Naeve Sevril crossed her legs and clasped her hands in her lap. She re-ran another diagnostic on shipwide systems. She then uncrossed her legs and slid down in the Captain's seat several inches as she waited. After a slight delay, the dianostic results informed her all systems were normal.
She wasn't surprised. It was the fourth such test this shift.
Naeve usually enjoyed it when it was her turn to man the bridge. It reminded her of why she had joined starfleet in the first place. With a lot of luck, patience, and hard work, the Captain's seat would be hers permanently. One day.
But there was nothing more tedious than manning the bridge when Prometheus wasn't going anywhere. The unchanging view on display was of the damaged mining colony and the workers in e-suits who swarmed across the structure like fireflies with the occasional flickering lights of thier repair tools.
She watched the scene with more than a little jealousy. Somewhere down below, Turek and Captain Becker were searching what was left of the missing miners' quarters and interviewing workers who had know them. She wished she had been invited to join them.
Mark O'Conner had gone with Daintree in pursuit of the Ferengi who owned Artifacts Incorporated. If she had been XO, she could have gone in his place. But she wasn't. She was in charge of Ops, the second officer, the 2/O.
And that's why she was on the bridge doing diagnostics.
She had come to terms with her position on Prometheus, overcoming her bitter disappointment, but knowing O'Conner had the coveted XO slot was hard to swallow. Worse yet, he was her superior officer. She would learn to deal with it. It would just take longer than she thought .
Sighing, Naeve glanced disinterestedly at the Ensign manning the communications console.
"Ensign, any news yet from Lightwing?" she asked casually.
"Negative." the young Vulcan woman replied.
Naeve frowned. "Were'nt they supposed to have reported in by now?"
The Vulcan raised a delicate brow. "I did check several Starfleet channels. There is no message."
"Can we hail them?"
The Ensign depressed several keys on her console. "I am unable to locate the vessel."
Naeve tensed as she rose from her seat and marched across the bridge. "What do you mean?" she demanded, leaning over the other woman.
"The vessel does not register on our short or long range scans."
"Well, they couldnt have just disappeared. Check for ion trails. And broadcast a message on all frequencies asking them to contact us."
"Yes, Lieutenant Commander." the Vulcan promptly depressed a series of keys, calling up several displays at once on her console.
"And patch me through to the Captain below. I dont like this." Naeve frowned.
*************
Mirana was becoming concerned. They had passed two nodes already and Kor had been unsuccessful at creating an uplink with his tricorder. Both nodes had phaser burns, most likely damaged in a fire fight. In fact, much of the station bore scorch marks indicating it had been taken by force. She could only imagine the fates of the scientific team that had lived there. To make matters worse, they had narrowly avoided two patrol units, and were still no closer to discovering who thier attackers were.
Kor snatched suddenly at her wrist, jerking her to an abrupt stop. Before Mirana could respond, he put a finger to his lips, then gestured at the node she hadnt noticed and had been about to pass by. Nodding to show she understood, she accepted the phaser rifle and assumed a watchful stance as he bent over the node with his tricorder. Mirana stood guard awkwardly, having recieved a review crash course on fire arms merely an hour before, and not at all comfortable with the weapon. She was a healer, not a killer, and she held the rifle distatefully against her hip.
Kor's tricorder beeped faintly and he grinned, triumph on his features as he accessed the station's computer systems. Within moments, he had infiltrated communications and sent out a distress call. It would repeat itself unless manually terminated for the next hour. Satisfied, he perused the station's systems, searching for information that might prove useful.
"I have an idea." he whispered.
"what is it?"
The tricorder had been gathering data since their shuttle crash and it had not taken long to discover the station was surrounded by ion particles which interfered with transporter activity. Thier attackers couldn't beam away, therefore they could be caught and held until Starfleet reinforcements could arrive.
Before Kor was able to reply, a turbolift hissed open down the corridor and several figures streamed out.
"There they are!" a Ferengi shouted gleefully. "I told you they'd try to get in the computer."
Several pairs of heavy boots thudded down the corridor after them. Accessing the computer evidently had triggered an alarm which revealed thier location.
"Kor...I dont know if I could shoot this thing." Mirana clumsily lifted the phaser rifle, releasing its safety catch as thier attackers approached.
"Allow me." Kor grabbed the rifle from his companion and fired several shots. He then took Mirana's hand and began to pull her in the opposite direction.
