Searching for Pirates

Posted on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 @ 6:04pm by Commander Grace Vetur & Lieutenant Commander Anahera Chernova & Lieutenant Commander Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii & Lieutenant Percival Bálor Ph.D

1,555 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: The Bandits of Black Rain
Location: Briefing Room

ON

As soon as Grace had dismissed the first officer of the Fitzgerald, she called Anahera and Percy to her ready room.

"I think we're done here," she said to Yiv. "Time to get our people back."

"Indeed." Anahera said. "Commander, I request permission to use some unorthodox tactics against these pirates. I learned a few tricks before I entered Starfleet."

"As they've used some...unorthodox tactics against us, I think we should do no less. What do you have in mind?" At this point, as long as they didn't violate regulations--much--she was open for any ideas.

Percy had entered and settled into a seat. He smirked as he listened to Anahera and Grace. "Unorthodox is my specialty, but I take you know that by now," he said looking at Commander Vetur. He was not underselling himself on that front. The killer plomeek plant was ripe with unorthodox.

"To which regulations do we need to gingerly dance around?" He prodded with what he hoped would not lead to an inquisition on his nor Grace's part. "I could open up a singularity or a fissure, and push them right into fluidic space or somewhere worse."

"We will not send them into fluidic space and no rabid vegetation." She felt that necessary for Percy, specifically. "I want to be sure we can justify anything we do. I will need to report to Starfleet." With what they know about the pirates so far, they would likely need to come up with...creative solutions.

Crush my dreams why don't ya thought Percy though he knew that she was going to put that idea to rest as teasingly as it was. "They crossed the line by taking two of our officers," he stated with a bitterness. "I know that there's a line and we cannot cross it. Whatever we do needs to be ethical, excusable, and something you can feel proud of when submitting your report to Starfleet, Commander. I know we can come up with something. It's time to find the aces up our sleeves."

"Well, perhaps not something to be proud of, but definitely not something to be ashamed of." The distinction mattered to Grace. "But, to use your reference, to date they've held all the cards, Now we need to find an ace of our own. So, what cards do we actually hold?"

"Knowledge," replied Percy. "We have at least knowledge. I would say that given the vessels they have attacked, we may know what would interest them in attacking another vessel that happens to be out here along this route."

"Cordanium." It was a given as most ships in the area were here for the mineral, although most went after it legally.

Grace turned to Anahera. "What idea did you have?"

"I was thinking we could play dead, and when the pirates come to investigate, we could catch them unawares." Anahera said.

"I've used it before with mostly beneficial results."

"When they come to investigate," Percy said with a certain emphasis on the last word. "I don't feel these are inquisitive pirates. I believe pillage or plunder would be more apropos."

'If we pick up a cargo of cordanium, move on a bit, then issue a distress signal indicating we're in trouble, they're likely to come calling.' Yiv shrugged as he leaned against the briefing room table. 'We can prepare for a boarding action against us while they bring back our officers aboard their ship.'

The Efrosian shrugged, and sighed, 'it's a plan fraught with risk, but it cuts down on the time we'd need to search for them, and we can have a shuttle team waiting to board their ship, extract the hostages and disable it, while personnel aboard the ship disable the plunderers that board.'

"Why bother picking up a cargo of cordanium?" Percy inquired. He looked at Yiv. "We know how valuable it is, especially out here. Anyone willing to part with some is going to have an exorbitant asking price or want something that we don't have."

Percy looked away and at Grace. "You aren't going to allow us steal it from another vessel. I know" deduced Percy. "But if I can make counterfeit Latium, we should be able to do something similar here. We don't need physical cordanium do we? We just need these pirates to suspect that we do. If we could fake sensor readings, that might do the trick."

"Either way, It was my idea to begin with." Anahera said. "You guys just made additions to it. So if it works, I get the praise, and if it doesn't you guys get the blame." She added trying to add a little humour to a tense situation.

Percy quickly stuck his tongue out at Anahera. It was a reaction that he wasn't too proud of, but he quickly retracted his tongue and shifted in his seat. "Of course," he quipped. "You can have all the praise. I just want my friends back."

"We are not going to pass counterfeit latinum, and we are not going to try to acquire cordanium. That will most likely get us relieved of duty," Grace said. She hated to be the one to shut down this particular theory, but there were too many potential problems. "Cordanium is in limited supply, unless we want to deal with the HTA and I'd rather not get back on their radar. Can we trace the ion trail of the pirate ship? Klingon ships have a different signature."

Percy sighed but tried not to let himself look entirely unprofessional. "Sorry," he apologized to Grace. "I don't know if that is going to work. At least not this time. You exploited them before in a similar manner to track their presence. I imagine they would ensure that vulnerability is taken care of, though maybe they haven't bothered."

"Do we know for sure? I don't want to take unwarranted measures unless we know nothing else works," Grace said. "We don't even know why they were taken."

"Child abduction in the case of Haruna," quipped Percy. Humor was the only thing he had to cling to in situations like this. "Amanda? Definitely not for her charming personality. The more we speculate, the further away they potentially could be."

Frowning, Yiv tugged at a strand of moustache. Of course Vetur would like this done by the book. 'Cloaking fields aren't perfect, right Percy?'

"Only about as perfect as Haruna is focused on a Constitution class starship," replied Percy with a small smile thinking about a previous mission. "If it were a Romulan cloaking device, I'd have more faith in it being nearly flawless, but a Klingon device? They are almost always malfunctioning to some extent."

"Yes, Klingon cloaks tend to have poor tachyon containment and the occasional power fluctuations, both I've used to my advantage in the past." Anahera said.

"Romulan cloaks are not as flawless as they would like us to believe," Grace replied to Percy. "It requires a bit more skill, but it is possible."

Then she turned to Anahera. "I think that is our best option right now. See if you can find that trail. If that fails, we'll look at more...creative measures."

We're only delaying the inevitable thought Percy, but he kept his mouth shut. Grace had her way of doing things and this crew needed to follow those orders. If she wasn't ready to go the more creative route yet, they'd try it her way.

'We'll make sure every effort is made,' Yiv replied carefully. He studied Percy for a moment, before turning to Vetur. 'If there's nothing else, Captain, can we consider ourselves dismissed? I'm sure they're itching to get to work.'

"You can," she said, nodding to Yiv. She wanted to tell Percy that they had to follow--or mostly follow--Starfleet protocol, but she could tell by his face that he wasn't interested. Perhaps, in time, he would come to understand that they couldn't always jump steps unless it was an emergency, and so far, this wasn't and she hoped it wouldn't become so.

He looked at the other two officers, 'you heard the Captain, we're dismissed.'

Anahera left the Briefing Room and headed to her quarters.

Percy stood up and looked at Yiv, he smiled just a bit. To Grace, it may have not been at an emergency point yet, but it was Percy who had helped pull bodies from the cold-heartless hell that was space - some of the bodies were Starfleet officers, and those bodies could easily be Haruna or Amanda.

He took a deep breath and held his frustrated sigh in as he departed the room.

Grace watched them go and then sighed. She understood how they felt, even though she had to urge caution. There was so much at stake, not just with Amanda and Haruna, but the HTA and possibly the entire sector. They would get their people back. But for right now...she had to contact Starfleet. She wasn't looking forward to it.


OFF

Lieutenant Commander Grace Vetur
Executive Officer
USS Ontario

Lieutenant Commander Yivliph Ra-Gruloveii
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Ontario

Lieutenant Percival Bálor
Chief Science Officer
USS Ontario

Lieutenant Commander Anahera Chernova
Security Chief
USS Ontario

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