Repairs

Posted on 15 Jun 2014 @ 9:53pm by Commander C. Kos & Lieutenant Commander Thaddeus Quint M.D. & Lieutenant JG Noxa & Lieutenant Hictus Dicon
Edited on on 29 Jun 2014 @ 8:21pm

4,179 words; about a 21 minute read

Mission: Pursuit
Location: Freighter X'annon
Timeline: February 1, 2388 || 1530 hours

"Noxa, Vex," she called, looking first at the Security Chief and then the senior Science Officer. "You're with me." She quickly touched several controls on her console to signal Lieutenant Dicon and Doctor Quint to join them in the Transporter Room.

Lieutenant Noxa was away from her station, locking controls and surrendering it over before the First Officer finished pronouncing the Ferengi's simple name. The Security Chief proceeded to the Turbo Lift after giving a nod to Kenzie.

Vex logged out of his station and signaled for his assistant chief science officer to take his place on the bridge then he got up and joined Noxa and the First officer in the turbo lift.

Kos, Noxa, and Vex entered the Transporter Room and found Quint and Dicon already there. Kos grabbed a phaser and tricorder from the equipment locker before stepping onto the pad.

Following suit, Noxa retrieved a Type-II hand phaser and a tricorder from the equipment locker. Noxa attached the tricorder to her belt and checked her phaser over ensuring it was on stun and had a fully charged power cell. She was more comfortable with a phaser than she was a tricorder.

Vex grabbed a phaser and scientific tricorder from the equipment locker, he attached the tricorder to his belt then making sure the phaser was set to stun and had a full charge, he attached that as well. He took his position on the back of the transporter pad behind the first officer and the security chief.

Once everyone was in place, she ordered the on-duty transporter chief to beam them over.

====[Freighter X'annon]====

Lieutenant Noxa too in the sights around her silently. She did not need to take out her tricorder for this. Her assessment was simple. This vessel has seen better days. However, it was Lieutennat Dicon who voicalized the observation.

"Impressive damage they caused here, a few more impacts and the space frame would have shredded open" muttered Dicon after teleporting into the freighter.

"Only if you consider wanton destruction impressive, Lieutenant." Quint remarked disdainfully.

The doctor squinted his eyes as he appraised the scene. The Karemma ship was indeed the worse for wear. Scorched bulkheads, flickering lighting, sure enough blown consoles occasionally emitting sparks, were among the damage in sight.

Thaddeus Quint had uncharacteristically checked out a phaser from a weapons locker when he heard they were boarding a Karemma ship. Did everyone else forget these people were part of the Dominion? Not that Quint was one to approve the stupidity of random attacks, but anyone taking a swipe at the Dominion almost warranted the benefit of the doubt in his book.

At the quiet staring of the away team, Quint decided to take the initiative. If it was to be done, best it be done well and quickly the old saying went. Peremptorily pointing a finger at the first Karemma he saw, Quint curtly asked, "You there, we're here to help. Do you have wounded?"

Mackenzie wasn't completely comfortable with the Chief Medical Officer's directness with the civilian, but inwardly applauded him for taking initiative. She waited for the Karemma to respond to Quint.

Noxa may have been short but she was not hesitant to air on the side of caution. Humanitarian aid or not. She kept her phaser at her side, slightly raising it just in case the Karemma did something stupid.

The captain had been attempting to push himself off of the floor when a handful of people beamed into the crowded cockpit. He immediately recognized the uniforms, Starfleet. Immediately, his disdain for Alpha Quadrant species flared to the surface. Were it not for their meddling, he'd still be serving the Jem'hadar in peace.

Alas, he was thankful for their arrival. Had it not been for the uniforms in front of him, the captain would have been killed for sure.

"I have a crew of ten," he told the man with the blue collar. "I'm sure there are wounded here. I don't suppose you Starfleet types can help get the X'annon fixed up? I have a delivery to make, and I can't afford the delay."

"Ah, yes. Possibly injured crew members? Not worth checking on. Getting the ship fixed so we can deliver our cargo? First thing to do," Quint snidely remarked as he rolled his eyes, "Nice to see our priorities are in the right place. Nine more to check on, this shouldn't take long Commander."

