by Chris Hechtl
Gustov had ten volunteers including himself and the two pilots. Two were engineers. Sindri wasn't happy about the poaching in his department, but did understand they would need someone with a tool kit, and he was about to get a lot of help if they pulled it off.
The Admiral watched as the Skyhawk and pinnace went out. The hawk was in good shape; she was Gustov's ship. The pinnace was slower though; she was either having issues or her pilot was. Either way, they were running behind schedule.
Anxiously the bridge crew watched as the hawk made the final approach and docked with the Le More. Enric and the first bridge crew had relieved their counterparts twice, the crew was settling down into the routine. A good eight hours of sleep had helped sort a lot of people out. A few were still jittery, but Sprite reported that the crew sounded more relaxed. The current tension on the ship was over the prison ship loose end.
“Gustov here, the ship is secure,” Gustov reported a few minutes after they docked. He sounded professional Irons noted.
The bridge erupted in cheers, interrupting the rest of his report.
“Repeat that?”Irons asked. He had heard it with his enhanced hearing, but he wanted the others to hear it too. He wanted them to know the price for freedom.
“Repeat, twelve dead on the ship excluding the nine Horathians.”
“So? No love lost there,” someone said softly.
“How?” the Admiral asked. Visions of a firefight erupted in his mind. The bridge sobered as the death toll of friends registered.
“The Horathian's met us in the lock, expecting relief. Needless to say, we came as somewhat of a surprised. None of them survived their attempt to draw their weapons.”
Irons frowned but didn't rebuke him for the dead. He reminded himself that Gustov had a choice of weapons and had apparently not taken many nonlethal weapons with him, or hadn't had the time to use them. Also, he grimly reminded himself that he wasn't there and it wasn't his show. Gustov was the man on the scene and he had to accept that.
“Ten of the dead died before we got there. Prisoners all. Some died from the lack of life support, or injuries, or starvation. They are all recent, they stacked them in a lock but didn't flush them,” Gustov stated, voice flat and cold. That made the Admiral grunt. “By the way, we've checked Admiral, they didn't get a warning out,” Gustov finished his report.
“Very well. Team two is already on final now.”
The pinnace had been delayed in transit, but five minutes after Gustov reported the pilot reported in. “We've successfully docked with the second ship, the Deianira. Sorry we're late.”
“Better late than never,” Gustov said over the open channel. The three ships were under a million kilometers apart, so there wasn't much of a time lag.
“Here is Mister Lewis,” the pilot said a moment later.
“This is Lewis. We've taken the ship. Repeat, the ship is ours.”
There was a second smattering of cheers and applause on the bridge.
“It went off without a hitch. We've got eight dead here, all former prisoners. We took the Horathian's alive. They threw their hands up right off,” he said.
“Good for you,” Gustov said dryly.
“Now what? I've got nine wounded here, and over a hundred and ten starving, barely breathing people here in dire need of a shower,” Lewis said. Despite that statement they could hear people cheering in the background. Many sounded hoarse or weak, but they were still happy and letting everyone around them know it.
“I've got some wounded now. I'm still getting a head count myself,” Gustov reported. “And I've got... one hundred and... Did you say seven? Okay, one hundred seven, repeat, one oh seven survivors, not including us.”
“We've done it!” Enric said, throwing his good arm up in the air. He winced when he tried to do the same with his right arm. “Damn!” he said, sucking in a breath. He looked around as the others cheered. He smiled through his pain. “Awesome,” he said and then returned his attention to his station.
Irons turned to Ian. “Mister McGuyver, dock with the Le More since she is closest. Deianira, hang in there, we'll get to you.”
“We're not going anywhere,” Lewis said dryly. “But I'd appreciate someone having Holly and some food on hand when we do dock.
“Understood,” the Admiral nodded.
<----*----*----*---->
It took an hour for Bounty to maneuver so the prison ship was along her port side. “I feel like a beached whale or something,” the helmsman grumbled. “How are we going to dock with the other ship with two already attached?” he asked.
