****************************************************** Commodore Shadow Saber, Commanding the U.S.S. Regional ****************************************************** Captain Saber was seated at a table with Commander Braxton, and Lieutenant Montgomery. They were talking about the last mission, in which the Regional disabled two Dominion attack ships. "Yes," Captain Saber was saying, "The Regional has performed beyond expectations." "And Lieutenant," Commander Braxton looked at Lieutenant Montgomery, "That idea of yours will need to be added to the maneuvers manual." "Thank you sir." The Lieutenant beamed with pride. "Well, I must go and check on the transporters." Lt. Montgomery stood to leave. "Understood, and Lieutenant," Captain Saber looked at him. "Yes Sir?" "Keep Sharp." "Aye Sir." Lt. Montgomery walked out of the Officers lounge and headed to the turbo lift. The turbo lift doors open and Lt. Montgomery walks in as the doors close around him. Captain Saber was sitting is his chair when the LCARS monitor beeped that he had a new subspace message. Captain Saber pressed a few buttons and a picture of the Captain of the U.S.S. Lakota filled the screen. Captain Saber smiled and said, "Yes Captain?" The Captain of the Lakota returned the smile, then said, "I have orders from Star Fleet for you to transfer Lieutenant Junior Grade, Kentar Tokihs, aboard the Lakota." "As a Captain, I'm sure that you understand the need for me to confirm those orders." "I understand, Saber. But I am afraid that is impossible. Star Fleet Intelligence has discovered something about the Alien that needs to be addressed. You will rendezvous with the Lakota at sector 241 mark 45." "Understood, Captain Saber, out." The Screen turned into a Federation logo, then turned off. Captain Saber mulled over the new arrangement for Kentar Tokihs. He then stood and walked out onto the bridge. Captain Saber sat down in his command chair. He then turned to the officer at navigational. "Ensign, Set a course for sector 241 mark 45." "Course laid in." "Engage!" The Regional flashes off into space leaving a bright trail of light behind it. "Sir, we are receiving a distress call." Captain Saber looked at the Officer speaking, "On Screen." "Sir, it is audio only." "Put it on speakers, then." The Ensign presses a few buttons and then the bridge is filled with the sound of static and these words, "This is Captain Strong, of the Star Ship, Gunavire. We have been attacked by two enemy ships, that we could not see, or identify. They were cloaked, yet firing. We have taken on internal damage, and are failing fast. Please help." "Sir, the coordinates of the subspace message are originating from the planet Shingon, in the Delos system." Captain Saber didn't waste a second deciding which mission was more important. "Ensign, set course for the distress call." "Aye Sir!" The Ensign presses a few buttons, then the Regional warps off into space, towards the Distress call, and towards what was certain to be a dangerous mission. =================================== End Lt. JG R.D. Montgomery ______________________ "... and thats all we have heard," Saber concluded. "Sir, if we cant see them..." "I know, Commander." "Sir," said Montgomery, "I picked up something while I was checking the transporters." "Go ahead, Lieutenant." "I- Thank you Commander - I found the source of the problems we have been having with the transporter. It appears that each time it is activated, something beams onboard this ship." "You're kidding." "Not at all. It appears that whatever it is the cause of our power shortages. Whatever it is, it needs power to survive." "Thats all you have?" Saber sounded doubtful. "Well, Ensign DeMartino and I were checking other things among that, and we found that subspace transmissions were being sent and received from the Assistant Engineers' console." "Thats Lt. Tokihs..." began Braxton. "Are you saying that Tokihs is responsible?" Saber questioned. "I don't want to say so, but the language the messages were in appeared similar to Lt. Tokihs' language." "We have not heard much of Tokihs' native tongue. Are you sure that it couldn't be a mistake?" Saber kept demanding. "Maybe." "Why didn't the sensors pick these up?" Braxton continued the interrogation. "They were sent on a very high RM. frequency, something that the sensors were not looking for. But there is another fact." "What's that?" "The messages specifically mentioned the USS Gunavire." "Dismissed." The Captain sounded grim. "But Montgomery - see me in my ready room in 5 minutes." "Yes sir" "Montgomery, your one of my most promising officers. Your service to the Regional during that incident was outstanding. Your ideas got added to the Starfleet Maneuvers manual, for goodness sake." "What is your point sir?" "I don't want to see your career messed up all because of what may be a mishap in translating. Your orders are to review everything that may relate to this issue. Dismissed." Both men stood up. "Braxton to Captain Saber." Braxton's voice boomed over the intercom. "We are arriving near the Gunavire coordinates." "Understood" "Well, we best get on duty." Saber tried his best to act happy. "Sir, if I may ask a - request." "What's that Lieutenant?" "Call me 'Red'" Saber smiled. "Aye sir." "Mr. Red." Braxton stared at him. "Personal request. Now, Lieutenant, are you picking up any signs of the Gunavire?" "We have some debris that may once have been part of a bussard collector, but thats all" "That does not sound good." Braxton sated what everybody was afraid to say. "Tactical. Raise status to Red Alert." "Aye Sir" "It looks like were in for a long ride, doesn't it Commander?" ================================================== End {The Regional now at red alert with all able crew to their battle stations, the floating bustard collector is adrift in space.