SIM:A Rogue Amongst the Stars/Chapter 3
 A Rogue Amongst the Stars |
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Chapter 3
((Private Yacht, somewhere in the Shoals))
With the lectures and presentations at the conference wrapped for the day, Geoffrey Teller stifled a yawn as he sat aboard the Golden Wattle. The three Starfleet officers had decided to get away from the starport, and a private yacht tour to see a pod of gormaganders sounded like just the distraction they needed. They’d all changed into civilian wear, with Roshanara wearing a simple red dress--the same one in fact that she’d picked up from the Kreswick River Market with Tristam to wear for Mei’konda and Evan’s wedding last year.
Kinan next to her almost looked like she was still wearing her Starfleet tunic. She wasn’t--surprisingly, given her history of “all work, let’s not play”--but the tight brown skivvy wrap-around’s design looked suspiciously familiar, especially since her combadge had also remained on her chest. Anyone could have looked at her and assumed that dark brown might be a new Starfleet duty post colour. It didn’t help that she still had her head buried in a PADD, still checking up on cadet files and making sure they had been properly categorized by the spacedock’s staff.
Teller felt strangely uncomfortable out of uniform. It had become something of a second skin to him in his time at the academy and with the frequency that he damaged the garment, he never hung on to one set of them very long. His ‘off-duty’ attire consisted of two pairs of pants that didn’t entirely fit correctly and a painfully bright tropical themed shirt, apparently purchased when Teller and Wil Ukinix spent a memorable evening drinking the starport dry the last time he was here. He was mildly concerned the shirt would scare off the rare space beasties.
It still irked Teller that he was off ship as the Veritas once again spent a layover in the shipyards, being hammered back into shape for the second time in as many months. He trusted his team to get the work done in his absence but he still felt his place was aboard ship when she was hurting.
A pleasant, older voice filled the cabin.
Captain Thrustil: Off our port side you can just see the edge of the Sapphire Rifts. The plasma streamers are in full eruption right now so it’s quite a light show. We’ll be approaching the last reported position of the pod in just a few minutes so please find a comfortable spot near a viewport and get your holocameras ready folks!
Roshanara put down the PADD with her romance novel. At this rate, she’d never finish the damn book. Still, it wasn’t every day you got to see a space whale. She stood up and walked over towards the large port windows where Kinan and Teller already stood.
Rahman: You see anything?
Teller: Honestly, I think this shirt may’ve damaged my retinas. Don’t see a thing yet.
Kinan, however, was evidently responding on impulse and not actually paying attention.
Kinan: Mmhmm looks great.
Their patience was rewarded though as a dark form slowly took shape out of the haze. And then another and another, until there was nearly a dozen of the gigantic animals moving alongside them, dwarfing the tiny yacht. The gentle undulations of their large fins were enchanting to watch.
Rahman: It’s hard to imagine something so gorgeous was nearly driven to extinction.
The Trill finally glanced up, a dutiful swell of pride rising in her chest.
Kinan: Thanks to Starfleet’s efforts over the last two centuries, we’ve managed to stop that from happening.
The creatures were genuinely majestic and Teller’s breath caught. The effortless motion of such massive creatures briefly transfixed him and he drew closer to the viewport.
Teller: Never thought I’d see something swimming in the void. What absolutely beautiful creatures. I wish my sister was here, she’d love the colors. Probably make a holoportrait out of it.
Roshanara took out her holoimager.
Rahman: Well, let’s not have her miss out.
Teller: That’s great, Skipper, thanks. Think we can get the all?
The captain held the holoimager with one hand extended out for their “selfie.”
Rahman: Do we have something for Kinan to stand on?
Venroe shot the other spotted officer a dark frown.
Kinan: Yes, I’m *sure* you’re just loving this, aren’t you.
Teller: ::smiling broadly:: As I hope to have a career at the end of this trip, I have no comment and a shockingly bad memory.
Roshanara snapped a few shots before suddenly the yacht rocked hard, causing everyone to stumble on the deck. One of the gormaganders had gotten closer to the yacht and brushed the hull.
Thrustil: Damn space whales… ::He looked over at his guests from his helm controls and shrugged.:: What can I say, they aren’t exactly the brightest organisms in the galaxy.
Teller: Guy manages to fly us into the one thing in half a lightsecond and blames the whales? Captain, request permission to stage a mutiny.
Kinan:::amused:: Did you really just ask to stage a *mutiny* in front of your assignment officer?
Teller: ::smiling:: I did request permission, ma’am.
(Because that makes it better.)
But a clumsy whale looked to be just the start of some new trouble for the tour. It seemed the animal had bumped into the yacht because the pod had changed direction. They were fleeing something.
Roshanara was checking on the holoimager when she looked back up to see another starship coming in from the distance. It wasn’t very large, maybe the size of a Maquis raider.
Rahman: ...are there other tour groups operating today?
Their tour guide didn’t answer immediately, though, suddenly showing a look of terror on his face.
Thrustil: ...pirates.
He quickly began entering new coordinates and cursing under his breath.
Teller: Don’t need sensors to tell me that ship’s on an intercept course.
Kinan:::seriously:: I take it back, captain. Mister Teller should stage a mutiny.
The tiny yacht’s engines were no match for the raider, which quickly came into weapons range. Without an opening hail, the unidentified ship began firing its disrupters, sending sparks flying from the helm controls as Captain Thrustil was thrown back with severe burns. Roshanara ran over to check on the man but not before calling out to her chief engineer.
Rahman: Mr. Teller, take the controls!
Teller ran to the unfamiliar controls and was immediately confronted by several startling realities; their engines were already failing, the ship had no tactical systems to speak of, and the hull was already showing signs of critical damage.
Teller: Captain, we’re not flying this thing clear. Hulls already compromised aft of the engine compartment, I think they burned straight through.
Kinan: Communications are shot. I’m not certain I can call for help.
Without shields, it was hardly a “battle” as the raider fired another volley, leaving the yacht drifting dead in space.
The distinct sound of a transporter beam could be heard in the darkened interior, and Roshanara looked back at her former XO, who was now removing the combadge from her chest and sliding it into Thrustil’s jacket pocket.
Rahman: I don’t think we’re going to need those coms to find out who these people are…
Teller backed away from the controls as another shower of sparks erupted from what was formerly the comm system. Within moments, the yacht had been reduced to nothing more than a floating metal tube that could barely hold in the atmosphere. Teller’s misgivings about being on small ships were flaring, and he could feel adrenaline coursing through his veins. As the shimmer of the transporter beam from the pirate raider filled the cabin with light, Teller prepared himself for a fight.
Continue to Chapter 4