Joyful Gathering, Deadly Surprise I
Posted on Mon Nov 20th, 2023 @ 8:40am by Lieutenant Commander Annalise Faulkner & Ensign Jeffrey Simmons & Captain Ivan Petrov & Lieutenant Commander Yana Petrova & Lieutenant Asher Stagg
Mission:
S1 Episode 6: Joy and Ashes
Location: Various
Timeline: Date 2371-09-06 at 2130
2757 words - 5.5 OF Standard Post Measure
They were so close… so very close to yanking out this thorn in their side and grinding it under the heel of their boot. The Terrans had intruded into their space and left a trail of blood and fire in their wake - here the wave would end. First Maje Razik stood on the bridge of his ship staring at the viewscreen that displayed the image of the void of space outside of the nebula where they were relatively certain the Terran ship Gladius would arrive. Things had gone according to plan and it had only taken the sacrifice of one mediocre merchant so far. These Terrans were just like the others; baiting them to the nebula hadn’t been hard.
It had also been easy to find allies in the Vidiians who had been similarly wronged, though he would have been lying if he said he was completely comfortable with the arrangement, but it had been a decision made by the First Majes as a group.
Their alliance would be temporary.
“Maj, there is an incoming communication from the Vidiian ship.” One of the Kazon on the bridge spoke up.
Razik scoffed slightly but gave a half nod. “On screen.”
A tall Vidiian man appeared on the screen, his strong jaw angled up and a grimace on his face. Third Admiral Rein Parwan had been tasked with carrying out this particular scheme for his people. The politicians back on their homeworld had finally been convinced that these humans were turning out to be more trouble than they were worth. He agreed.
“While this moment of interspersed cooperation is touching, I would like to reiterate our purpose here. We will destroy the Terran ships from the cover of the nebula. These creatures have a way of escaping with their lives and coming back with a vengeance, so we must not let them know who it is who is attacking them until it’s too late.” He said in a stern, raspy voice. He spoke slowly, as if he were speaking to a simpleton. “Do you understand?”
“Of course I understand, I was the one who proposed the plan.” Razik replied, his voice a growl. He’d enjoy taking the Vidiian’s head, but it would have to wait. The Vidiians had insisted on the destruction of the Terran ships before any looting could happen and the Kazon weren’t exactly pleased about that, but it had been the price of cooperation.
If the opportunity presented itself though..
“No mistakes then. Keep your ships and your men in order, and we can be done with these foreigners for good.” The Admiral said, seeming annoyed at Razik’s insistence on maintaining some self respect. “And we can be done with this uncomfortable arrangement.”
“We certainly can.” Razik replied, getting the last word in and then abruptly cutting off the communication.
He was getting tired of waiting.
ISS Gladius: Bridge
Annalise was sitting to avoid nervously pacing back and forth on the small bridge of the Gladius. Even sitting it was hard to be still and give the sense of calm and ease, but she was managing well enough. They had arrived at the nebula on their schedule and well ahead of the supposed time of the ambush. She still had her misgivings and concerns, but they were outweighed by the chance of survival. Being with another ship would be… a change… she wasn’t naive to that, but her first priority was to see her crew to safety and survival.
They had been there for a few hours now broadcasting their signal into the darkness, reaching out with hope of an answer. They could only remain for so long. Marikit and Stagg’s efforts had given them time but they would leave before they were in danger of losing anything.
“Still nothing?” She spoke quietly, not really seeking an answer.
“Still nothing.” Stagg responded, taking note of the nervous question, asked likely for the ninth or tenth time in the past half hour. Everyone seemed to be on edge about this situation except for him. He was cool as a cucumber, even though he was among the most skeptical about this situation.
“Maybe it was all a bunch of bullshit.”
Annalise didn’t respond to Stagg’s jab; she knew the man thought this was a waste of time and maybe in the end he would be right, They weren’t at the end though.
“We have enough power to stay for another hour. When that time is up we will leave and head for Sikaris.” Annalise announced, at least giving a final time limit to their waiting game.
Stagg didn’t respond to her decision, choosing instead to focus on his sensor readings and to plan out, in his mind, all the things which could go wrong in this situation. He had a bad feeling about the whole thing, and he wanted to be ready if some alien warship warped in instead of Vengeance.
ISS Vengeance: Bridge
Jeffrey Simmons knew that his time filling the assistant chief post was limited, but he had enjoyed the experience and had even filled it adequately as far as he had been told. He was even commanding the night shift tonight for a bit more experience. It was quiet and mundane but that didn’t bother him in the slightest - with the past few weeks being what they had been, quiet and mundane were honestly welcome.