} Turning to look at the ops position, Braxton notices Lt. Montgomery rapidly pressing controls as if he had found something unusual in regards to the now found bustard collector. “Report, Mr. Red, leaning his hand on top of the ops console and the other hand on Mr. Red’s chair, says Braxton. “Well, sir as I run continuous scans of the collector, the sensors detect high levels residual weapon compounds deep within the casing of the collector,” continuing to look at his sensor readout, replied Red. “Have the residual compounds been cross-referenced with the main computer to determine the type of weapons used and to determine who the attackers were that might have attacked the Gunavire?" moving to the other side of the ops console, Braxton asked. Bleeping came from the new computer display, which displayed new information from the cross-reference, “Commander, the computer has run through all know databases, nothing matches these residual weapon compounds,” looking back to Braxton with the look of puzzlement, Red returns to his current display. “Captain, it might help us if we could lock on transporters to the collector, beam it aboard and have Mr. Red and an engineering team look over the collector, to see if we missed anything in our initial scans,” replied Braxton. Gripping his command chair, Saber being the Starfleet Captain, and explorer that he is, looks to Braxton, “Proceed, Number One,” replies Saber. ==================== Respectfully Submitted, Cmdr John Braxton Executive Officer U.S.S. Regional (Transporter whooshes to life) "DeMartino to bridge!"DeMartino sounded frantic. "Yes, Mr. DeMartino?" "Captain, the collector - or parts of it - beamed aboard, then something came out of it in a bright flash..." "IBM reading power outages on decks 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and 14." Montgomery interjected. "Sir! I'm picking up at least 7 intruders... make that 10... 12.." said the ensign at Tactical. "Captain -" "Yes, Mr. Braxton. Intruder alert!" "Captain! Look! Look!" "What is it, Mr. Montgom - Oh great!" (Pulsating orange fire hits Regional's port warp nacelle) Braxton tried to scream loud enough over the crashing and explosions, "Red! Damage report!" "Casualties on all decks. Warp Drive lost. Impulse Dri-" he said just before an explosion blew up beside him, threw him backwards out of his chair, and his console erupted into flames. "Medics! Get him to sickbay! Now even Braxton, who was usually calm and cool, was shaken. Sabers jaw dropped as another orange blast comes right at them. It exploded on impact, as the Regional became an even more fiery mess, and threw everyone on the bridge to the ground. --- Braxton didn't know how long it had been. 5 minutes? An hour? Maybe even 5 hours? But he did know that the shaking had stopped. He could no longer smell he burnt consoles, or smoke for that matter. He could tell it was dark, that power hadn't been restored. Or maybe he was trapped under something. Or maybe he was in sickbay. He didn't know. All he knew was that his wrist was searing in pain, and he didn't have enough strength to get up, or even open his eyes, for that matter. He laid there at least 5 minutes before slowly getting to his knees. He saw Saber calmly sitting in his chair, like nothing had happened. He slowly looked around the bridge. He saw where tactical had erupted into flames. He saw where all the aft consoles had just blown up. He saw the scorched navigation console, and the smoldering pieces of rubble where Ops had been. "How long was I unconscious?" "You hit that railing pretty hard, Braxton. At least 3 hours." Saber didn't look at him. He just kept staring at the viewscreen. "How's Red?" "Pretty bad. But there still a chance he might live." "Where's everybody else, anyway?" "All in sickbay" Braxton sat down in his chair and closed his eyes. ======================================== End ****************************************************** Commodore Shadow Saber, Commanding the U.S.S. Regional ****************************************************** Captain Saber sat in his command chair surveying the damage. He looks over a Commander Braxton, who is testing his arm to see if it still works. "Commander." Commander looks over at Captain Saber and places his arm down on his lap. "Yes Sir?" "I want you to report to sickbay, and get that arm fixed. Afterwards, muster up a repair team and get this bridge fixed using the replacement module." Commander Braxton stands and turns to leave, "And Commander," "Yes Sir?" The Captain's face turns grim, "Have the security team and Marines search all decks for the intruders. Order them to shoot on sight." "Aye Sir." Commander Braxton turns and walks off the bridge. Captain Saber