The doctor, still shaking his head scornfully, pulled out his medical tricorder and left the bridge to check on the remaining crew members.

Captain D'rimo finished rising to his feet, noticing the Starfleet people were starting to disperse. He looked around the bridge, attempting to look like he was examining his surroundings. In a sense, he was actually concerned for his ship and the cargo he had to keep secret down below.

He was actually looking for someone he could send ahead of the doctor to make sure no one got into the aft compartments.

Noxa followed closely behind the First Officer. Kenzie thought Noxa with a small grimace. The Security Chief was wary of the First Officer getting so close to the Karemma.

"I'm Lieutenant Commander Kos," she said to the Karemma gentleman. "We'd be happy to provide any assistance possible. You are the master of this vessel?"

"I am," came D'rimo's stern reply. Was it not obvious to the human? As much disdain as he carried for the Federation, D'rimo knew he had to conceal as much as he could. They were, after all, willing to help him get back on his feet.

As the CMO and the XO were having their conversation with the Karemma captain, Vex had pulled out his tricorder and had begun taking readings. He detected various things the most reverent were the micro fractures in the hull cause from the battle which could cause a hull breach if the structural integrity field failed, the slightly higher than normal CO2 levels indicating that the life-support system was damaged, and the fluctuating power levels of the vessels fusion reactor indicating an imbalance that could lead to a core breach if not looked after. There was also a slight radiation signature coming from somewhere aft of their location but he didn’t pay it much mind, there were far more important things to worry about.

He closed up his tricorder and relayed his findings to the XO as well as the Lieutenant JG Dicon leaving out the anomalous reading as it was unimportant.

Mac could see that Vex was ready to give her a report. "Pardon me a second Captain." She turned to face Vex, and saw that Dicon was still standing nearby. She motioned him over. "What have you found Vex?"

After hearing the Science Officer's preliminary report, Kos ordered the two officers to attend to repairs.

“All right Lieutenant Dicon, let’s see if we can get this mess cleaned up, after you.” He gestured at the hatch leading off the bridge.

Vex left the bridge of the ship with the Chief Engineer leading the way.

With Quint off tending to the injured, and Vex and Dicon attending to repairs, only Noxa remained with Kos in the cockpit with the Karemma Captain.

Though Noxa had some concern for the other members of the Black Hawk's Away Team, it was Lieutenant Commander Kos' safety that Noxa had to consider top priority.

"Now Captain, what can you tell us about what happened?"

That was a loaded question, if there ever were one. Perhaps some of the truth wouldn't hurt. "We were on our way to the other side of the sector to make a delivery. My cargo is highly precious, and I'm on a tight deadline to deliver it. That's what attracted the Golden Stars."

Noxa looked at the man with some scrutiny. I wonder if your cargo was legal thought Noxa looking away briefly to recompose herself. She had hoped that Kenzie had not noticed Noxa's suspicion.

==[Engineering section]==

"Well this a fine mess Lieutenant" Stated Dicon in a business tone. He was lain on his back dismantling the underside of one of Karemma ships engineering consoles. "The warp core has been damaged and is in need of immediate repair. Life support is intermittent though I have that patched well enough. Structural integrity barely serviceable at best . I am amazed that this ship is still in one piece." Dicon replaced the panel he was working and clambered to his feet. "I need at least four hours to get this ship in a condition to warp anywhere. I wish to call in teams from the Black Hawk to asset the repair, in addition I have powered down their warp core for now, so we shall have no explosions. I am also concerned about the enemy vessel with Dominion weapon systems, Polarion energy has a nasty habit of blowing out EPS conduits"

Doctor Quint passed though the engineering section with his medical tricorder drawn, apparently scanning. He completely ignored the gold shirts as he was intent on his task of accounting for the Karemma crew. Sure enough as Dicon was talking about polarion weaponry blowing out EPS conduits, he found some poor soul lying on the ground with severe burns to the face, near a ruptured conduit in the back of the compartment. At least the poor soul was dead before he realized what hit him.

