of coherent linear time; he would normally try to establish this by the number of meals received in a day, but his Orion captors were less than regular and reliable at how often they provided food of any kind. There were long stretches of time when he didn’t eat at all, the pain of hunger constant. Even when the Orion’s did see fit to provide some form of sustenance, the gloop that passed for ‘food’ was essentially unrecognizable. Most often, he pushed the bowl aside, electing rather to languish in the continued discomfort of hunger.

He’d been visited on a few different occasions, pulled from the confines of the cell to be assessed in many different ways. On each occasion, Alcott had tried to beg and plead for release with his captors, but discovered they found his persistence to be nothing more than a very subtle annoyance. The Orion’s chose rather to ignore him most times. The visits proved to be uncomfortable at minimum and terribly invasive at their worst; Alcott quickly learned that he would do almost anything to avoid the visits altogether. On one such occasion, he’d literally been pulled from the cell by his hair and inspected from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. He didn’t understand the visits at first, but soon found from the inspecting Orions’ wandering hands what it was they were trying to determine. It was at that moment that Alcott knew exactly why he’d been abducted and what he could anticipate in the future. If a rescue didn’t happen, he was sure to be sold off into some form of slavery, either as a labourer or indentured servant of some kind… the latter of the two undoubtedly on the seedier side. It wasn’t a prospect of his future he intended to experience and had decided at that moment he would do whatever needed to be done and take whatever action was necessary to escape, whether in life or death.

Although he certainly didn’t like being poked, prodded and touched in such intimate ways, he was also aware that there wasn’t much he could do, especially as his own strength started to dwindle. At least not now.

The Orion’s pretty much left him alone for the most part and from what he could ascertain he was still one of the only captives held in this particular cellblock.

That soon changed, however. Alcott laid quietly in the darkest corner of the cell, curled into the foetal position, petrified eyes ever intent on the cell door as he heard the hatch to the compartment open and then close. His body trembled involuntarily, believing this visit was intended for another… inspection of some kind. But when he saw the limp bodies of Commander Levesque and Major Yu drug past his cell door, Alcott couldn’t help his heart’s quickened beat of hope. The opening and closing of cell doors soon followed suit and then the two Orion’s departed, a hushed conversation spoken between the two.

Crawling towards the cell door, he saw that the Commander and Major had been discarded in adjacent cells across from his own. Their garments and exposed bodies were severely stained with dirt and grime like his own and, although they didn’t move, he could tell both were still alive by the steady rhythm of their rising and falling chests.

“Commander?” His voice was much too weak and hoarse to rise above anything but a whisper, but his insistence soon paid off, “Commander Levesque? Please wake up…Commander?” He reached over to the forgotten food bowl near the front corner of the cell and removed the metal spoon. Aiming, he flicked it across the compartment so that it clattered against the bars of the Commander’s cell, hoping that would be enough noise to jostle the woman awake.

Levesque snapped awake, her eyes darting around the room unsuccessfully trying to take in every detail. Every time she had come to, her experience had been thoroughly unpleasant; and the myriad tests and exams each more invasive and violating than the last. That brief reminder about what had happened in what could only laughingly call the medical bay made her chest tighten up. It wasn’t that she hadn’t expected this kind of treatment. As soon as the Orion grabbed her in the transporter bay, she knew what to expect, having spent the first six years of her career aboard the Juno on the frontier hunting and fighting these pirates. Over the years she had seen first-hand what Orions and Nausicaans did to their captives. It seemed selfish considering she wasn’t the only one taken, but at that moment all she could think about was a slave ship the Juno had rescued when she was an Ensign. What the Orion “Comfort Women” had told her of their experiences had horrified her, leaving her with nightmares for years, and now it all came crashing back like she was twenty-two again. 

