Into the Oven (Part I)

Posted on Sat Sep 30th, 2023 @ 7:16am by Lieutenant JG Peri Valeri & Lieutenant Commander Anahera Chernova & Lieutenant Commander Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii & Lieutenant Zero & Lieutenant Percival Bálor Ph.D & Lieutenant Robin Maxwell
Edited on on Wed Oct 11th, 2023 @ 9:44am

1,084 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Bandits of Black Rain
Location: USS Ontario | Deck 1 | Bridge
Timeline: After "Following Breadcrumbs"

It had all happened so fast, too fast for even the best Starfleet's crew’s response time and though Percy did not view his shipmates as Starfleet's best or brightest on most days, they were good at what they did. Commander Grace Vetur had been snatched up undoubtedly by these awful pirates that had taken Haruna and Amanda. The crew had just been able to free their shipmates and had then returned to the Ontario, ripping them away from the clutches of the pirates. There was one thing about pirates though that was true in the old nautical days on the seas just as it were today among the stars: If you take their treasure, be prepared for to lose more.

The Ontario had seized Amanda and Haruna, but at what cost? Apparently, the price for their freedom was far greater than simply pissing off these pirates and having them out for blood. They had upped the ante by taking the most valuable target, the Ontario's Acting Commanding Officer. The ice queen was off the board and the starship was now at its most vulnerable without leadership.

"No!" Percy shouted as he leapt forward and reached out to grab Grace's image, but his momentum just carried him beyond and he crashed into the command chairs. She was gone before any of them could do anything, but Percy had remembered her last words She knew it was coming. She had called out to security.

Percy readied and steadied himself upright. "Shields up, red alert!" he said immediately. Elijah had been sidelined, and Grace was gone. There was no Commanding Officer on the bridge right now and Percy did not give two snorts about chain of command in the heat of the moment.

"Aye, sir, raising shields." Anahera said as her mind was already going through rescue plans for Grace.

"Siren, belay Commander Vetur's order" said Percy. "Unless there's objection, I'm not leaving the Commander behind. We need to locate where the hell she was transported to, and fast."

Noticing that he had just given out orders he quickly scurried back over towards the science station. "Yiv, your Second Officer..." Percy said looking at the Efrosian. "Chain of command and protocol is pretty clear on this. It's you. These are your calls to make."

Yiv looked at Percy for a moment, processing what had happened in scant seconds. Then he nodded, and got to his feet. What a time for Elijah to be incapacitated. His expression set in determination.

Zero remained at Ops, tapping away at his console. He attempted to lock onto the Captain's bio signature, similar to how he locked onto Lieutenant Mizuhara and Rose, but was met with no lock. The ship she was taken to was either a different ship with better shielding capabilities or it was long gone. He was struggling to relay this information over, but Lieutenant Bálor had already begun to get the situation under control. Which was odd for Zero, because as the Lieutenant had just pointed out, the chain of command was not his to take.

'Lieutenant Zero, any lock on our missing comrades?'

Zero tapped his console again, only to get the same result he got the first time around. "Negative. I have attempted to lock onto The Captain using the same method as I did for Lieutenant's Mizuhara and Rose with no affect. I can only conclude that the vessel that transported her away has a more sophisticated method to block our lock, as well as being detected, or the vessel in question is no longer in range to establish a lock." The Liberated Borg looked up from his console and added. "Upon your order, Commander, I can search my knowledge for technology or methods assimilated by the Borg that can assist in this matter."

'If it poses no significant danger to yourself or the crew, do so.' Yiv was momentarily shamed to realise he didn't know much about the Ops officer. Something that would have to change. 'Please relay any data gleaned to Lieutenant Bálor, and coordinate any search with them.'

He straightened and spoke more generally. 'Let the record show that as of this moment, I, Lieutenant-Commander Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii, being the senior most officer, am taking command of the Ontario.'

Yiv hit his combadge, 'Lieutenant Wakefield, status on our returned crew?'

Zero tapped his console and nodded his head slightly, replying in his cold tone. "I will send my findings and arrange them by mathematical possibility." He paused suddenly, raising a brow. "I may need to return to my quarters and link with my alcove to speed up my review of the data."

'Then do so,' Yiv nodded, and indicated he should send his relief to replace him. He impatiently jabbed his combadge again. 'Doctor Wakefield. Status on our returned crew?'

There was still no reply from sickbay.

Percy turned his seat at the science station. It was different to see the Efrosian impatient and what seemed like stressed. He was typically someone that was very composed.

Two minutes later, Peri walked onto the bridge and logged in to the ops station. Commander Vetur wasn't there. She wasn't sure what happened, but she was ready for orders.

Maxwell made an appearance upon the Bridge; it was not his usual haunts yet he is here and about to get involved.

"Lots of Pirate activity, Marines are ready to repel boarders should it come to that." He noted. "Do I need a Spear Team to go across and show them the error of their ways." He noted a newer Command Officer. "I do hope this is Regs?" Maxwell said calmly, almost a dead pan. "Do not need a fight on two fronts... Sir."

Yiv's lip curled for a moment, before he shook his head, 'you'll need to put a team together. Just in case. We need to find the ship first and chase her down. Hopefully it doesn't come to a confrontation with the pirates and we can negotiate a settlement.' I hate the gung-ho type, he thought to himself.

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant Percival Bálor
Chief Science Officer
USS Ontario

Lieutenant Commander Anahera Chernova
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Ontario

Lieutenant Commander Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii
Acting Executive Officer
USS Ontario

Lieutenant Zero
Chief Operations Officer
USS Ontario

Lieutenant JG Peri Valeri
Assistant Chief Operations Officer
USS Ontario

Captain Robin Maxwell
Marine CO
USS Ontario

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