Quint found another Karemma crewman, this one with only a broken arm. Declaring himself a doctor, he scowled at the man until he let him mend the arm with a bone reginerator. Grunting in reply at the crew's muttered thanks, he wordlessly made his way to the next compartment to continue his sweep of this ship.

Vex was helping to repare the structural integraty field when he heard Dicon closed up the pannel he had been working in and started talking. He lissend well he finshed shoring up the field, he managed to get it to 76% before he turned towards the engener. He was about to respond when he saw the good doctor enter the engenering section with his tricorter drawn, Vex payed him little well he was talking to the injered crew members.

"Good work Lieutenant, I have stabilised the structural integrity field. Now if you don't mind I detected a strange energy signature when we came aboard and I can’t get it out of my head and I want to try and track it down. Just give me a call if you need a hand with the warp drive."

Vex nodded to the engineer, pulled out his tricorder and began tracking down the strange energy signature. He left engineering passing the doctor heading back towards engineering, he followed the energy signature down the corridor to a door with a Karemma standing outside on guard. He turned and pretended to be investigating a eps relay well he tried to determine what it was he was detecting.

==[Cockpit section]==

Quint returned a few minutes later, his customary frown filling his features. Checking for bodies among alien ships wasn't exactly high on his hobby list, though at least most of them were alive this time. Spotting Kos and the Karemma captain he simply nodded in acknowledgement of the two.

"One dead, four injured," Quint said without hesitation in lieu of any small talk, "Poor bastard took the brunt of a ruptured EPS conduit exploding into his face. Two others with minor injuries, a broken arm and some minor burns I was able to treat here. The other two I've tagged and I'll have to beam to sickbay to treat. One apparently impaled himself on a sharp piece of railing that was bent out of shape, I've stopped the bleeding but he needs surgery. Another took some severe plasma burns pretty much all over his body. He'll be dead quick unless I get him to Sickbay. I've already sent their coordinates to the transporter chief. With both of your permission I'll have them beamed over so I can treat them in our Sickbay."

At least this would get him off this away team. Who said all injuries were bad? "Oh by the way... I only visually accounted for nine out of the ten crew," Quint remarked with a shrug, facing the Karemma captain, "One of your people said the tenth was fine, but didn't want me going into that compartment in the back of the ship at all for some reason. Some people are just plain ungrateful."

D'rimo frowned, a little annoyed by the doctor's response. "And some of us weren't expecting to be attacked or in need of saving."

Turning back to Commander Kos, he added, "I'm certainly not ungrateful, Commander. But you've done enough damage already. How soon can we be on our way?" He would mourn the death of his crew later. For now, there was a job that needed to be finished.

Kos looked to D'rimo. "Can Doctor Quint transport your crew to our ship for treatment?"

D'rimo did not immediately respond. Instead, he locked his gaze on the human in blue. His attitude and demeanor was like many Karemmas, both qualities he appreciated. D'rimo was not sure who was injured, but he could not afford to linger here while people healed. Maybe once they could move again, Starfleet would escort the X'annon to it's destination.

"Very well," D'rimo answered, his gaze still locked on the man in blue.

"We've done enough damage? Hmph, you act like we're the ones who attacked you. Certainly we weren't the ones who saved you, are fixing your ship, and tending to your wounded," Quint snapped, meeting the Karemma captain's gaze with a scowl. Some people were just plain ungrateful. Taking the benefit of the last word, Quint tapped his combadge.

=/\="Quint to Black Hawk, beam me and the two Karemma I tagged directly to Sickbay."=/\= Quint gave the formal order, before turning to Kos. "I'll keep you informed, Commander."

Qunit, shut your mouth before you cause me to shut it for you thought Noxa, just mildly tempted to give him a good punch in his nose. Noxa looked at Kenzie with a shake of her head and a little glare as to say that she was not pleased with the Doctor's behavior.

"Thank you Doctor," Mac replied, while making a mental note to have a conversation with Geisler about Quint's confrontational manner.

With that, the doctor disappeared in a column of blue-white light.

Turning her attention back to the Karemma, Mackenzie attempted to actually get information, something which had proven futile thus far. "Tell me about the Golden Stars. Who are they?"

"Not someone you want to cross," D'rimo stated. "I've already made that mistake."