Doing her best to push these thoughts to the back of her mind, Levesque forced herself to try and get up. Before she got even half way vertical, she collapsed back to the deck grabbing her head. It felt like someone had lit a welding torch in back of her eyes. It took a few moments before the pain had dulled enough to try and raise herself off the deck again. Finally, able to take stock of her situation, Levesque looked quickly around her cell. Her new ‘accommodations ’were quite different than the isolated cell she had been locked in. Large instead of small, barred walls instead of solid, a couple of bunk beds along the back wall in place of the single bench she had been sleeping on; this cell was made to hold at least a half dozen captives. Levesque quickly patted her uniform down hoping that there was something left in the insane number of pockets that would be useful. Unfortunately, the Orions were as thorough in their searches as they were in their exams, there was not one piece of equipment left to her; and to make matters just that much more annoying, they had seen fit to only return the outer jumpsuit portion of her uniform. Wrapping the tattered uniform around her, Levesque let out an almost defeated sigh as she looked across the gangway noticing a young human man. Squinting a bit, it took her a moment to place a name to the man’s face. 

“Alcott?”

Alcott breathed a sigh of relief, “Commander Levesque, am I sure glad to see you.” He croaked, icy-blue eyes shifting nervously from the Commander to the holding compartments entrance. “Are you and the Major okay?” His voice was shaky as he gestured towards the still unconscious Yu.

‘Okay’, yeah, that’s a relative term. Levesque briefly thought, as she shook the remaining cobwebs from her head. 

“Yeah, I’m… fine.” She finally said. “Not sure about Major Yu, she’s still out of it. How about you, Ensign, are you holding up?” 

He shook his head, “Not top-notch, Ma’am. I can’t believe this is happening.” His body trembled, causing his own voice to shake involuntarily as a wave of panic started to overcome him. “I’d almost convinced myself that I was alone. I don’t understand what they want with us, why would they-” The young, inexperienced Ensign was unable to utter another word before the Commander swiftly silenced him.

“Alcott! Look, I’m not sure how but we’re going to get out of this.” Nicolette began, trying to reassure the Ensign. “Either Challenger will come and find us, or we’ll take a ship and find them, ok?”

He shook his head, doubtful. “That’s if they’re even still alive… what if the Challenger‘s been destroyed?” He ventured voice still raw and raspy. “Then we really are out here completely on our own.” He managed icy-blue eyes somewhat distant as he reluctantly contemplated that very notion.

“We don’t know what’s happened and frankly it doesn’t matter. Even if I’m looking at Challenger’s broken hull with my own two eyes, I’m not going to let some Orion make me into a slave. I’m not sure how to go about that yet, but we’ll just deal with those issues as they come up. For now, let’s just focus on escaping… so I need to know, what have they tried to get out of you? Codes, ship specifications, deployments, what?” She asked moving toward the bars.

“Aside from some very thorough medical scans and…’physicals’, they’ve pretty much left me alone.” Alcott thought for a moment, trying to recall any unusual questions the Orion’s may have asked during his captivity pertaining to what the Commander’s request. He was at a loss, not remembering any of consequence; in truth, the Orion’s had treated him with a general disregard and only a passing curiosity.

“Ow… they didn’t have time, Commander, to ask me any questions.” Major Viktoria Yu spoke up as she regained consciousness and clutched her head. “Last thing I recall is getting knocked out after an embarrassingly one-sided fight.”

“Yeah, we’re going to have to find a way to tip the odds in our favour. Anyway, what about the guards? Have either of you noticed anything in particular about them?”

“Yes.” Alcott immediately spoke out. “There always seem to be two. Whenever one enters the compartment, the other stands guard at the door. They trade off each time one comes or goes.” He thought for another moment, “The shorter, stockier one doesn’t say a word… he usually just does whatever it is he’s been ordered to do and then leaves just as quickly. The taller, broader one is, well, not so very nice.” His memory flashed back to that specific guard literally tossing him into the cell when he was first abducted. “He was the one that usually restrained me when they came in to conduct their physical examinations.” Alcott shrugged. “He usually speaks, but I don’t understand the words.” He offered. “Oh! Also, there are long periods when the guards don’t come in at all… I’m not sure if that means anything, but when they enter the compartment, they usually try to do everything they can at that point in time. For instance, they’ll drop off… ‘food’… and then do whatever it is they need to do with me and then leave until the next meal is brought.” He offered in conclusion.