walks into his ready room and arms himself with his phaser rifle and sets out on a mission, to Cargo bay 8, where the Bussard collector and the intruders where beamed aboard. ================================ End ==================== Shadow Saber, Captain Of The U.S.S. Regional. Arriving at sickbay, holding his arm tightly to prevent any further bleeding. Braxton approaches Dr. Aspend. Walking at an alarming pace, Aspend removes her tri-corder from her medical coat immediately runs a scan on the injured arm. “Have a sit on biobed 1, nurse prepare a nuristic series,” replied the attentive doctor. Going to her medical monitor, Aspend picks up a regeneration tool and glides it over the injured arm, they both look on as they wound began to heal. “Thank you, Doctor replies Braxton rubbing his arm. “Braxton to bridge,” Braxton tapping his communicator pin, “Bridge, here,” responded a Lt. at the helm position. “Status Report,” replies Braxton. “Commander, repair crews are conducting repairs to all critical and key systems, security teams report no signs of intruders, and security teams also report that the intruders may have cloaking abilities due to the scans they had taken of neutrino emissions on some of the bulkheads.” “Thank you, Lieutenant. Commander Braxton out.” Leaving sickbay, Braxton proceeds down a corridor leading to a turbolift, when he noticed a yellow glow on one of the access ports which grants access to the Jefferies tubes. Moving in slowly to get a closer look, Braxton reaches out to touch it when… {The Regional starts to tilt due to a failure in one of its stabilizers} “Bridge to Commander Braxton, picking high energy neutrino emissions coming from a Jefferies tube in your area, Jefferies tube 23 beta section 149,” replies the Lt. “Acknowledged, Braxton out.” Walking in the opposite direction, Braxton approaches a weapons locker, pressing a few controls “Recognize Braxton voice pattern.” The Doors to the weapons locker open up; Braxton reaches out to grab a phaser rifle and a hand phaser for his right hand. Once again walking back to the access port to the Jefferies tube, Braxton takes a deep breath opens the port door and enters. ==================== Respectfully Submitted, Cmdr John Braxton Executive Officer U.S.S. Regional ****************************************************** Commodore Shadow Saber, Commanding the U.S.S. Regional ****************************************************** Captain Saber held the Phaser Rifle at ready stance with one hand, and held a tri-corder with the other. He scanned the hallway in font of him, searching for the intruders. "Only ten more decks to go." He said quietly to himself. He turned to the right and entered a turbo lift. "Deck 10." The transporter drops down ten decks, then comes to a halt. The doors shift open. Captain Saber lifts his phaser rifle and looks around before getting off the turbolift. As he steps off, what looks like a neon green fireball materializes and zooms towards him. "Whoa!" Captain Saber yells as he jumps aside. The fireball strikes the turbolift, totally disintegrating it. Captain Saber stands back up and presses himself against a wall. He uses the tri-corder to scan the area where the shot emanated from. He noticed that there was a highly concentrated neutrino emissions in the center of the corridor about 10 meters away. He pointed the phaser rifle at the emissions and fired. Something in the middle of the corridor decloaked due to taking heavy damage. "What the..." Captain Saber said in awe. He was looking at what appeared to be a sophisticated turret. He fired at the weapons mounted on the turret. The weapons then exploded, once the explosion had cleared, Captain Saber walked up to the turret cautiously, and reached out to touch it. The metal that it was constructed of felt slimy, almost liquid like. Captain Saber stood there for a few minutes, until he noticed that the metal was changing color. He backed away, and it returned to normal. "Okay, this is the weirdest alien technology I've ever seen." He tapped his communicator and said, "Captain Saber to Commander Braxton." No response. "Captain Saber to Bridge." No response. "Captain Saber to Sickbay?" No response. Captain Saber figured that either his communicator was being blocked, or the ship was taken over. He shook off the last thought, and decided to stick with the fact that his communicator wasn't working. He walked on towards Cargo bay 8, where this all started. One thing he noticed though, the temperature was rising as he got closer. It was 30 Degrees centigrade, and it was very moist. ================================== End Montgomery walked down the corridor, whistling to himself. He tapped the control panel and said something in an untranslatable language. Suddenly, he snapped his heel and went down to Engineering. He arrived, and sat down at a console and began typing at an extremely rapid pace. He ran a program that switched it into a bunch of squiggles and symbols, and then a message popped up on the screen that said 'Subspace Message Sent'. He then configured the logs to make it seem as though Lt. Tokihs had sent the message, and then got up. As he walked down the corridor, he asked the computer to give him the location of Captain Saber. "Deck Ten," it rang out in its