by Salvek, *O’Sullivan and Reece
81227.0200
Following Slowed to a Stop
-=Aboard the Romulan Ship=-
81227.0200
Following Slowed to a Stop
-=Aboard the Romulan Ship=-
Through the blue haze of the transporter beam, the interior of the Romulan ship began to take form, as did his crewmates. At Salvek’s side was Keiran O’Sullivan; behind him, four security officers, armed with phaser rifles, knives, photon grenades, and anything else they had a moment to grab before departing on the Polaris.
The corridor was dark, and for now at least, empty. Smoke billowed from a damaged power conduit, and the harsh red glow from the computer panels indicated that the ship was still on battle alert.
Ashton had beamed them within fifty meters of Arie’s life signs. The deck they were sent to housed the brig, which Salvek assumed was where Taris was holding Arie. Find the brig, find Arie, and get out before anyone was the wiser was what Salvek had hoped for. With a gesture of his hands, he motioned for Keiran to take two security officers down the corridor in one direction while Salvek went the other.
*And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye.* Keiran thought ironically, recalling the ancient song from Earth. With a wave of his rifle, Keiran and his team vanished down the hallway.
Salvek pressed himself tight up against the wall, hugging it close as he jogged, with his rifle held at the ready before him. The sounds of crackling energy from damaged equipment and alert klaxons mixed the thumping of his footfalls on the deck, and the beating of his own heart in his chest.
He glanced over his shoulder at Farnsworth, who was scanning with a tricorder. Farnsworth simply shook his head, indicating that he still couldn’t get a clear reading through all the interference.
Salvek turned back to the front, glancing at the names on each door as he jogged down the corridor. At each bend he would stop, lean slowly out to peer around the corner, and continue on when he saw the coast was clear. If he had had time and clear foresight, he would have replicated a Romulan uniform to wear. No one would have been able to tell him apart from any other member of the crew in the poor lighting.
After two minutes of searching, he came to a large, heavily reinforced door, marked brig. Farnsworth scanned through the door, as Salvek kept a cautious eye on their surroundings, looking for any signs of trouble.
To his dismay, he heard something, the sound of footfalls approaching rapidly.
“Ready weapons,” he warned, dropping to a knee, along with the rest of his team. The footfalls became louder and louder, until Salvek caught sight of a tall figure in a Starfleet uniform coming around the corner.
“Whoa! It’s just me,” Keiran exclaimed, as he skidded to a stop and held his hands up in the air. “Looks like ye got to Scotland first.”
“I beg your pardon?” Salvek asked.
“Never mind, I’ll explain later.”
Farnsworth returned to his scan. “I’ve only got one life sign in there, and it’s Romulan.” He said with a shake of his head.
“It could be interference masking her life signs. Secure the room Commander O’Sullivan.”
Salvek and Keiran took up position on either side of the door, with security officers right beside them, all training their weapons on the doorway.
“All weapons set to minimum stun?” Salvek asked one last time, lest anyone accidentally fire into the room and hit his daughter. Keiran and the other glanced at their power levels, and nodded.
Salvek tapped the control panel, and the door slid open with a great hiss. He held his phaser ready, but saw no one as the door opened, then he looked at the floor.
Farnsworth has been correct, their was one guard in the room, and he was already out cold on the floor.
“At ease,” Salvek ordered. “Search the cells.”
Salvek led the others into the room, looking in each cell, but finding them all empty. Keiran went to the computer panel, setting his rifle down on it, as he looked at the display, then up to the ceiling. The Romulan lay at his feet, with a trickle of green blood dripping from his head. There was also a spatter of blood on the console.
“She was here, her DNA is in this cell,” Farnsworth said. “But she’s gone now.”
“Commander Salvek, would’ya hav’a look at this please?” Keiran asked. Salvek walked up beside the Irishman, who pointed up at the ceiling. “Ruptured power conduit, cut off power to the forcefields. And it looks like the Romulan got a hell of a blow from the computer panel, probably during our attack on the ship.” Keiran indicated the drops of blood on the display.
Salvek looked at the information on the screen, and knew exactly who had brought it up and why.
“Good girl,” Keiran said with a grin. “If I was the nine year old daughter of the two greatest theoretical warp engine researchers in the galaxy, I’d be headed there too.”
“How far?” Salvek asked, examining the map Arie had left on the screen.
“The shuttlebay is two decks down. Looks like she took the service conduits.”
“She’s headed for the shuttlebay,” Salvek informed the others. “Follow us.”
Salvek led the team out of the brig, and as he turned the first corner, the bulkhead next to him exploded. Salvek was thrown to the deck, and rolled out of the way as the next disruptor blast screeched above his head.
“Everyone down!” He heard Keiran shout, as the corridor filled with the orange glow of Federation weapons. The lone Romulan dodged Keiran’s shot, and tried to fall back as he realized he was outnumbered six to one. Farnsworth caught the man with a shot to the back of his leg, and he fell to the deck with a groan.
