by Commander Salvek
81120.1600
After The Scanner
-=USS Serendipity=-
81120.1600
After The Scanner
-=USS Serendipity=-
Salvek surveyed the bridge once again. He had looked around at those surrounding him countless times as they had approached Lethus IV. What Salvek called vigilance, many would likely call 'paranoia'.
His unease with the mission had led him to almost constantly observe crewmembers around him, checking to see if they were doing anything out of the ordinary. To their credit, Salvek had seen nothing but a fine crew performing their duties with the utmost professionalism.
“Mister Blane, Mister Dengar, Mister Reece and Ensign Hok. Report to the shuttlebay and proceed to the planet as discussed.” Salvek tapped his badge. “Commander Lair, the team is preparing to depart.”
[Already aboard the shuttle, just waiting for the rest of the party to show up.]
“Safe journey, Commander Lair...”Salvek's tone altered slightly as he spoke to her, but just as quickly returned to normal. He hastily added, "To you all."
Those on the bridge nodded to Salvek, and departed for the turbolift.
“Anything unusual at the landing site?” Salvek asked of the junior officer who had taken Reece’s place. The dry and formal reply was a surprise of sorts to Salvek, who would have expected a colorful report accompanied by a disparaging remark about his ears.
“Clear skies, winds at fifteen kph, no signs of any upcoming meteorological activity. No signs of any harmful plant or animal life in the area. Most of the landing site has been cleared of flora and fauna by the construction crews. Temperature, twenty-five degrees Centigrade.”
“Any other starships in the area?” Salvek asked.
Zander Blakeslee shook his head from tactical. “Nothing sir. I’ve been scanning continuously since we entered the system.”
Salvek vacated the Command chair, and walked to the viewscreen for a closer look at the planet below. It looked no different from five feet away than it did fifteen, but somehow he felt a closer connection to it.
[Ensign Hok to bridge, request permission to depart aboard shuttlecraft Fortune.]
“Permission granted. Inform us as soon as you arrive on the surface.”
-=Nearby, aboard a cloaked Romulan vessel=-
“They’ve just launched a shuttle, Commander.”
Taris simply could not believe her luck. Not only had they arrived at Lethus IV completely undetected by any Federation sensor nets, but of all ships to be sent by the Federation, it was the Serendipity that filled the viewscreen before her. Today she would have her cake and eat it too.
“Excellent. Track the shuttle, it will lead us directly to the Hugreti artifact.”
Taris was positively filled with delight at all the possibilities before her. Should she ambush the away team and take the artifact? Should she attack the Serendipity and capture its crew? Perhaps she should just wait here, patiently, while Starfleet’s scientists determined how to use the Hugreti device, and then take it from them.
Unfortunately for her, none of the Warbird’s science officers had been loyal to her cause, and as such they had all been terminated. Even if she did steal the artifact she doubted anyone on this ship had the intelligence to determine what exactly it was.
For that reason, she would wait and let the Federation team do all the work.
The one thing she did know was that any attempt by the Serendipity to leave this system with the artifact would have to be stopped. If they escaped for Earth, she would never get a second chance at this.
-=Shuttlecraft Fortune=-
“Rada, you did pack our little scan thingie, right?” Reece asked, as he looked through his bag. Rada Dengar waved the device at Dabin.
“You’re a lifesaver. Say, is it just me, or did Pointy seem to be all up a tree today? If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s spooked.” Reece was directing his question toward Lair Kellyn but she did not answer, and only continue staring silently at the wall as she had been since the moment they'd boarded the shuttle.
“Commander Salvek knows the likelihood of someone having intercepted the message regarding the Hugreti is high. He is right to be on guard,” Blane interjected.
“This is Federation space, baby. If anyone tries to bring the funk down on us, we just call for backup right?”
Blane, who was seated in the copilot seat next to Hok, turned and shook his head. “The Federation cannot risk drawing the attention of our enemies, or allies, by diverting a large force to this region. That’s why it is us, and us alone.”
Reece looked up at the ceiling for a moment, as if calculating something in his head. “Ok, so, let’s play what if. What if you were somehow watching the Serendipity and saw it launch a shuttle. What would you do?”
“If it were a Ferengi raiding party, they would probably avoid the mother ship, let the shuttle lead them to the prize, then ambush the away team.” Hok stated.
“That’s the logical move.” TC added. “Why risk a battle with the Sera when you can simply kill a small away team? It’s a good tactic.”
Dabin Reece gulped. Rada Dengar seemed lost in thought. He was probably, Dabin guessed, trying to determine which race was most likely to show up and kill the away team.
The Ferengi would want the artifact for monetary gain, the Romulans and Cardassians for the chance to expand their power, and the Klingons needed an excuse to kill like Dabin Reece needed one to dance and sing.
“We’ll be landing in thirty seconds, Commander Blane,” Hok warned.
“Everyone check your sidearms, and keep an eye out while we are down there,” Blane knew it was his responsibility to see everyone came back to the ship alive, and he intended to make sure everyone did.
Dabin Reece took one more glance at his phaser, saw it was set to minimal stun, and decided to up it just a bit to heavy stun. If anyone attacked he intended to make sure only one shot was needed to incapacitate him or her.
With a small thump, Hok set the shuttle down.
“Keep the engines warm in case we need to make a hasty retreat,” TC warned.
Hok opened the rear door, and the away team stepped out onto the surface.
“Blane to Serendipity, we are on the surface. Will contact again when we find the device.”
[Acknowledged,] Salvek answered.
“Over there,” Reece directed with his tricorder. They approached the opening in the ground where the digging had been taking place. Sure enough, exactly where they had construction crew had left it, was the box with Hugreti markings.
“Are we ready for this then?” Rada asked. He held out the scanner towards Reece, awaiting his next move.
“I guess that’s why we built it,” Dabin said. He took the scanner from Rada and activated it. The device cycled through millions of frequencies looking for the one that would allow them to see inside the box.
Blane kept scanning the horizon for signs of trouble as Rada and Dabin fussed over the results.
“Was that something?”
“Nope, static.”
“Have you considered perhaps just shooting the thing?” Blane asked. The longer they stood here pouring over scan results, the more vulnerable their position felt.
The hills nearby provided any attacker with a high ground advantage, and the recent excavation left the Sera team with nothing in the way of cover to hide behind. All they had was the shuttle nearby.
“Blane to Serendipity. We are scanning the device. Nothing to report yet. No signs of trouble.”
Salvek once again confirmed receipt of the message. Hok kept his tricorder fixed on the hills, looking for signs of life, as Blakeslee aboard ship kept the sensors trained on space around them, looking for any enemy ships. All the while keeping in mind that if a cloaked ship were out there, he wouldn’t see it.
Reece and Dengar’s scanner beeped at last, fixing on a frequency. The Hugreti box responded with a click.
“Hello, what have we here?” Reece asked.
**********************
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012