“Also, they can take a punch like a Nausicaan and hit back like a shuttlepod at ramming speed.” Yu added before regaining her composure and professionalism. “They are decently trained, expertly physically conditioned, equipped with specialized tech, and seem to use standard passive-incarceration tactics. Either they don’t see us as a threat, they don’t give a damn one way or the other, or they don’t have the numbers to use more effective and active tactics such as present guard shifts-“

Levesque quickly silenced them as the doors to the cell block opened. Craning her neck, she could just make out one of their Orion guards heading back toward the doors, away from one of the cells. Waiting a couple of more seconds they heard the familiar clanging of the cellblock doors. Nicolette nodded, and Viktoria continued talking.

“…present guard shifts and frontline response teams. They also have some sort of crazy tech in their transporter chambers that can disable a pulse phase rifle, because I know I checked and cleared my weapon when the alert sounded and there was no immediate reason why it didn’t function when I pulled the trigger on that guard. Localized EM fields insta-hacked automated systems, nullifying gas particles in the air…maybe something happened in the beam when I materialized, I don’t know. Neat trick though.”

“One more hurdle to overcome before we can get out of here… Major, were there any particular weaknesses in their strategy that you would prefer to exploit?” 

Yu frowned as she took a moment to think. “Not sure. We are low on good intelligence at the moment. If they’re not observing us, there’s a chance for a coordinated ambush…unfortunately, the only chance we can feasibly get for that, will be when they’re expecting it most. Damn, this brings me back to my days of cross-training in hostage scenarios with the European Hegemony’s SAS on Earth.”

The MACO leader stretched her neck and sighed. “I think biding our time and gathering what info we can would be our best bet…at the very least, until they start divvying us up…Orions divide their captures based on species, gender, physicality, and their own personal whims. If we get divided, your chances of escape down rather harshly.”

Commander Stanton gasped, as he was thrown to the deck plating in his cell. His head spun, as he tried to recover from having the wind knocked out of him, and he could barely see, after enduring a lengthy interrogation about the Challenger‘s technical specifications. Fortunately for him, they had just beat him and tried to coerce him with promises of an easy life as a pleasure slave, but he knew that their attempts to get information out of him would probably get more desperate, rather quickly. The one thing he couldn’t understand, though, was why they cared aboutChallenger‘s technology. They had been able to infiltrate the ship very easily, and from the looks of how the battle was going before he was beamed away, none of the ships in the convoy stood a real threat, at least alone.

From his cell in the rear of the cellblock, he eventually realized that he was hearing somewhat-familiar voices. He got up, unsteady on his feet, and walked over to the bars, looking out. “Hello?” he asked, all of his senses feeling impaired as he tried to figure out who it was.

“Commander Stanton…” the young commander replied, resting his head against the bars of his cell, as he looked down the cell block. “I’m starting to regret accepting this assignment,” he added, as the somewhat-familiar figures of the commander, major, and ensign became more visible to him.

“What, not enjoying frontier hospitality, Stanton?” Levesque quipped trying to lighten the mood. 

It was a relief to hear yet another familiar voice; Alcott’s fingers curled around the metal bars; forehead pressed against the space between as he strained to see the Professor. “They’re consolidating.” He noted passively, “I wonder if some of the cell blocks were beginning to get overcrowded?” The words were spoken under breath. In seeing that he wasn’t the only one abducted, Alcott started to wonder just how many others the Orion’s had been successful in scooping up and abducting prior to making their hasty departure; for all he knew, maybe their being placed together was deliberate or perhaps necessary due to prisoner over population.