"Where are we going?"
"Anywhere but here." Kor ducked as a console directly above them exploded in a shower of sparks.
He turned around to face thier pursuers and aimed a shot at the ceiling. A panel dropped open, exposing a mass of burnt circuits and live wires which snapped and writhed, hampering thier pursuers' progress. Taking advantage of this, Kor and Mirana ran even faster, rounding two corners and up two flights of metal stairs.
At last, Kor breathlessly said, "I think we lost them."
Their was silence behind them, no sign of pursuit. Mirana nodded, bending over with her hands on her thighs, and took deep lungfuls of air.
After a few moments to compose themselves, Kor spoke, quietly, "What now? Wait and hope for rescue?"
Mirana shook her head. "No. We find the man we tied up and we get some answers. Starfleet will recieve our distress call. It has to. In the mean time, if we discover who these people are, maybe we can figure out what to do."
"Alright." Kor agreed. "Do you need to rest first? You humans arent as hardy as my people." he said in the cocky tone that was being so familiar.
"I'm only half human, Cardassian." Mirana snapped.
"Oh? What's your other half?"
"Betazoid."
"Really?" Kor seemed surprised. "Then you're an empath?"
"That's right." she warily replied.
"Fascinating." Kor grinned. "Can you tell what I"m feeling right now?"
"I normally shield myself from sensing the emotions of others. It's the polite thing to do. I only use my ability at the Captain's request." she said stiffly.
"I see." the slightly amused tone reared its ugly head once more.
"Enough. Let's go. " Without waiting to see if he followed, Mirana marched determinedly onward.
Halfway across the corridor, she took a step forward, her foot landing on....nothing. The hallway before her terminated abruptly into a gaping hole leading down to darkness. She hadn't seen that the floor had long since collapsed until it was too late. As she looked into the empty shaft before her, a wave of panic arose from deep within. In that split second, Kor moved with almost lightning speed. As he called her name, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back against him, both of them toppling to the ground. It took her a moment to stop shaking and when she did, she realized she was still leaning against the engineer.
Moving away quickly in mortification, she murmured, "Thank you, Ensign."
"I've got quick reflexes." he offered another cocky grin. "Not bad for a Cardassian, eh?"
To his surprise, she blushed deeply.
"Are you ready? Maybe I should lead this time." He stood up, brushed himself off and offered her his hand.
Mirana ignored it again and straightened up shakily. Nodding briskly but avoiding his gaze, she replied, "Yes--you first. We've wasted enough time already."
"I agree." The owner of the voice appeared from the stairway they had just ascended, a disruptor in his hand. "And time is money."
As he moved closer, the disruptor unwavering, they could see the intruder was an Andorian male with a thin white scar running down his pale blue left cheek. From his belt hung an assortment of weapons.
"You've kept us rather busy, Starfleet. We hadn't expected you to drop by like this."
He slowly circled the two officers, careful to remain out of reach.
"But since you're here, we might as welll make the most of it." he smiled coldly. "I'll take your weapon, and then you will come with me, please."
*************
"Still no sign of them?" Colin Becker swivelled to face Naeve Sevril in his bridge chair, a frown on his face.
"No, sir. They havent reported in at either of the agreed apon check in times and there's no response to our signals." Naeve had tried every comm frequency she could think of with no results.
"I am still unable to located Lightwing on long range scans. There are several ion trails that I am unable to identify surrounding the observation post indicating they may not have been alone. But there is no debris field." Turek remarked from his station at tactical.
"Well they cant just have disappeared. If they didnt crash or break apart, they've got to be somewhere. Keep looking." Colin snapped.
He wanted nothing more than to go after Lightwing and find out where his crew had disappeared to. But he could not. Prometheus was forced to remain in orbit around Nanking until Daintree returned in order to not leave the station vulnerable. Arlen Guenther had already informed him he was on his way back after an enlightening visit with Daimon Morlok. NOne of the answers the Ferengi had supplied had been satisfactory--it was obvious he was involved in the sabotage on Nanking--they just had to find a way to prove it.
But Colin's priority was his crew. As soon as Daintree returned, he would set out immediately towards the observation post. He clasped his hands beneath his chin and gazed thoughtfully at the winking stars on his view screen. An image of Mirana Keset sprang, unbidden, to his mind.