He was sitting in the center chair when an alert sounded from behind him.
“Report.” He prompted without glancing back.
There was a pause that would have been unacceptably long on any other shift, then the young enlisted woman spoke up from her station. “Uh… sir. This is… we’re picking up a subspace transmission and… and it is reading Terran.”
“Terran?!” Simmons barked and was on his feet. “Can you confirm that?”
“It appears genuine, sir.”
Sitting back down in the center chair immediately, Simmons tapped the console between the two chairs. “Captain Petrov, you are needed on the bridge urgently.”
In the Captain’s Quarters the comm message broke the silence and one of the members of the sleeping first couple of the fleet stirred; it just happened to be the wrong one. Yana’s eyes fluttered open tiredly as her slender fingers found her husband’s broad shoulder.
“He’ll be up soon, Ensign.” She said, before giving the massive man next to her a shake as best she could.
His eyes opened and he shot up into a sitting position immediately.
“They need you on the Bridge, Ivan.” She said in Russian. “Simmons says it’s urgent.”
Ten minutes later, Captain Petrov emerged from the turbolift looking more scraggly than was usual even for him. He blinked his tired eyes.
“What is it?”
Simmons turned his attention to Ivan, still standing in the command area but no longer occupying the chair. He licked his lips and cleared his throat before speaking. “Sir, we are receiving a transmission from what appears to be a Terran ship. We haven’t picked up anything on long range sensors, but everything indicates the transmission is genuine. It is short and contains a set of coordinates with a request for us to meet them there.”
“I assume you’ve already matched their registration with our records.” Ivan asked in an accented growl, tired and irritable underneath his professional front. “Who is it?”
“The ISS Gladius, sir.” The ensign replied.
“Captain Julian Ryce.” Ivan commented, remembering the location of his old colleague who had only recently gotten his own command. “He served with me on the Helsinki. I wonder what he’s doing out here.”
The Captain thought for several uninterrupted seconds before turning back to Simmons.
“How far away is the signal?” He asked, a skeptical expression appearing in his gaze.
“Just under a light year. At maximum warp we can get there in about an hour.” Simmons shifted slightly where he stood, but his building interest and excitement was obvious.
“Helm, set a course for the coordinates, maximum warp.” Ivan ordered, moving to the command chair and sitting down. He folded his large hands in his laps, his eyes watching the stars accelerate toward them on the viewscreen.
—
Ever since Andrei had taken over, as XO on board the Vengeance, Ivan hadn’t really kept watch on the bridge. Most of his days were filled with administration, while the tedium of sitting and waiting in a chair was left to the younger and more energetic man. Today, however, he made an exception, and took a second shift from one of the senior staff members. He sat amongst the Beta shift and waited for their eventual arrival at the coordinates of what seemed to be the ISS Gladius. He wanted to see for himself if they could really be so lucky as to find friends this far out.
“Our ETA is two minutes, sir.” Ensign McMillan said from the helm as she moved her fingers over the speed controls to pre-plan their exit.
“Good.” Ivan responded with a grunt. “When we arrive, bring us out of warp and close in on the source of the broadcast at half impulse power. Tactical, give me another scan. See if you can confirm that this is the ISS Gladius and not some poorly planned trap.”
Simmons was excited - he had never been on the bridge for something that could have been this impactful before. He licked his lips, his fingers moving over the controls competently. “Still nothing conclusive, sir. There appears to be a large nebula near the coordinates which is interfering with our sensors.”
“Suspicious.” Ivan said in a low voice. “Standby on shields, just in case. Helm, be ready to jump out if it’s not what we expect. If it’s a trap, I want to escape it smartly and respond on our own terms.”
Two minutes later, the Vengeance and the other ships of the Shadow Fleet dropped out of warp on the edge of a dense nebula swirling with pink and red clouds. The phenomenon appeared on the viewscreen, looking like cotton candy on the backdrop of the black of space, and in the center was a ship of Sabre-class hull design.
Ivan stood up, his lips parting and moving his salt and pepper beard.
“Gods…it’s really them.” he said quietly. “Hail them!”
“Aye, sir.” Simmons replied and his voice was followed by the pleasant robotic chirr of the frequency being opened.
“Imperial Vessel, this is the Captain Ivan Petrov of the ISS Vengeance. Respond.” he said in a bark of a voice as he walked forward and put his hand on the metal railing which separated the command station from the lowered helm area. “Is it really you?”