“Drop the weapon!” Keiran warned, as he closed the gap between himself and the Romulan with several long strides.
The Romulan threw his weapon away, and rolled over onto his back.
“On yer feet!” O’Sullivan shouted. Behind him, Farnsworth was helping Salvek up off the deck. The Vulcan dabbed at a trickle of blood from his lip, but signaled that he was no worse for wear.
The Romulan held his hands up in surrender, but Keiran knew better than to trust the man any father than he could throw him, no matter how far that may be.
“Intruder alert! Security to deck four!” The Romulan got out the warning, before Keiran could hit him with his phaser and knock him out cold. The red alert klaxons turned blue, and a new alarm sounded. Down the corridor in each direction, forcefields began snapping into place.
"Damn," Keiran whispered.
-=Elsewhere=-
Arie tiptoed between the large storage crates, heading for the shuttle on the far side of the bay. She had not yet figured out how she was going to traverse the twenty-meter space between herself and the shuttle without the two Romulans in the room noticing. She had the weapon she had taken from the guard in the brig, but she didn’t know if she could hit them both before one of them had a chance to shoot at her.
As she contemplated her next move, a klaxon began to sound, echoing through the bay. She instinctively lowered herself to the ground behind the crate and gripped the disruptor tighter. Then she heard the voice of Taris over the loudspeakers.
[This is Taris. A Federation team is attempting to free the prisoner. All officers report to deck four. Leave no survivors.]
Arie heard the sound of the bay doors opening, and peeked out between the supply crates to see that both of the guards had left the room. She took off for the shuttle, and walked up the ramp into the cockpit. She scanned the controls quickly, tore off an access panel, and began pulling on wiring.
-=Deck Four=-
“Salvek to Ledbetter.”
[Go ahead.] Came Ashton’s all too cheerful voice.
“We are trapped on deck four. Can you beam us to the shuttlebay on deck six?”
[Sorry Commander, but they’ve gotten their shields back up. I can’t transport you right now.]
“Very well. How long until the Serendipity arrives?”
[Four more minutes.]
“We are going to deck six. Inform Captain Zanh we will need assistance at the main shuttlebay. Salvek out.”
Salvek tapped his badge to close the link, and turned to his men. “The hatch to the service conduits is just beyond the first forcefield. We’ll set photon grenades to destroy the emitters.”
Farnsworth set up two grenades adjacent to each emitter, and when he was ready, the group dropped back as far as they could, and covered their heads. When the timer expired, the grenades exploded, sending pieces of shrapnel hurtling at the away team. The deck around them shook and everyone tumbled to the ground in a heap.
Salvek quickly scrambled back to his feet.
"Anyone injured?" Salvek asked. Farnsworth pulled a shard out from his hip, holding one hand over the wound to stop the bleeding and his phaser in the other.
“I’ve had worse,” he answered.
“Into the conduit,” Salvek ordered. Keiran led the way, and Salvek brought up the rear to make sure everyone made it in safely. Just as he was climbing through the hatch, he saw the corridor beyond the forcefields in each direction flood with Romulans as they converged on the away team’s position.
“Commander Taris, the Starfleet intruders are heading down through the conduits,” One of the Romulans spoke into a communicator on his wrist.
Salvek did not hear her reply, as he pulled the hatch closed behind him.
-=Romulan bridge=-
Taris slammed her fist down on the armrest.
“Any idea where they are going?” Taris asked through gritted teeth.
“They could be going anywhere Commander. Main engineering, one of the shuttlebays, and escape pod.”
“Can we transport them into space?”
“No Commander, transporters are off line.” Tolleth reported.
“Do they have Arie?”
Tolleth scanned the away team, but detected only the Vulcan and five humans. “No, she is not with them! She’s not in the brig either.”
“What? Where is she!” Taris leapt out of her chair and pushed Tolleth aside; looking at the internal security scans. “The shuttlebay! Lock the bay doors, and divert every hand to deck six. I’m going down there.”
“But Commander, the Serendipity is arriving any moment now!”
“And we are outgunned Tolleth. You know we cannot mount a fight against them now. The girl is our only hope. As long as we control her, the Serendipity will not dare destroy us. Stall them for as long as it takes to repair our weapons, and then we will send the Serendipity back home in pieces.”
-=Deck Six, Romulan ship=-
Salvek stepped off the last rung of the ladder. His away team stood huddled in the small chamber, waiting for the First Officer to give the word.
-------------------
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
*Commander Keiran O’Sullivan
Security Liaison,
The Alchemy Project
and
Commander Dabin Reece
Chief of Sciences
Currently in Command of the USS Serendipity
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
*Commander Keiran O’Sullivan
Security Liaison,
The Alchemy Project
and
Commander Dabin Reece
Chief of Sciences
Currently in Command of the USS Serendipity