usual monotone voice. He then hopped in a turbolift. He sat behind a corner, phaser in hand. All of a sudden he sprang out into the open corridor, phaser pointed directly at Captain Saber. "What do you want?" "You don't understand." "Huh?" "We mean you no harm. The Gunavire only threatened us. WE SEEK PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE!" Saber shot his phaser directly at Montgomery's chest, and it went right through him. He then collapsed on the floor, got back up, and told what he knew to Saber. After hearing that, he issued Red Alert and sent Montgomery to the bridge. =========================== End Turning on the inferred light on the phaser rifle, Braxton proceeds into the Jefferies tube, just as he reaches a junction connecting into another Jefferies tube, the above lights fluctuate rapidly causing Braxton to quicken his pace. A loud thunder of a noise, echoed off the interior walls of the tube, wiping his chin he looks to the side of him noticing an access panel, labeled {Internal Sensor Grid Alpha 7} He remembering what the Lt. on the bridge had reported he knew that by running an internal scan for the intruders would prove to be useless. Staring at the panel, it occurs to Braxton that in intelligence reports from Starfleet that a focus anti-proton beam could detect neutrino emissions, but he knew he could not initiate the beam from his present location, he would need to go to main engineering. Closing the panel door, Braxton hears phaser shots, but doesn’t recognize the sound signature of them. Braxton continues on till he reaches a partial door opening leading into a corridor, as he exits the tube and forces the doors open, Braxton looks down at his uniform noticing the yellow glow he had seen earlier. “Bridge to Commander Braxton”, replied an ensign, “Sir, the neutrino emissions are now moving away from your present location heading towards Cargo bay 8.” Quietly lurching through the corridor, “Are their any human life-signs in the Cargo Bay, ensign?” replied Braxton. “Internal sensors are at half efficiency, no way to tell, communications in that section appear to be down.” Braxton looking even more focused, “Could it be a malfunction in the comm system.” Asked Braxton. “With the main computer at 56% I can not run a diagnostic on the comm system, sir.” Continuing to search each door, Braxton sees a faint image running down the corridor passing through a bulkhead in the direction of Cargo Bay 8. Chasing after the faint signature, Braxton follows through the bulkhead which had been breached, running fast trying to catch up with his breathing, Braxton stops abruptly when he sees the faint signature firing electromagnetic pulses towards him, taking quick and decisive action, Braxton ducts into a crawl space returning fire, a few moments of exchange firing have passed, Braxton looks out to see why the faint signature has stopped firing, Braxton walks up the door as the lights became a bit more stable for illumination, he reads the sign on the door Cargo Bay 8. ==================== Respectfully Submitted, Cmdr John Braxton Executive Officer U.S.S. Regional *************************************** Kentar Tokihs, Assistant Chief Engineer *************************************** Kentar laid Ensign Pecktern on the ground and slowly stood up. Pecktern now made a total of five people dead in engineering, he didn't know how many others through out the rest of the ship were lost. Kentar noticed Henderson slumped over by the main computer console, he moved quickly over to where he lay. "Henderson, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Henderson's eyes opened briefly. "I think so. I believe that my leg may be broken." Kentar straightened up and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" "I'm going to see if we can get to sick bay, hold on." The door opened, and for a moment Kentar paused. He noticed a small ripple in mid-air less then a foot away from him. The ripple then turned into a greenish tint. Kentar ducked just in time as a green blast of plasma energy flew throughout the air, he quickly closed the door and sealed it. Another blast came from behind him as he hid under a computer console. "Man! These guys are like, everywhere." He reached up and pressed a few buttons, "Kentar to AIC, come in." "AIC here. What can I do for you Sir?" "I need you to scan engineering, tell me how many intruders are in here, and where they are located." "There are exactly five Turniks in the engineering room. Three are next to the main computer console, and the other two are over by the warp core. There is also one on the other side of the engine room door." Kentar rolled his eyes. "I knew about that one! What I need to know is how to kill these guys. Any ideas would be helpful." Kentar continued to watch Henderson, worried that the Turniks may discover that he was not yet dead. "AIC, any time would be nice." "I am looking into it Sir. Hold please." Kentar noticed the warp core starting to fluctuate. "Come on AIC," Kentar stopped when he noticed a small object materialize right in front of him. "And how do I kill these guys with this?" He reached down and turned it over in his hand. "That Sir, is a Tontillia Riz Ray Gun. (TRRG) I believe that you will find it to your liking." Kentar