Even Annalise had been about to abandon her hope. They only had around fifteen minutes left before they were set to leave and their play for a miracle seemed to have failed them. Perhaps it had all been a ploy, perhaps the Vengeance had simply taken a different route. She had sunken into her chair slightly and had been actively massaging her own hands to try and channel her anxiety into something useful. She barely caught the movement on the view screen in front of her, but when she lifted her eyes her full lips parted slightly.
She could hardly believe what she was seeing in front of her.
“My gods…” She breathed out slowly.
When his proximity alert sounded, Asher raised his own eyes and looked at the readings. When he saw the imperial vessel registering on short range sensors, he turned his face to the viewscreen, and his lips parted.
“Fuck me…” he said, realizing his skepticism was unfounded at that they truly weren’t alone out here in the Delta Quadrant. The beep from his console demanded his attention next. “They’re hailing us.”
Captain Petrov’s introduction sounded over the speakers, filling the Bridge with his accented gruff voice. Asher grimaced darkly, hesitant about all of this sudden change.
As Petrov’s voice filled the bridge, Annalise felt a wave of relief hit her that caused her breath to momentarily catch. She grabbed the armrests of her chair to steady herself and then slowly pushed up to stand. Taking a slow breath, she finally spoke.
“Open a channel and put it on screen, Lieutenant.”
When the request was accepted, Ivan appeared on the view screen of the Gladius in his scraggly, tired state while Annalise herself appeared on the Vengeance. She looked exhausted and she was - so was the rest of her crew - the dark circles under her eyes were prominent and she looked drawn, but there was still that undeniable beauty to her. Her blue eyes shimmered with currently controlled emotion, and her shoulders dropped slightly in relief.
“I am Lieutenant Commander Annalise Faulkner, captain of the ISS Gladius.” She allowed a small, tired smile to appear. “It is good to see you, Captain Petrov.”
“Commander Faulker?” Ivan asked, his brown eyes moving over the gentle and attractive face presented to them on the viewscreen. He didn’t seem willing to accept this boon at face value. It was all just too convenient to be a coincidence. Perhaps this was some sort of ruse or illusion. “Where is Captain Ryce?”
The smile faded from her face, but it didn’t morph into a frown and simply settled into neutrality. Where would they have been now if Ryce hadn’t fallen?
“Captain Ryce was killed when we were pulled into the Delta Quadrant by the caretaker. Commander Mendoza…” She hesitated slightly on how to word it. Nobody felt the need to be kind to the man who had caused the death of so many. “Mendoza died during a botched mission.”
“And you were the second officer.” Ivan said with a nod of understanding. “It’s good to see you, Commander Faulkner. It’s miraculous that two Imperial vessels have been transported here and survived. How did you manage to stay alive without a fleet or help?”
Included with the question was another implied one: who do you work for?
“Ingenuity, luck, and the will to survive.” She replied without any sort of cheek, she was quite serious in the answer. “It hasn’t been easy and we have lost many of our crew along the way. I can have logs and reports sent over for your review.”
Ivan listened to her with a skeptical look resting in his eyes, but there was no hostility present.
“I’m glad to hear there are still many of you left.” he said, licking his lips. “We can exchange stories later. For now, I think you should beam over so that we can greet each other more formally.”
“Of course, Captain.” Annalise nodded with her acceptance. She could see he wasn’t entirely convinced of everything and she didn’t blame him. “I would like to bring my XO with me.”
“Of course.” Ivan said with a nod before turning to the tactical station. “Prepare to receive the Commander, Ensign. I’ll wake up the senior staff.”
ISS Gladius: Bridge
Annalise turned to look at Stagg and smiled at him. “Shall we then, Lieutenant?”
“I guess so.” Stagg stated with a guarded frown. He stood then and checked to make sure his dagger and phaser were at his sides.
The communication cut off as Annalise stepped away and headed for the turbolift. “Lieutenant Gardner, you have the bridge.”
ISS Vengeance: Bridge
“Aye, sir.” Simmons replied
“All senior staff, this is the Captain speaking.” Ivan said into the shipwide, causing his voice to echo through the rooms and corridors of the ship. “Report to the Bridge. We’ve got something up here I think you’ll want to see.”
“Lowering shields now, sir.” The security officer piped up again.
Unknown
From the bridge of his ship, Razik watched the scene unfold, his eyes widened in anticipation.
“They’ve lowered their shields, sir.” One of his officers spoke.
“FIRE!” He nearly hissed the command and watched as the first volley streaked out of the nebula toward the Vengeance.
TBC in "Blood Brothers" and "Joyful Gathering, Deadly Surprise II"