He shook his head, attention returning to the Commander. “Ma’am, are we going to attempt an escape?”

“If the opportunity presents itself, yes…although I doubt that it will” Levesque said, the last bit hidden under her breath. It just seemed too odd, three coordinated raids against the diplomatic convoys, Orion ships that were not only able to match but defeat the most advanced starships of four races. And just in spite of a slave grab that netted four rather important senior officers from Challenger along with who knows how many others? No, it didn’t add up that after all that the Orions would be sloppy enough to give them a chance to escape.

Tuesday, February 11th, 2155

Challenger, NX-03

“Captain’s starlog, February 11th, 2155. Challenger, along with the Coalition task force, has reached the edges of the Wolf Three-Five-Nine system. Detailed scans of the area have yet to determine if the Orions are truly out there.”

“Anything?” Burton asked, sitting in the captain’s chair in the centre of Challenger’s bridge.

Ensign Habiba shook her head as she sat up from looking through the eye-scanner at the science station. She spun her chair round to face the rest of the bridge. “I’m afraid not sir. The amount of stellar bodies in the system makes it hard to determine any energy signature except those coming from the task force.”

“Alright, keep trying.” He ordered and then looked to Ensign Hennessy at the communication’s station. “Ned, inform the rest of the task force to spread out into our search groups.”

“Yes, Captain.” Hennessy lifted the receiver to his ear and began speaking, conveying Burton’s instructions in Vulcanian, Tellarite, then Standard.

The captain then looked to his chief armoury officer and acting first officer. “John, take us to tactical alert.” 

 The light around them dimmed and the bridge was saturated with the glow of the red lighting. “Aye capt’n.”  Callahan had replied before switching the ship away from its normal operational mode.

“Angie, take us in.” Burton ordered the pilot before him. They would begin their search for their missing crew with the Kemaree and Tal’Kit. The other group that consisted of the Tellarite ship and the two other Vulcan ships that had met them at Wolf Three-Five-Nine would search around the edge of the system first. 

Burton further back in his chair and watched the viewscreen as the ship moved forward, heading into the unknown. “Everyone let’s keep an eye out for our people.” He said, hoping they would find someone or something.

Nearly half an hour has passed since Challenger had entered the Wolf 359 system. The crew were taking their time along with their coalition allies to find the Orions, if the Orions were out there. Captain Burton had positioned himself in Challenger’s situation room and was sitting quietly analysing all the data they had on the Orion ships, trying to find as many weak spots they could use to their advantage. Besides him sat Lieutenant Commander Callahan who was doing exactly the same thing as he was. The two armoury specialists had kept focussed on their work and were so engrossed that neither of them heard the first set of proximity alarms going off from the science station.

“Captain, we’ve got something.” Ensign Habiba announced as she spun her chair around after looking through the science scope. 

Burton and Callahan placed what they had been working on and soon joined the junior science officer. She tapped a few buttons on the main science console and brought up the scan she had been reading. “It’s ever so faint but right there sir I’m detecting a low level energy signature that resembles the same power signature of the Orion craft that kidnapped our people.”

Excited at the prospect of finding the Orions, the captain smiled. “Well done Martha.” He said, patting her on her back. “Transfer the coordinates to the helm.”

“Aye sir.” She replied as she carried out her work while still keeping an eye on the blip she had discovered.

“Ensign, plot a course!” Captain Burton had ordered as he made his way to stand behind Ensign Hathaway at the helm. Commander Callahan had returned to the armoury station and began preparing for their engagement. “Ned,” the captain said, grabbing the communication officer’s attention. “Inform the task group to follow us.”

“Yes, sir,” Hennessy replied and began speaking quietly into the pickup mic on his console.

Challenger moved swiftly through the asteroid field, dodging the various rocks that hung there motionless. The Orion raider was sat within one of the craters of a larger asteroid.