*What happened, Doctor? Where are you?*
"Wait, Captain. I'm getting something." Naeve said excitedly. "it's broken up but I'm enhancing the signal--It's a repeating message from the observation post. Audio only."
"Put it through." Colin ordered
**********
"You've delayed our plans somewhat but fortunately we will still succeed." the Andorian known as Tontag surveyed his captives with satisfaction.
Mirana sat on the floor, back to back with Gered Kor, thier wrists bound together with a thick cord. Across from her, Tom Arquet and Leran Mora were in a similar situation. Only Ainya Gregor was missing. Mirana could only hope her absence meant the medical technician was still hidden where they had left her.
"What are these plans exactly?" Mirana spoke up.
Tontag folded his arms across his chest and looked at her thoughtfully. He would almost have been handsome if not for the scar.
For an Andorian.
"Should I tell you? Yes, why not? You wont be able to stop us. My organization will be taking over this sector's mining rights."
"How will you manage that?"Mirana asked dubiously.
"Easily. You see, it has become quite a volatile area. Nanking Station has already beenhit by one asteroid. It will be struck by another within days. The Federation will rightly consider the area dangerous and will recall the miners. Of course, we hadnt planned for Starfleet to discover us just yet so we've had to alter our time table slightly."
"Where will you mine from if you destroy the colony?"
"We will rebuild. And we'll have this station as well. We've negotiated a lucrative contract for what we mine in exchange for weapons."
Mirana could feel Kor moving his hands slightly. She pretended she didnt notice their bonds loosen.
"And who are you exactly?" Mirana kept the Andorian's attention focused solely on her. If she kept him talking, he might not notice Kor's silent struggle.
"A private company, headed by myself of course."
Pirates. She should have known.
Tontag glanced at his chronometer. "We've got work to do if we're going to discourage Starfleet from further investigations. If you'll excuse me, I must go. Sul will keep you company in my absence."
Tontag turned towards the door, his snow white hair swinging loosely in a braid down his back with each step. At his signal, two Gorn and a human stepped away fromthe shadows and followed him out. The four officers were left with a sneering Ferengi brandishing his disruptor at them.
"Dont give me any trouble! If you move just one inch, you'll be sorry!" Sul threatened.
Mirana's bonds loosened even further, yet her face betrayed nothing. Sul paced back and forth and cackled.
"Tontag says I can decide what to do with you. The Orion slave market I think. They've always given me a good price." He paused suddenly in front of Mirana and squatted down, peering intently at her.
"Except for you. You, I might keep for myself." When he grinned, he exposed a row of jagged, yellow teeth.
Suddenly, Mirana was free. Her foot kicked out and connected solidly with Sul's midsection and groin. The Ferengi fell backwards, his howl of pain muffled by her hand pressing against his mouth. Kor was beside her instantly, scooping up the disruptor Sul had dropped.
"A well placed kick." he remarked dryly, glancing at the Ferengi, then moving to free the others.
Once Sul's hands and feet were bound, the four officers crept silently from the room. They managed to advance down the next two corridors before their escape was discovered. Within minutes, thier pursuers were behind them, and streams of phaser fire lit up the hallway. All they had to defend themselves with were two phaser rifles and a disruptor, all confiscated ffrom Sul. As Mirana ducked, she prayed thier opponents weapons were set on stun.
"come on!" Arquet urged her as they ran towards the far stairwell.
At that moment, a stream of weaponfire streaked at them and hit Mirana in the thigh, forcing her to her knees. He struggled to help her up but Mirana pushed him away.
"Go!' she commanded.
"But---"
"That's an order, Ensign! I said go!"
Arquet looked past her in desperation as three angry Gorn barrelled towards them. He nodded at Mirana and left her. She tried to pull herself up to a standing position when another stream of phaser fire lashed out at her. Mirana felt herself thrown back against the wall and her knees gave out. Slowly, she slid towards the floor. She felt a burning sensation in her chest which seemed to intensify and spread. The sounds of battle began to fade. her last conscious image was of an enraged Cardassian running towards her before the world went dark.