Ian rested a hand on the back of his chair. “One thing at a time,” he said. He felt a thousand times better than three days before. Decent food, eight hours of sleep in a real bed, and a shower helped, but not having someone beat him or threaten him with death... he shook his head. That alone made him eternally grateful to the Admiral. He looked at Le More. She was a tiny thing, barely the size of the Bounty, despite being a medium freighter. Most of her was hold, which the crew had half converted into living quarters for their families over the centuries. He shook his head. His beautiful ship was still there, Deianira still existed, but he wasn't certain he wanted to be her Captain again. There were too many ghosts there, too many memories of Liz to haunt him. He frowned thoughtfully.
“We're... three... two... one,” the helmsman said and then sighed. “Docked. We're docked. There was a bit of excess inertia, but the dock held. We're good.”
“Seals are holding,” the OPS officer said, giving the helmsman a dirty look. “Clamps are secure. I'm sending someone to check.”
“They are secure,” Gustov said. “We've already opened the lock. Sorry about the stench,” he said over the intercom. There was cheering in the background.
Enric, the helmsman, and OPS officer started to get up and then stopped. Sheepishly they looked at Irons and then Ian.
“Go,” the Admiral said, waving a hand. “We can handle things from here for a while. Go see your families,” he said. The trio of men rushed out. “Hopefully they are alive,” he murmured softly.
Gustov hadn't sent a list of names since they were going to dock shortly. The ship was stuffed with the remnants of eight crews, so things were jumbled up.
<----*----*----*---->
From all over the ship people on duty or off rushed to the lock to see if their families were alive and to be reunited. Gustov urged them not to trample each other in their excitement.
Holly Glenn stood in the sea of back slapping, laughing, crying and generally exhilarated people. Some were mourning as they found out someone hadn't survived. She patted them in sympathy. They squeezed her hand, thanking her for her support, then Jake's people took them in hand. Steaming cups of soup were being handed out, as were other food items. The starving people gratefully accepted them.
Holly checked a few people over and ordered them to sickbay. Rajesh took charge of them. She turned when she felt and heard a familiar step. She took a deep breath and a familiar musk enveloped her. After that she couldn't see, she just turned.
“Hi,” a rough voice said. “Missed me? God I've missed you babe!” Doctor Marty Glenn, her husband and lover said, still alive, despite everything. His ecstatic greeting was cut short by her flinch.
“Like that huh?” he asked softly, staring into her eyes.
“Yeah,” she said quietly. He reached for her. She flinched. He stopped and tried not to stare.
“I'm so sorry honey. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you,” he said softly. Tears shined in his eyes. She suddenly reached up, wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. “It's okay. We're alive. Right now that's all that matters,” she whispered fiercely in his ear as she hugged him. She shook as she felt his arms wrap around her. He hugged tightly her until she gasped. They kissed deeply, then cuddled, crying together in relief, pent up anxiety, and emotions too tangled to express so quickly. They murmured soft reassurances to each other, and how they loved o
ne another. They were an island in the midst of everyone else, for the moment ignorant of the others.
“My little boy, Antonio, have you seen him? He's about this tall,” a voice said. “He was with his older sister Laria,” a woman said, voice picking up in fear and anxiety.
Holly closed her eyes, tuning the woman out. The woman looked around frantically for her children. Kinja found her looking. She stared at the other woman for a long moment. Kinja shook her head simply. The woman sank to her knees and cried when she found out that they were gone, the Horathian's had taken them.
Irons stood off, out of the way. He turned. “Is that confirmed Sprite? The children?”
“Yes,” the AI responded. “I have records of sixteen human, and nineteen nonhuman or Neo children between the ages of one and sixteen on the eight captured ships. None of the alien or Neo children survived. Two of the human children didn't survive either. Three are unaccounted for and presumed dead. The remainder were shipped out.”
“Out?”
“Apparently the Captain had orders to do so.”
“Why?”
“Unknown. I only have a verbal on that Admiral,” Sprite replied. “It is unconfirmed.”