whistled, "Thanks AIC." Kentar stood up, aimed at the nearest ripple and fired. The power from the tiny gun caught him of guard and he flew backwards. "Now this is what I call a gun!" His excitement was broken of by a plasma blast hitting the wall beside him. He quickly fired back and succeeded in killing the Turnik. Again he fired, and again the Turniks fired back. Kentar figured that he'd hit at least three, but that meant there was still two more in the room. He moved over to where Henderson lay on the ground. "Are you all right?" Kentar asked with a worried sound in his voice. Henderson didn't respond, and worse, the Turniks were firing again. "AIC, beam Henderson to my sickbay immediately, and take care of him." "Yes Sir. Transporting now." Kentar jumped up and started firing in the direction of the plasma blasts. The firing stopped, Kentar wasn't sure whether or not he had killed the other one, and he did hit a Turnik, but only wounded him. Kentar cousiusly walked over to the now visible Turnik, the first and only thought that came to his mind was, "These guys are ugly!" He shot the Turnik again for good measure. "AIC, how is Henderson?" "He is fine Sir. I have him to believe that he is in the U.S.S. Regional's sickbay." "Thanks again AIC, oh and beam this Turnik over. Study him and find out all you can. Kentar out." Kentar watched the Turnik dematerialize, picked up his weapon and walked for the door. ******************************************************************************************** End ************************************************ Commodore Shadow Saber, Commanding the U.S.S. Regional ************************************************ Captain Saber wiped away the sweat that was dripping down his forehead. The heat was now 30 degrees centigrade, and the air was very moist. Captain Saber held his Phaser Rifle at ready stance. Saber heard what sounded like running, and it was coming closer. As Saber rounded a turn, a figure darted out of a Jefferies tube. Saber whipped his phaser rifle around at the figure, until he noticed it was Commander Braxton. "Commander! What are you doing here?" Commander Braxton was breathing hard, and sweat was dripping down his forehead as well. "Sir, glad to see you. I've been tracking down one of the intruders, it seems to be heading to cargo bay 8." "I know, I just disabled a turret set up in the corridor about 20 meters back." "A turret? They must really want to keep cargo bay 8 protected." "Agreed. Do you think that we should go back and get some more personnel?" Braxton then smiled at Saber, "Sir, with all due respect, I've been itching to find out exactly what is going on down here, and maybe take out one or two intruders. And besides, they might fix their turret." Saber smiled back, "Agreed. Let's roll." Saber and Braxton walked tandem style, with phasers ever ready, toward Cargo bay 8. ================================== End Taking cover in an isolated dark corner in the cargo bay, both Saber and Braxton await the intruders return. “Sir, it would seem cargo bay 8 is the intruders focal point of return, but what is so important that they must return here when encountered?” replies Braxton keeping constant watch. “I do not know, maybe… {The cargo bay doors open slowly as two of the intruders carried in what appears to be plasma containers filled with excess warp residue from the ship’s warp injectors}Saber and Braxton move in closely being careful not to be detected, looking on to see what the intruders have planned for the warp residue. {The intruders hook up cables to the center of the collector, a glowing red stream begins to flow into their suits, giving them satisfied expressions on their face} “Captain, this could be their source of food, maybe their recent behavior is due to them being hungry,” replies, Braxton. “It is possible, Commander, we need to get the comm working in this section,” replies Saber. Behind them was a junction of circuitry that tied in with the main power feed which powers the entire bay. “Commander give me a hand with this panel, replied Saber. {With both hands they pulled off the panel and Braxton began to work while Saber covered him. While the intruders continued their feeding, Braxton could hear a slight sound coming from the junction, as he increased the volume he noticed it was the voice of the Lt. that had reported to him earlier. “Captain, we are patched into the bridge’s audio system, we can hear but we cannot speak, Braxton looking to Saber. Keeping his eyes trained, Saber removing the sweat from his brow, “Can you find a way into the system so that we can contact the bridge?” Saber moving to better position himself. Pressing controls at a focused pace, “I believe that we have an open comm channel to the bridge sir, {pausing for a moment} go ahead sir, replied Braxton. With a low calm tone Saber moves up closer to the junction, “Saber to Bridge” {static noise is what they hear} even more now with a firmer tone “Saber to Bridge”, replied Saber. “Bridge here, Captain,” responded the Lt. on the bridge at the tactical station. “Status Report, Lieutenant." Cleaning his eyes of the sweat, Saber replied. “Captain, internal sensors are online, but they are unable to pick up the intruders, they must have adapted their bio-signatures