“Sir I’m picking up Human, Vulcan, Tellarite and Andorian lifesigns on the Orion ship.” Habiba announced with a smile on her face. 

“Bingo!” Burton had said with a smug smile forming on his face. “Commander Callahan, I want you to hit them with everything we’ve got until their shields are down then disable their weapons and engines.”

“Aye sir.” Callahan replied as he programmed in the attack sequence they had planned.

Captain Burton sat in his chair and watched as they moved in on the Orion craft. Alongside Challenger was the Andorian warship Kemaree and the Vulcan combat cruiser Tal’Kit. The Tellarite ship, the Brere, was on its way too with two other Vulcan ships. Captain Burton had imagined the sight of the six ships as something quite remarkable and a sight he hoped would become regular between the four powers in the near future. 

“We’re within weapon’s range.” Callahan announced. 

Before the captain could respond the lift doors opened and Secretary Campbell walked out with her entourage. Burton welcomed the arrival of Earth’s Foreign Secretary with a polite nod. She had made it clear to him she and her staff would keep out of his way but Burton also knew she needed to see first-hand the current situation. Finally the captain turned his attention to the situation at hand and looked at the main view screen before him. The Orion ship sat within the confines of a reasonable sized crater that looked just over half the size of the Grand Canyon. Had they noticed their arrival? It was possible they hadn’t as they weren’t reacting or it was a possibility they were tempting the Coalition ships into a trap by playing the trapped animal routine. Either way Captain Burton wouldn’t let it get in the way of what he had to do.

“Fire.” He ordered coolly. 

Challenger, with its allied ships, all opened fire against the Orion raider. A ship that was nearly as big as Challenger but a lot slimmer and compact in width. Its shield crackled to life as it was pounded by fierce fire from the Earth, Andorian and Vulcan ships. Within a space of seconds, the Orion ship began to move out of the crater and attempt to flee the scene.

Once again Lloyd gave out more commands. “Pursuit course.” 

Challenger chased the ship and continued to fire photonic torpedoes and lances of directed energy beams from its phase canons. For the poor Orions they didn’t stand a chance as the Brere arrived with its two Vulcan escorts in front of it. They too joined in with opening fire on the Orion craft. 

“Their shields are failing.” Habiba stated as Challenger rocked slightly from fire from the Orion ship. “I’m getting a transporter fix on our missing crew. Transferring the data to the transporter.”

Burton hit the communication panel in his chair’s arm. “Burton to Masuko start beaming our people out of there.”

“Aye sir.” Replied the Second Engineer who was currently manning Challenger’s transporter controls.

Burton also knew that his chief medical officer was down there too, ready to help with those who were injured and get them to sickbay straight away. 

“Captain long range sensors are detecting four Orion ships entering the asteroid field with another three heading into the system.” Habiba stated after the proximity alarm had beeped at her.

Burton turned to the science officer. “How long until they’re within weapon’s range?”

She peered down at the readings before her to calculate the answer. “The first group will be here in three minutes and the second wave will be here in seven minutes.”

“That’s enough time.” Burton said confidently. He was going to win this round with the Orions, whatever it took. He looked to his communications officer. “Tell the task group to go to plan B.”

Hennessey was holding his ear-pierce as he spoke. “Allied spacecraft, this is Challenger. Commence Plan B. Commence Plan B.”

Plan B had involved the Tal’Kit surrounding the Orion ship and placing it within its tractor beam while Challenger beamed the remaining kidnapped crewmembers off while the Andorian and Tellarite ships with two other Vulcan ships protected their flanks. They would begin to move away from the oncoming Orion re-enforcements too.

Two and half minutes later, Habiba spoke up again. “We’ve got everyone back sir and the Tal’Kit has released its tractor beam.”

Burton rose from his chair and stood before the helm as he stared at the disabled Orion craft they had battered to death. “Ned, open a channel to all the Orion ships.”

