Opening Old Wounds - Pt 1

Posted on 23 Mar 2012 @ 2:40am by Commodore Da`nal of the House of Varal

1,600 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: M8-A: Kzinti War - Recon from Hell
Location: Ready Rm

In the time between his meeting with Kretorg and the staff briefing he had called he wanted to find out for himself what had happened on the Kzinti ship.

Entering his ready room Lance was there with the orders that he had ordered prepared and was laying the padds on his desk.

"Have Aeyren, Ens. Ba'al, and Lt. Soran from the Dama report here immediately."

"You got it."

While Lance stepped around the corner to summon everyone Da`nal set to scanning and endorsing the transfer orders.


[Shuttle bay of the Achilles]

"What the hell do you mean, I can't get those parts?" Niemi stated angrily towards a engineer "I just need minor parts for my shuttle, damn it."

"Ma'am, as I said, we're in a conflict against a hostile enemy and we need all these parts just in case the ship damaged" returned the Engineer

"Oh spare me that standard BS line, hun" Niemi return as friendly as she could muster at that moment in time "it's not like I'm asking for the keys to the car from our beloved father, the captain. I just need parts, to keep my lovely shuttle up and running right. Plus, who is to say, that I might be asked nicely, that my Gou'ald in some sort of mission. She is cloak capable, and none of the shuttles here have that. But, knowing my luck as of late, it's next to none then slim."

The Engineer just sighed as he crossed his arms and shook his head "Ma'am, with all due respect..."

"Whoa whoa whoa" Ba'al cutting off the man knowing that he was hiding behind military Regs and standards, and she knew that he wasn't going to back down from that, so she quickly changed tact and hopefully her tact worked.

"Don't you dare bring that stuff here, just because I hold a rank higher then yours, doesn't change the fact that we're two people having a simple chat over parts. I don't like using rank and all that jazz, while I'm in office and out and about, hun. I want to keep this friendly and down to earth. So, with that said, all I'm asking again, is what can you do for me on getting these parts I requested a few ago?"

Time seemed to tick by and took forever, which, Ba'al, began to wonder if he was going to continue to stand behind the military code of ethics, but when the man answered; she let a sigh of relief.

"Well, ma'am," the engineer stated, but Niemi knew he was going to still keep it respectful "regs are regs, but, I think we can manage something for you. I think, once I go over the supplies inventory, we might have what you’re looking for. But, you'll own me, if we do."

Ba'al smiled and nodded her head "Oh you can count on that, hun."

When the Engineer turned and departed Ba'al turned around and stepped inside her shuttle. She knelt down and open an panel on the floor and was about to start working on her beloved ship, when Niemi's badge beeped to life. With a sigh, she sat back and answered it.

"Ba'al here. Go ahead" trying to sound joyful, even if she wasn't, she listened to what Lance had to say about meeting with the captain.

"Okay, I'll be there." She stated and the badge went dead "Damn. Hun."

"Yes, mistress" returned the shuttle's computer

"Looks like we're going to get those parts, but I have a meeting with the father of the ship" Ba'al stated happily towards her ship.

"Understood mistress. Standard computer lock out measures?" questioned the computer

"Of course, hun. But, be friendly to the engineers here, they bust their tails off. So, if one of them get a wild hair and want to install those parts, let them. But, keep an eye on them closely. I trust them enough for the work, but I don't trust them that much. Maintain security protocols. Any unwanted plants of bugs. Stand dealings on the perp and the bug." Ba'al stated

"Understood, mistress. Security measure altered as ordered. Standard transport for unknown tracking or spying device into icy depths of the void activated. Person’s biological information shall be recorded and then transported away from craft. Have fun with your meeting, Mistress." the computer returned

With that, Ba'al, nodded her head, as she rose up and made a beeline to the captain's ready room.


[Captain's ready room]

When the Orion who, happen to look like an Troll from earth's myth, stepped out of the lift, she turned and headed to the captain's ready room. Stepping up to the door and moving her slender hand to pressed the door chime, and when she heard the captain reply she entered. Again she looked left and right, out of habit, making sure, everything was still looking the same, which, from the look of things, they were. Before she turned to look at the captain and the others. Ba'al, arched her brow over her right eye, and wondered what the deal was here, before she took a seat.

"So, captain" Ba'al stated with a somewhat friend tone of voice and smile upon her lips as she tested the captain with her blunt type of humor "is this a house call or something in a way of a party. If it's the latter, then, well, I'll have to go back to the Gou'ald to get the drinks and we'll party like a rock star."

The door chime sounded before Danal responded. "Soran reporting as ordered." She announced over the com.

Da`nal merely grinned at the counselors gile. "Enter."

Ayren was just on her way to meet with Ciara, but then made an about turn to get to Da'nal's ready room. The other meeting would have to wait. The door was just closing as she approached, but just in time she stopped it with her hand and stepped inside behind Soran.

Da`nal motioned Ba'al and Ayren to the couch and Lt. Soran to the chair at the end of the coffee table while he simply leaned up against the end of his desk.

"Lt. Soran, thank you for coming on such short notice. I spoke with Captain Kretorg and he informed me you had been rescued from a Kzinti warship during a raid by the Dama. The Captain and XO informed me that what you witnessed was...disturbing. This is why I asked both Ens. Ba'al and Ms. Kelan here. We will be going after the Kzinti to recover the Dama's crew and the other life signs we detected. Can you tell us anything about what the Kzinti are up to in this region?"

Soran gave him the hundred yard stare, as she swallowed any number of angry remarks and retorts. "Torturing women, Captain." She said at last. "I don't know if it’s a command from higher up or something they do for fun, but they took human and near human women from the Onedin, and then they tortured us. They killed them and they ate them." Every word dripped with suppressed rage. "Maybe they’re trying to see how we work. Maybe they were just devising new recipes. I don't know."

When Niemi heard this, her mind, was already turning with several possible out-comes, plus, most of which were profitable for her, if anything. Of course, she knew nearly next to nothing about the Kzinti, except her brief encounter, hear say from passing cargo haulers, and what Starfleet had on them from their cousin the Caitian, but the latter of that information, she had zipped through, for she thought it was a bit dry and had no real use for her. Yet, Ba'al, could careless as long as she was going to get paid for this and the use of her shuttle. Until then, she'll listen closely and voice her thoughts when she felt the time was right to speak.

Da`nal had known that the Kzinti had thought the human species was beneath them from the histories, apparently their defeat all those centuries ago had not changed that perception. However the Lieutenant's reply was not the specifics he was looking for. "I realize this must be difficult, but if the Kzinti had some purpose I have to know what that is. You said they took women. No men were taken prisoner? Was the torture to extract information?"

Well she couldn’t say she hadn't be warned. Kretorg had said the Achilles’ captain would want to pick the scabs of her time on the Kzinti ship. "They didn't ask me any questions, captain, and I was second officer on the Onedin. I think there mission was..." she struggled to find the words “…More scientific. There weren't any men that I saw. Nor did I see any of the obviously non-human staff, or the Deltan. It was humans and me. No Vulcan’s, none of the Andorian’s, or the Bolian. They could have died in the attack I suppose."

She realized she was drifting off, and forced herself back to the facts. I woke up in the brig, from there; I was taken to some sort of processing room I guess. I was examined, stripped, and then thrown in a room with five others, all female, all human. They took Natalie first. She was still a student nurse. I didn't see, but we were told she was going to be dissected. When they opened the door again, she'd been gutted, and jointed. They’d even eaten bits of her... "

TBC

 

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