so they would be undetected, main power will be restored in 2 hours, despite the intruders being on board, repair crews are still at work, ship’s critical and main systems are returning slowly, estimated time 2 hours to full restoration.” “Lt., without arising suspicion order security teams to this location, and instruct them to stay clear of the door, take cover and await further instructions, understood,” replied Saber. “Understood sir, Bridge out, “replies the Lieutenant. Braxton is definitely now feeling the effects of the heat in the cargo bay, “Sir, they are moving to the other end of the cargo bay with one of the containers, attaching a cable to each container, placing what appears to be a control device in the center.” said Braxton. ==================== Respectfully Submitted, Cmdr John Braxton Executive Officer U.S.S. Regional ****************************************************** Commodore Shadow Saber, Commanding the U.S.S. Regional ****************************************************** Captain Saber was crouched behind a barrel of cargo with Commander Braxton, watching the intruders constructs something. "Commander," Saber whispered. "Yes, Captain?" "Lieutenant Montgomery was possessed by one of them, somehow, and while he was possessed, he said that they mean no harm." "A likely story." Braxton interjected. "Agreed, but what if they really don't mean any harm?" "Sir?" Braxton turned to saber with a puzzled look on his face. "Well, what if they are building something that would greatly help us? Like improve our warp engines somehow. Granted, they could be building something that could destroy us, since warp engine residue is extremely volatile." "I think you should err on the side of caution, Captain." "Agreed. For now, let's observe their actions. Then we will decide what to do." "Understood, Sir." Braxton smiled at Saber. Saber smiled back, then looked intently at the aliens, making a mental note of what they did, step by step. The aliens connected some tubing to the exhaust ports of the containers, and then connected two graviton capacitors to the tubes. The tube started to glow a deep, energy like, blue. The aliens then became excited, moving about more rapidly. Saber watched intently. ================================= End ==================== Commodore Shadow Saber, Captain Of The U.S.S. Regional. {The intruders staring quite extensively at the blue glow, started to sit down one by one Indian style clasping their hands as if they were going into a state of mediation or praying to something} “Sir, my tri-corder is picking wave lengths of beta tachyon emissions, from the intruders; it is possible that they could be emitting a distress call of some sort.” Replied Braxton. A short bleep came over Saber’s communicator pin, he reaches to tap it “Saber here,” he replies. “Bridge here, sir security teams are standing by awaiting your orders,” replied the Lt. “Acknowledged, Saber out,” tapping his communicator pin. With a feeling of wonder, Braxton notices that one of the intruders has left the circle, no where to be found in the cargo bay. “Captain, one of the intruders is no longer in the circle, continuing to look about, Braxton replies. {A rise of smoke ascends up to the ceiling of the cargo bay, completely covering both Saber and Braxton’s View} “Let’s move back further,” replied Saber. Both men rise to their feet, starting to walk towards the rear of the cargo bay, just as they continue on they see a yellow glow in front of them. The smoke clears, to their dismay the intruder is standing in front of them. ==================== Respectfully Submitted, Captain John Braxton Executive Officer U.S.S. Regional ****************************************************** Commodore Shadow Saber, Commanding the U.S.S. Regional ****************************************************** Captain Saber looked up at the alien from his crouched position. "Oh Shoot." He said in dismay. The Alien just looked at him for a second, cocked his head to one side, and then went back over to where his "friends" were sitting. Weird noises were coming from him, obviously telling them about Saber and Braxton. Saber looked at Braxton, "Any suggestions as to what to do about this over-rated tattle-tale?" Braxton looked at Saber, "Recommend that we try to talk with them." "Agreed." Saber and Braxton slowly walk towards the alien intruders, with their Phaser Rifles ready. The aliens look up from their sitting place on the floor. The aliens stand up and continue to watch Saber and Braxton come closer. "I am Captain Shadow Saber, Of the Star Ship, Regional. We would like to know what you want." Two aliens just looked at each other for a minute, then looked back at Saber and Braxton. "Vene narene thnaremaolneslsl. Vene venislth jaey egey theymane." Now it was Saber and Braxton who looked at each other for a few seconds. They then looked back at the aliens. "Any clue what they said?" Saber asked Braxton. "No Sir. But there definitely was a pattern." "Agreed." Captain Saber raised his hand slowly and showed an empty palm. "Friends." The Alien looked at Saber with a quizzical look. Then the alien duplicated Saber's movements. Saber looked at Braxton. "I don't believe they understand us at all." "Sir, look." Saber looked at the alien