“Okay,” the Admiral mused as the mother wailed in renewed grief. “She got her hopes up for nothing,” he murmured.
“Not necessarily. Where there is life, there is hope Admiral,” Sprite replied.
“Yeah,” he sighed. “Tell her that. I know what she is going through. As a parent, one of your worst nightmares is to have your child go missing and never know what happened to them,” he said softly.
“I understand Admiral,” Sprite replied quietly.
He shook himself. “Come on, we've got things to do,” he said.
<----*----*----*---->
Karmen brushed her way past the others and then looked around. She'd kept her hair and good looks by seducing the guards. It had allowed her to get extra food and better treatment for herself, but it had ostracized her with the other prisoners.
Her former crew mates on Anderson knew she was a bit of a vamp, she loved sex. She spotted an old friend, Waldo. He smiled shyly and waved. She came closer, practically strutting. He blushed, looking left and right but he was trapped. She grinned lazily at the thought. He had his trademark long sleeve shirt on. Someone had fixed his glasses though, that was nice. Or he had gotten a new pair. When she got close she grabbed him, planted a passionate kiss on his lips and then hugged him, crying softly.
He stroked her back, unsure what to do or say. When her soft sobs ended she kissed him again. “I need you in the worst way! Do you have a place to go? Somewhere no one can find us?” she asked softly.
He smiled and nodded.
“Then let's go,” she said huskily, drawing a heart on his chest. He stunk, but for now he'd do. He'd serve as an ally, a buffer between some of the horde who hated her until someone better hung came along to take his place. Then again, she felt him up briefly. Her eyes widened slightly. He was bigger than she thought, judging from the bulge in his blue jeans. “We've got some catching up to do,” she murmured wickedly in his ear. He blushed and then took her by the hand and led her off.
<----*----*----*---->
Once the survivors were off the wreck teams went in to bring selected pieces of salvage on board and then the ship was sealed and kicked loose. For now she would drift, a derelict. The process of docking and taking on survivors was repeated a few hours later as the first wave was settled into their new quarters. Fortunately they had plenty of room in the destroyer for everyone.
Gustov took charge of the nine Horathian prisoners at the lock. He ignored the boos and snarls to space them and escorted them with Yorrick to the brig. The cowed Horathians meekly stood as they were searched and then sent in with their fellows.
“We're getting a handle on the logistics Admiral,” Ian reported as the second group settled in. “And the watch is thrown into chaos again,” he said, chuckling.
“Yes, but think of all the extra manpower,” the Admiral replied. Ian glanced his way. Irons shrugged. “It'll take a few days for everyone to get sorted out, get some food, and rest. But in the mean time, we'll carry the load.”
“I think they'll surprise you Admiral. Once the commotion dies down, I bet some will get bored or want to help. Remember, they've been cooped up in those wrecks for ages,” Ian said thoughtfully.
“We'll see,” the Admiral replied with a nod. “How's the arm?” he asked.
Ian looked at his arm thoughtfully. “I hadn't even noticed,” he said with a laugh in his voice.
“Doc fix you up?”
“He's with Holly and they've got their hands full with more important people,” Ian said. He looked at the arm again and then shrugged. “It'll keep.”
“Mine too,” Enric replied from his station.
“All right then gentlemen, we have a bit of work to do restoring this ship.”
“Restoring?” Enric asked, now confused.
“Restoring. As in making like new. I seem to remember something about a ship or group headed to Hidoshi's World. Horathians.”
“Oh shit,” the helmsman said, looking up. “I remember that!” he said nodding. “They went to conquer the planet! What are we supposed to do? We can't fight!”
“We can and we will if we have to,” the Admiral replied. “But they don't know we took this ship,” he said slyly, glancing at Ian.
Ian snorted and then laughed. “A case of pulling the wool over their eyes again Admiral?” he asked.
“Why not?” the Admiral asked with a smile. “But, just in case it doesn't,” he said turning to the crew. “We get the ship as ship shape as we can. That way they get a nasty surprise either way.”