Still standing, Ned reached down and touched the hailing frequency controls. He nodded to Burton.

“Orion ships, this is Captain Lloyd Burton of the Earth ship Challenger. What you have just witnessed is the determination of our coalition with the Vulcan, Andorian and Tellarite governments to ensure our alliance works. Take this as your only warning, if you see any ship bearing the insignia of any of our worlds then run the other way as I promise you, we will retaliate with the full might of the Coalition of Planets.” He nodded to Ned to close the channel.

Hennessy complied, and took a seat.

“Plot a course for Denobula Ensign Hathaway. Maximum warp.” Burton ordered as he returned to his seat.

“Course laid in captain.” She replied.

“Engage.” Burton said as got comfortable in his chair, pleased with the success of his first mission.

Unknown Orion Pirate Frigate

It had been what two three days? Levesque thought to herself as she pushed up off the deck of her cell. This normally simple motion was becoming more difficult every time her captors unceremoniously dumped her back in the cell after each rather long and most often painful interrogation session. She no longer had any doubt that the Orions were up to something much more than a simple slave raid. Between the bouts of humiliation, abuse and torture inflicted on their captives, the Orions’ line of questioning had been far too focused. Questions of fleet deployments, weapons and shield technology were expected since they would have a direct impact on most of their black-market operations. Instead they had focused their questioning on interspecies deployments, officer exchange programs, and fleet deployments in sectors far from the Orion powerbase. 

Needing something to keep her people focused on something other than the actions of their Orion captors. Levesque had decided that their top priority (other than escape) was to figure out what the Orions were up to and stop them if possible. This of course was easier said than done as the only time anyone was able to get information was when they were taken. She had been worried at first, because Starfleet didn’t have an extensive interrogation resistance program, but it seemed that for the most part her worries were unfounded. Not only was she holding up better than she expected but so were most of her people. Despite everything, each time they were taken they would return with more useful information. Right now, the most useful piece of information they had collected was a fairly accurate count of who from the convoy had been taken. Between what appeared to be five cell blocks the Orions had managed to take almost thirty crewmembers from the various coalition vessels. Not exactly a large group compared to the standard crew complement of an Orion raider; but it might be enough to take the ship if they were lucky and if they could get out of their cells and coordinate with the others to take critical areas at the same time. It was a tall order, but Nicolette was determined to try if they had a chance. 

“If,” however, was the operative term…escaping their cells would be hard enough, but the longer it took to make the attempt the harder it would be. It didn’t matter how well she or the others were holding up for now, eventually they would start breaking down mentally and physically. While she couldn’t evaluate the state of the captives in the other cell blocks, in hers she had two worries at the moment. Ezra Alcott the ship’s helmsman was young and confident but very, very green. And with each passing “day” she was more concerned with his mental state. Her other worry was for the ship’s MACO commander Viktoria Yu. After being taken for what she could only assume was another interrogation the Canadian Major had yet to be returned. While professional to a T, Yu was also a fighter; Levesque was worried that if she resisted too much then it could land her deep in it.

It seemed however that for the first time in days her luck had turned. While discussing their current situation they were suddenly interrupted by the ship violently lurching to one side, which a moment later slammed Levesque against one of the cell walls. The rather repetitive task of pushing herself off the deck was now complicated by the constant rocking of the deck, her slightly blurred vision and the throbbing of what she hoped was only going to be a sizable welt on her forehead. Clutching at the bulkhead she had just found her footing when she nearly toppled over again as a transporter beam yanked her from the Orion ship to the transporter pad aboard Challenger. Looking around the corridor Levesque breathed a sigh of relief as she counted each of Challenger’s missing officers scattered among various Andorians, Vulcans and Tellarites. 

I could go for a pint of Andorian ale right about now. Levesque thought to herself as she slumped down next to Major Yu who looked a bit worse for wear.