He studied the woman for a moment, considering how much information he wanted to divulge. D'rimo doubted however much he gave would satisfy Starfleet. He was not one to keep debts very long, or longer than he had to, and if the Black Hawk would remain in this area, her crew would learn the awful truth sooner than later. As he was rescued, and being put back together, D'rimo decided to continue.

"Ever since you drove the Dominion into hiding, life for Karemma has been hell. Sectors that once cowered under Dominion rule were suddenly free to do as they pleased. When your centuries-old lifestyle disappears overnight, you don't know what to do when you wake up. Famine, disease, whatever you can think has run rampant since your little war.

"The Golden Stars Syndicate was born out of survival and necessity. They are the law now, doing what these sectors need to survive, and doing so with whatever it takes. Crossing them is a death sentence, and life without them also means death."

We couldn't have known what driving the Dominion back would mean. How can you blame us for this? Nobody ever truly wins a war. There are often just losers to various extents thought Noxa though she kept her mouth shut. This was not the time nor place for her to speak up.

Mackenzie thought about how best to get the Karemma Captain to provide more useful information. "Do they operate from a central command base or are they completely mobile?"

==[Engineering section]==

" Black Hawk , Dicon here; please run a scan over the starboard section of the freighter, I've been getting hollow readings all over this side, and some of those hollow areas have fractures laying under the warp core's magnetic suspension fuel tunnels. I find no power going through these areas"

=/\= "Standby." =/\= came the voice of Lt. Carmichael. A minute later, he added, =/\= "I can't tell much of anything, Lieutenant. The compartments are heavily shielded. There are strange energy readings, but the shielding is too heavy to make anything out."

=/\= "Roger Black Hawk, please forward those scans and the ones I am transmitting to Lieutenant Vex, also I request engineering reserve teams three, four and five to assist me in getting the freighter running again." =/\=

Dicon knelt down by one of these panels and began to tug the plasma cutter out of his belt and cut through the seam of the null space the Black Hawk had scanned.

The surviving Karemma engineer, who had stepped out to use the facilities, stepped back into the engine room to see one of the Starfleets cutting through the bulkhead. "Stop!" He shouted, pulling his pistol out and aiming it at the engineer. "I'll shoot!"

Dicon slowly turned around and looked at the Karemma engineer "I am standing next to your warp core, if you fire at me and miss you and everyone else onboard will be killed, because I am cutting through a panel to find hull fractures."

"Then I won't miss," the Karemma snarled. "You people in gray and black have done enough to destroy our livelihood. Step away."

Dicon considered his chance of avoiding the Karemma shot and reached a decision " Alright sir its your ship after all" Dicon very slowly placed down his plasma cutter and stood up slowly.

Keeping his pistol trained on the man with the yellow collar, the Karemma punched a button on the nearby communications panel. "Captain D'rimo to the engine room."

==[Cockpit section]==

Both D'rimo and the Starfleet woman were the only ones in the cockpit to hear the announcement, though it came just as the weapons officer and the pilot started to move. D'rimo barked at the pilot to stay put and asked the woman and the weapons officer to follow him. D'rimo kept his hand on his own pistol, ready to draw it if he needed. He feared the worst, thinking the Starfleets had entered the one room they shouldn't.

Mac followed the Captain through the corridor of his ship. She noted that the Karemma seemed ready to draw his sidearm, and. in an effort to not be caught unprepared, she moved a hand to her holster. She saw that was also prepared to draw if the need arose.

==[Engine Room]==

When they finally arrived, having navigated the damaged and soiled corridors, D'rimo spotted his engineer with his weapon aimed at a Starfleet yellow collar. "What is going on?" he demanded.

The engineer spoke quickly, "I caught this one attempting to breach the cargo hold." He didn't have to say anymore. They all knew what the Starfleets would do if that hold was opened.

"Lieutenant," Mac begin, addressing Dicon. "Is that true?"

"Yes Commander, I wished to ascertain what the null sections in the hull were, they were shielded and unscanable by the Black hawk "

"Show me the scans you took," Mackenzie ordered the Black Hawk Chief Engineer as she unholstered her tricorder.