“Plan for the worst, hope for the best,” Ian murmured. He rubbed his chin briefly. Irons noted the man had found the time to shave, like most of the male survivors. He nodded.
“Right. And by working on the ship and bringing her up to standards, we'll give the crew something to do while helping them to learn the systems,” the Admiral said.
“Two, no three birds with one stone. Maybe four,” Ian murmured thoughtfully. He was obviously thinking about what the Admiral had been doing. “Bringing them together as a team against a common threat. Smart.”
“I do have my moments,” the Admiral replied.
“Definitely,” Ian replied. “So, where do we start?” he asked, turning to the Admiral.
“Well, it just so happens, we've gotten a jump start on a few things,” the Admiral replied. He turned to see the other officers enter the bridge.
“I took the liberty of calling them. Do you want to take this in the wardroom?” Sprite asked. “I think there is enough room for everyone there,” she said.
The Admiral shrugged. Whatever he said would be all over the ship eventually anyway, which was what he wanted.
“Phoenix has repaired some of the damage to his computer core, and we've restored his software from his backups. I've used them to help restore Bounty as well,” Sprite said. The AI holo table showed the three AI avatars. Phoenix stood with his hands behind his back in parade rest. Sprite smiled. “They grow up so fast,” she said in maternal approval.
“Ready for duty Admiral,” Bounty replied.
“Admiral, if you wish to defer my repairs in favor of Bounty, I fully understand,” Phoenix said. “The threat of combat takes precedence of course,” he said.
While the AIs were talking the officers filed in and took seats around the room. It suddenly felt like the room was smaller, with all the warm and cold bodies occupying so much space.
“Your AI called me and had me organize teams to gather up junk and bring them to your ship. I'm not sure why though,” Kinja said.
Irons studied her. She still looked beat, but better. Not quite as exhausted. She had shadows and lines under her eyes, she still had sunken cheeks, but she was obviously game for what he had in mind. She had gotten four hours of downtime, but hadn't been able to
sleep. Anxiety over the ship had kept her from relaxing.
“So, you said something about replicators Admiral?” Sindri rumbled.
“We'll get to that. First things first,” Irons said waving a hand. “I've got military grade industrial replicators in my ship. One is operational, the others need a little TLC.” Kinja's eyes went wide as he pointed them out.
“That's why you wanted to dock with your ship!” Caid said, looking up from his station as the others turned to him. “Sorry,” he mumbled, looking away.
The Admiral shrugged as attention returned to him. “The Horathian's hadn't touched them since they apparently hadn't known what to do with them. I don't know if they were planning on ripping them out or not. I don't care at this point. We'll put them to good use,” he said, looking at Sindri and Kinja. Sindri nodded.
Kinja grinned. “You're right Admiral, sleep can wait!” she said eagerly, slapping her hands together and rubbing them in anticipation.
Irons exhaled noisily in exasperation. “You can at least eat regularly. You all aren't me. Some of you,” he pointedly didn't look at Sindri or Ian. “Have implants. Or the start of implants, so you can jack in through your WI-Fi node if you know how. But you are far from milspec, so don't overdo it.”
“That's right, you haven't slept in what, three days? Four?” Ian asked.
“Five,” Irons replied. The room blinked. “I can go another day without sleep, it's not going to hurt me. I've gone a week without sleep,” he said.
Sindri whistled softly. Irons glanced his way and then shrugged.
“We've got the crew fed, bedded down, and showered. And boy are we happy about that,” Sisko said, shaking his head. “It was really starting to stink. I thought we had it bad in the brig but the pong some of the others brought on board!” he said, shaking his head.
“We are here,” Holly said, coming in. Her husband was behind her. Both were ladened down with trays of food and drinks. Gratefully the crew jumped to help unload them. “Sorry we're late. Your AI said to take a side trip.”
“Better late than never ma'am,” Sindri rumbled, taking an energy bar and a drink. “And this is much appreciated,” he said. He waved a salute to her and to her husband.