Scavaging the Raptor

Posted on Wed Jun 6th, 2018 @ 9:52am by Lieutenant Commander Akira-Ri Sato & Ensign Matt Connor & Chief Petty Officer Malcolm Reynolds

1,416 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Memento Mori
Location: Romulan Raptor Class Warbird

The transporter beam released Akira and her away team onto the bridge of the Romulan war-bird and she instantly took aim with her phaser rifle, sweeping across the room while the others did the same. The bridge showed signs of battle on top of the normal wear and tear that star-ships faced, but without the upkeep that most ships received. Seeing no one alive, Akira waited for the others to finish their sweep before she lowered her phaser rifle and nodded. "Alright, let's get to work. Connor, you're with me. Reynolds, take everyone else and start a sweep of the ship. Look for survivors or anything we can use," Akira said.

Malcolm Reynolds nodded and motioned to the other two security specialists to follow him before he started towards the main boor leading off of the bridge. He had actually been on a Romulan ship before, although a Raptor was slightly different and he had visited a Lanora, often known as a Talon Scout class. The basic principle was the same in Romulan design. Using hand signals, Mal directed his team off the bridge and down the first corridor.

Akira carried her phaser rifle in the ready position as she paced across the bridge of the war-bird. She wasn't all too surprised when she stumbled across a body. Kneeling, the Japanese woman was careful not to touch the corpse as she studied it carefully from a distance.

Matt hadn't really wanted to come along on the away team mission but he was still in security and probably still in the dog house, plus he wasn't really in a position to refuse orders, so he had gone. The damaged Romulan ship was at least something different, but he was still not happy about being there. The chief and the others at least got to go do something while he was stuck with the boss playing guard duty. Matt walked about the bridge, careful not to touch any bodies he found and looking at the different screens. Most were either blacked out or had static, but there was one that caught his attention. "Commander, I've got an intact screen over here," he called.

Akira frowned slightly for a moment before she stood up and stepped across the bridge to where Connor was. She hadn't expected anything on the ship to be in working order, much less the bridge, but there were a few stations that seemed to be working just fine. She shouldered her rifle and studied the screen for a moment. "The language is Romulan, but my Rihannsu is a little rusty," she said as she reached out and touched the screen. No automatic defensive measures were activated, so she tapped in a command slowly. A response to the command popped up in an overlay window. Staring at the letters for a moment, Akira shook her head. "If I'm reading this correctly, it seems that the ship is running on emergency power. The primary power systems are online, but they're been put on a lockout."

"Oh. They don't want us using their stolen ship, huh?" Matt said as he stared at the screen. He knew nothing of the Romulan language or alphabet, so he couldn't understand a thing. "Don't suppose we can ask for a bowl of soup, could we?"

Akira closed her eyes and resisted the urge to shake her head. She barely managed to succeed. Sometimes, the security officer beside her could be extremely irritating, but he was good at his job and most of the time he stayed out of trouble. Taking a deep breath, she released it and nodded. "The primary support systems are offline, as well as weapons, primary communications, and the singularity drive. Which means what we do have is minimal life support and basic systems," she said.

"Wait, singularity drive? Like a freaking black hole? They've got a black hole on this ship?" Matt asked. "Oh, hell no. Get me off this damned thing!"

"Mister Connor, pull yourself together and act like a man who also happens to be a security officer on a Starfleet ship," Akira snapped, her famous temper starting to rise. "All Romulan ships are powered by a singularity drive and power systems. It's one reason they manage to build such large ships and power them effectively."

"Is it safe? I mean, we're safe here, right?" Matt asked.

"The drive is powered down, and even if it were malfunctioning, there are safety measures. The Romulans know what they're playing with. At least, I hope they do," Akira replied as she studied the screen a bit longer. She finally shook her head and tapped her comm.-badge. "Sato to Reynolds, are you having any luck?" she asked.

Mal stopped when his commbadge beeped, but when he heard the commander's voice he nodded to his team to continue on. "No ma'am," he answered as he moved carefully down the corridor. "Lots of dead computer station terminals and a few dead bodies and a lot of locked doors. Seems the Romulans are serious when it comes to security lockout protocols. So far we've found three dead humans, a Klingon, two Bajorans, and even a couple of species I can't ID."

"Understood. Proceed with extreme caution. Oh, how good is your Rihannsu?" Akira asked as she stared at the screen.

"Lousy," Mal answered as he stepped over another corpse. Looking down, he was surprised when he noticed that it was a Bolian. "I can speak enough to get a drink and then get into a fight in a bar, but that's about it."

"Great. It looks like we'll need a language specialist to access the computer systems," Akira said.

"Maybe not. We have two people on the ship who are Romulan, and a Vulcan as well. They should be able to help translate," Mal said as the corridor ended in a door. Like most of the other doors they had encountered, it was locked shut. "Yeah, we're not going anywhere else until the main power is back on and the lockout is lifted. We've got locked doors all over the place. We can access the bridge and a few offices, but nothing else."

Akira nodded, mostly to avoid giving another sigh of annoyance. "Alright, return to the bridge. I'll have to think of something until you get here," she said.

Mal nodded and signaled his squad. Quickly, they started back down the corridor towards the bridge. When they returned to the bridge, he signaled his team to watch the doors and the bridge in general before walking over to the commander. "So, what's the plan, boss?" he asked.

Akira sighed. "I'm going to have to go over to the ship and speak to the captain in person. We'll need someone who has a better understanding of the Romulan language than I do to work these blasted computers. I'm guessing it'll be the chief engineer," she said

"So, you want to leave us over here? No way!" Matt said, not liking that idea at all.

"Commander, a moment?" Mal said as he pulled the chief over to the side. Lowering his voice, he sighed. "I don't like the idea of being over here with this guy alone. He's clearly not all up there. I prefer the term bat shit nuts, but I'm pretty sure he's got a few screws loose."

"I'm starting to see that. His last away mission he acted like a total ass, now he's acting like a midshipman on his midsummer academy cruise. I'd recommend a counselor, but I'm not sure we have one and I really can't afford to lose a security officer," Akira said softly. "I'm going back to the ship. You keep him in line. Stun him if you have to."

"You want me to shoot an officer?" Mal asked.

"Stun him," Akira correctly softly. "And if you absolutely have to, then yes. I'll be back as soon as possible."

Mal shifted his gaze over to the ensign, then back at his chief before he nodded gravely and adjusted the settings on his phaser rifle. "Alright, Sir, the commander is leaving us over here. Why don't we go find a nice chair to sit down in and wait for her to return?" he asked.

Akira sighed as she watched, then shook her head and tapped her comm.-badge. "Sato to Endeavour, one to beam up," she said.



Lieutenant Commander Akira-Ri Sato
Chief of Security and Tactical

CPO Mal Reynolds
ASEC/MAA

ENS Matt Connor
Security officer

 

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