"Here they are Commander, I asked the Black Hawk to forward their scans to you also. Dicon handed Mackenzie his tricorder "The area's on the starboard side have many area's with null spaces in which power sources are placed. None of them feed into any part of the main power grid. If I had to guess there is a function with these area's that is not a normal function"

Suddenly, an alarm sounded from a nearby station. The engineer instantly dropped his weapon and ran to investigate. "Captain!" he shouted. "Atmospheric pressure is dropping in the cargo hold."

D'rimo dashed down the corridor with his crew in tow. He was about to order the guard to open the hold when he saw a Starfleet with spots and blue collar in the same corridor. "Get out of here, Starfleet," he ordered, not knowing that other Starfleet personnel were trailing behind him.

Vex had been standing the corridor across from the Karemma security guard for several minutes trying to make sense of his readings, it was strange to say the least. He had determined that the strange energy signature he had been detecting was a small power source not tied into the ships power grid and he had determined that the door he was standing outside of was not a regular door but the outer door of a airlock.

According to his readings the room behind it was at a higher Atmospheric pressure than the rest of the ship and he was also detecting what appeared to be a very weak life sign signature. He was in the middle of trying to figure out what kind of life form it was when an alarm began emanating from the communication system.

He turned and looked at the guard, he was obviously concerned and afraid of the alarm, he was about to ask what it meant when he heard running footsteps coming down the corridor and the Karemma captain yelling at him to leave with the XO an Chief Engineer close behind.

Before he could his tricorder lit up like a Christmas tree drawing his attention, the pressure in the room was dropping and the life form reading was starting to get weaker, whatever it was dying. He yelled to the commander who was approaching fast, “Sir, there is something alive in that room and it’s dying.”

"No!" D'rimo shouted, rushing for the door. He pushed aside the guard, who quickly regained his footing and took position to protect his captain from the Starfleet personnel. D'rimo punched in his security code which allowed the door to open.

"Out, now!" he shouted, feeling the air slowly being sucked out of the room.

Immediately, a steady stream of people began to flood out of the compartment into the corridor. Several had cuts and bruises from being knocked about, and every single one were surprised to see aliens (the ones who were not Karemma) staring at them.

Mackenzie watched as close to 20 people emerged from the now-open compartment. She didn't know who these people were, nor why they had been 'stored' in a sensor-shielded section of the hull. But what mattered now was that these people clearly needed some assistance, and the X'annon was leaking atmosphere. "Dicon?"

Dicon stared at these new arrives and then moved to a nearby panel and quickly glanced over the contents " Working to close the hull breach now!"

"Vex, give him a hand," she ordered. Turning her attention to the Karemma shipmaster, she delivered a bold statement. "Captain, I'm beaming these people to the Black Hawk for medical treatment. You don't have the capabilities here on the X'annon to deal with them. Nor the space now that that hold is breached.

"You can't do that!" D'rimo gruffed, taking a step towards the woman. "My cargo will not--"

"You misunderstand me!" she interrupted. "I am NOT asking permission." She turned her attention to the Ferengi Security Chief. "Noxa, assemble these people and get them back to the Black Hawk Take them to Sickbay so Quint can check them out."

"Yes, Maa'am" replied Noxa gently but cautious of the look in D'rimo's eyes. Don't do anything stupid the Ferengi thought.

"Why you little--!" D'rimo lunged towards Kos, pulling his pistol out of his holster at the same time.

This ends now thought Noxa instantly when D'rimo came at Lieutenant Commander Kos with his weapon. Noxa was not about to let anything happen to the First Officer. She charged at Knocking his aim away from Noxa, and in all the force and speed she could manage, knocking him like a wave. She had a phaser but opted not to use it.

"That was a stupid move to make" she in a huff as she began to let loose a fury of fists to the man's face.

"Stand to Lieutenant!" Mac said, once she thought the Karemma freighter captain was sufficiently subdued. "Escort him back to the Black Hawk and secure him in quarters. Restricted computer access."

While Noxa and D'rimo dematerialized, Mac looked from her remaining away team members, Vex and Dicon, to the Karemma 'cargo'. "Kos to Black Hawk. Bring us, and our new guests, back."

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