***********
Colin Becker reviewed the data on his PADD one more time before he signed off on the report. The repairs on Nanking Station were complete and the pirate ring run by Tontag Pathe had been taken into Starfleet custody. In a plea bargain, the Andorian had admitted his plan to take ove Nanking and the sector's mining industry and sell terellium to the highest bidder. He implicated Daimon Morlok as the group's financial backer, who would recieve the loracite in return for his assistance. The group was using a modified ion beam on the observation post to alter asteroids from thier orbits and set them in Nanking's path. They had planned the sabotage of the station's shields, knowing the colony wouldnt recieve help until weeks laer, when the next supply freighter was to arrive. By then, they would have convicned Starfleet of the instability of the asteroid field and the Federation would have likely withdrawn from the sector. Both the pirates and the Ferengi would profit by the new arrangement. But they hadnt counted on two Starfleet ships being in the area, nor that they would investigate the observation post. Although they had caught the pirates, Morlok had conveniently disappeared--most likely on his way back to Ferengar--it would be up to the diplomats to extradite him now. Prometheus' role was over.
Colin pressed one last key and stamped the report with his electronic signature. He sighed and pushed the PADD away.
"Captain, you dont have to wait here. We can contact you when she wakes up." Dr. Andrew Sobel offered.
"I know. I'll probably leave in a few minutes." Colin looked at the figure on the biobed, her face pale and drawn, her auburn hair dull and lifeless.
Mirana Keset had been in surgery for several hours--the phaser burns had damaged several arteries including her descending aorta--but she was now stable and would recover with sufficient rest.
Colin scrutinized his CMO guiltily. Things had continued to deteriorate between them since thier last confrontation and he had unknowingly sent her into a dangerous situation where several crew members had died. As Captain, he routinely asked his crew to risk thier lives on away missions. Yet her injuries bothered him more than they should have. And the relief he felt at her successful recovery was greater than necessary. Choosing not to dwell on this disturbing revelation, he instead made a promise to himself that he would try again to forge a better working relationship with his CMO.
At that moment, Mirana's eyelids fluttured open. She blinked a few times and focused on Colin in surprise.
"Captain." she whispered.
Colin managed a smile. "It's nice to see you in one piece, Doctor. You gave everyone a scare for a while there. How do you feel?"
"Tired." And achy, she added silently.
"Then I wont keep you. Dr. Sobel wants you to get your rest. You do have a visitor whose been hoping you would wake up before he had to leave. Let me get him for you." He patted her shoulder awkwardly and walked out of her room.
Heading into the main area of Sickbay, he approached the Cardassian who had been waiting patiently. Kor stood up immediately.
"She's awake if you still want to see her."
"I dont know." Kor hesitated.
"You've waited all this time. Go in." Colin insisted.
"Thank you, sir."
"No Ensign. It is I who should thank you." Colin said quietly.
"I didnt do anything another wouldn't have done in my place." Kor objected.
"Somehow I doubt that."
Kor had incapacitated the Gorn who would have shot Mirana Keset a second time and killed her. He then stood over her body and managed to hold off Tontag's men until Starfleet arrived a few moments later. Between himself and Mirana, they had kept thier team alive and helped solve the mystery of Nanking's sabotage.
"Dont tell her. I doubt there would be any gratitude."
"Alright." Colin agreed, puzzled, as the engineer headed to Sickbay's inner rooms.
Kor wavered as he stood in the doorway, but Mirana sensed his presence and turned in his direction. Almost immediately, Kor's look of concern was replaced with his trademark smirk. He swaggered in the room towards her bed.
"Hello, Doctor." he grinned.
"Mr. Kor." she responded warily. What are you doing here?"
He ignored the question. "I'm glad to see you're awake."
"What happened?"
"We seem to be heroes, you and I."
"We?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Rumor has it I might get my Lieutenant J.G. pip out of this." he grinned. "Maybe I'll tell yo uthe whole story someday since you were unconscioius for the best part."
<< Ensign Kor? >> The voice belonged to Colin Becker.
Kor tapped his commbadge. "Yes, sir?"
<< Daintree is ready to leave. Please report to transporter room 3. >>
"Understood. Kor out."
He glanced at Mirana who lay still, watching him without speaking.
"Well, that's my cue."
"Goodbye Mr. Kor." Mirana said after a moment.
"Goodbye, Doctor."
He seemed to want to say something further, and for a minute she thought he would. But the moment passed and before the silence could become too awkward, he cleared his throat.
"Good bye." he repeated, and he left.
Mirana closed her eyes as she felt the start of what would likely become a pounding headache.
"Andrew!" she called.
Her colleague popped his head in her room questioningly.
"Yes?"
"When can I be released? I'm better now."
"You're joking. Forget it."
"It was worth a shot." Mirana grumbled.