to see that it had changed color. ================================== End As the intruder mocks Saber’s movements, the lights in the cargo bay stop fluctuating and return to full illumination. Saber, Braxton and the intruders look up to notice. “Bridge to Saber,” replied the Lt. “Saber here, placing his phaser rifle on his shoulder. “Captain, engineering reports ship’s critical and key systems have been restored to normal,” replies the Lt. A period of stillness comes over the group in the cargo bay. The intruders, Captain Saber and Commander Braxton not knowing what to make of their current situation. The intruders look to the area in which they sat, one of them proceeds to grasp an article of clothing which was lying there in the light. The alien picks it up and proceeds back to Saber and Braxton. Nodding and the presentation of extended arms, the alien intruder presents Saber with the article of clothing as a sign of peace and friendship, since neither Saber nor Braxton could understand their language. With a yet puzzling smile, Saber extends his arms to receive the article of clothing, passing it to Braxton. “Thank you, nodding his head, Saber pauses for a moment. “Captain, Request permission to return to the bridge,” replied Braxton. Standing in awe of these new creatures, “Yes of course Number One, inform the bridge to recall the security teams and lay in a course to where the beta tachyon emissions were being sent.” Replied Saber. “Aye, sir,” replied Braxton. Braxton proceeds out of the cargo bay and walking to the turbolift on route to the bridge. ==================== Respectfully Submitted, Captain John Braxton Executive Officer U.S.S. Regional *************************************** Kentar Tokihs, Assistant Chief Engineer *************************************** Kentar had succeeded in eliminating the Turnik outside of engineering's door, but now was having difficulty getting to the bridge. Knowing that the Captain may be in trouble was not an encouraging thought. Kentar ran into gun turret after gun turret, and at this point, he was getting fed-up. They had placed one in front of every turbo-lift on practically every deck, well at least the ones he had been on so far. Kentar began mindlessly talking to himself, "These guys really need to give it a rest. Where did they find all time to do this any way?" Kentar continued to walk towards the next turbo-lift, with an increasingly shaky feeling in his chest. The shakiness doubled with the sound of talking up ahead, he quickened his pace towards the voice, hoping that it would be the Captain. As Kentar rounded the corner, he readied both weapons, just in case. "Montgomery!" Kentar's voice clearly showed his surprise. "Why aren't you on the Bridge?" "I was possessed be one of the intruders, who then made me run around like a fool. The Captain got him though, and has sent me back to the Bridge." Kentar noticed that Montgomery look tired. "But how did you get passed all those turrets?" Montgomery sighed, "Long story, oh and would you mind not pointing that thing at me." "Sorry." Kentar lowered his weapons and smiled, "Here, have this one, you will need it." Montgomery looked at Kentar with a quizzical look. "Where did you find this thing?" "It is one of Turnik's weapons, and I have a Tontillia Riz Ray Gun." Montgomery raised his eyebrows. "Turnik?" Kentar having walked passed Montgomery at this point, turned and smiled. "That's what AIC called them. Now come on, we have a few more decks to go." "I'm right behind you." Montgomery said with the sound of rejuvenation in his voice. ==================== Kentar Tokihs, Assistant Chief Engineer ************************************************** Commodore Shadow Saber, Commanding the U.S.S. Regional ************************************************** Captain Saber stood looking at the aliens for a minute with a smile on his face. He then motioned for the alien that handed him the article of clothing to follow him. Saber walked out of Cargo Bay 8, and down towards a turbo lift. When he looked back, the alien was hesitantly following him down the corridor. He motioned for it to follow him again, then proceeded into the turbo lift. The alien followed him onto the turbo lift. "Sickbay." Said Captain Saber. The alien looked a little bit uneasy, but Saber smiled to reassure him everything was all right. The turbo lift doors opened and Saber walked off the turbo lift and towards sickbay. The Alien followed in close pursuit. When they reached sickbay, everyone inside was uneasy at the sight of the alien, but they were reassured that everything was all right by the smile that Saber had on his face. Saber stopped right in front of Lieutenant Commander Michelle Aspend. He then turned to face the alien, "Alien, this is Lieutenant Commander Michelle Aspend, Lieutenant Aspend, this is Alien." Aspend slowly extended her hand, "Pleased to meet you." The alien looked at her extended hand for a moment, then clasped her hand and shook it up and down. Once released, Aspend looked quizzically at Captain Saber. "I want you to scan him, and do so without his knowledge, preferably." "Understood, Sir." Aspend slowly reached for a tri-corder behind her and secretly completed a scan of the alien. Aspend nodded her head to Saber, then placed the tri-corder on the bio-bed behind her. She motioned for chief medical analysis officer Malina Turel to take the tri-corder and get a read out on the alien ASAP. Malina Turel picked up the Tri-corder and transferred the data into the computer. Saber now turned around and started to walk out of sickbay, and the alien followed him. Saber walked into the turbo lift, then said, "Cargo Bay 8." The turbo lift whizzed to its destination. Saber and the Alien got out, and walked into Cargo bay 8. "Now," Saber said as he turned to face the alien, "Stay here." The alien just looked at him, then as Saber started to walk out of Cargo Bay 8, the alien followed him. "No, stay here." Saber said while pointing inside the Cargo bay. The alien just looked at him. "Good." Saber turned and continued to walk out of the cargo bay. The alien started to follow him again. Saber turned to face the alien once more. "I said stay here!" Saber was getting exasperated at this point, and the alien insisted on following him. "Please, stay here!" The alien looked at him quizzically, then sat down on the floor. "Good!" Saber said as he turned and walked out of the cargo bay. The alien stood up, and followed him. Saber kept on going this time. Captain Saber walks off the turbo lift with a glare on his face followed by the alien. Commander Braxton stood uneasily, but Saber motioned for him to sit back down. "Commander, are we heading towards the coordinates where the Beam was sent?" "Yes Sir, we are." "Good. What is our current velocity?" "Warp 5." "Increase to warp 9. Get us there quickly." Braxton smiled, "Aye Sir." Saber sat down in his command chair, while the alien stood next to his chair. ====================== End Sitting down in his command chair, Saber holds the article of clothing given to him by the alien, being a Starfleet Officer; he could not help but to be filled with excitement of the prospect of meeting a new species. “Estimated time to our current destination, Ensign,” replies Braxton. Rapidly running his hands across his console, “At our present speed of warp 9, 1 hour sir,” replied the Ensign. {The Regional currently at warp, officers on the bridge at their duty stations carrying out their assignments}Captain Saber placing down the article of clothing down on the side of his command chair,” Commander what do you think of our new friends in the cargo bay,looking to his number one with a serious look. Raising one eyebrow, and adjusting his command chair, Braxton smiles” They seem primitive as our forefathers on earth years ago, but overall I think with the proper time of growth and development they will one day join the federation, continuing to grin at his Captain, replied Braxton. {An hour has passed, the regional drops out of warp} “Approaching designated coordinates Captain,” announced the ensign. With anticipation the Captain rises from his chair” Very well, Ensign Standard orbit,” replied Saber. The Ensign acknowledges by pressing controls on his console. {The Regional drops out of warp and enters into orbit of the planet} “Standard orbit achieved, Captain,” replied the ensign. “Tactical begins scans of the planet surface and report,” as Captain Saber sits back into his chair. The tactical officer begins to run the scans as per the Captain’s orders. “Sir, sensors indicated about 1200 life-signs on the planet, no evidence of technology anywhere on the surface, atmosphere consists of oxygen/nitrogen, sir” completing his report to the Captain, replied the tactical officer. Saber with a look like that of an explorer, rose up to his feet “Number one, assemble an away team, you have the bridge, I will lead the team, replies Saber. Rising to his feet, Braxton walks over to the Captain”Yes, sir,” Braxton replied watching Saber walk into the turbolift heading for the transporter room. ==================== Respectfully Submitted, Captain John Braxton Executive Officer U.S.S. Regional ****************************************************** Commodore Shadow Saber, Captain of the U.S.S. Regional ****************************************************** Captain Saber was sitting in his command chair, tired after going with the away team. He leaned forward and pressed a button on his comm pad. "Captain's Log, Stardate 56327.3. I lead an away team to the surface of the planet, and we were surprised to find that for all of their weapon technology, the aliens had not advanced mentaly very far, at all. They must have stolen the weapons as well as some equipment from previous visitors. Although we can only speculate as to who those visitors were, I hope that they are not hostile, as their weapons are more advanced then ours. The intruders have been returned to their planet, and they were quite happy to see some of their own species. We were able to rendezvous with the U.S.S. Lakota, and we have transferred Lieutenant Kentar Tokihs to the Lakota. He will be missed, as would any good Officer. I suppose that someday I'll know why Star Fleet transferred him, but for now, I'm left in the dark. We have completed our mission, and we are ever ready for the next task that Star Fleet gives us. Captain Saber, out." ======================================= END OF EPISODE 2: SHADOWS ==================== Commodore Shadow Saber, Captian Of The U.S.S. Regional.