An urgent issue

Posted on Tue Sep 17th, 2024 @ 8:18pm by Captain Alec Hunter & Commander Marissa Hunter & Lieutenant Commander Shauna Callaghan & Lieutenant Commander Amanda "Mandy" Hunter-Corelli & Lieutenant JG Danica Hunter

5,169 words; about a 26 minute read

Mission: Welcome Home Stanger

Mandy nearly ran Shauna down as she ran into the ready room unannounced right as Shauna exited.

The commotion did not go unnoticed by Marissa who was in the Captain's chair at the moment or most everyone else on the bridge.

As she approached him she immediately started scanning him with a tricorder.

Alec had exited the ready room and saw the near collision. He looked to Mari. "Do we need stop signs?" He asked as he noticed Mandy scanning him with a tricorder. "What are you doing Mandy? I'm me." He protested.

"That's not what I'm worried about. " Mandy said. "Please sit down in the ready room and hold still."

Mari jumped up. "Station sensors apparently picked up something out near Remen about an hour ago."

Mandy nodded. "That explains the message I received a few minutes from HQ. " It came coded to me. "You need to stay as calm as possible and hold still."

[Same time- Quarters of S'anra on the station]

S'anra sat nervously in on her bed. Ever since she had learned that she was part Vulcan and what her father had done to her mother, she knew she had to do everything she could to help the Federation. But her father's station in the Tal'Shiar complicated things. Things had to be handled carefully and in this case indirectly. She'd picked up a piece of intel that she had to get to Starfleet... but she couldn't do it directly. She'd reached out to a contact on Vulcan, that then passed the message on to Vulcan high command. She knew it got that far. She only hoped it made it to the appropriate people in Starfleet and then back out to certain other people in time.

[Back on the Ares Bridge]

At this point Mari had been running back and forth between the bridge and ready room. An urgent text only message was sent to her console and she just happened to catch it.

"Crap!... Helm...we need to detach from the station. Set coordinates for.....wherever....as long is nothing is within a quarter parsec. Do it now! Red Alert."

Shauna took her place as the ship’s departure was ordered, not being privy to whatever was going on she could only hazard a guess given the orders. Noticing the ship’s Counsellor on the bridge she motioned to Dani. “Counsellor...”

With her schedule worked out Dani had taken some time to be on the bridge, she had been settled in a seat when the commotion had begun, but given her aunt’s concern over her father, and Commander Callaghan’s behest she made her way across to the Ready Room to see what she could do to help.

“Doctor...” She looked at Mandy. “What can I do to help?”

Mandy stepped back out onto the bridge away from where she had seated Alec for a moment and lowered her voice. "Keep the Captain calm. We have reason to believe there may have been a subdermal explosive implanted in him...someplace."

She returned to Alec and continued to scan him with the tricorder.

Alec looked at Mandy as she hovered around him tricorder in hand. ""Alright Mandy, joke's gone far enough. Time to stop. A subdermal explosive implanted on me. Where is this information coming from?"

"It's not a joke. I received a message ten minutes ago from Starfleet HQ. They got the intel from Vulcan Intel."

Her tricorder beeped. "There it is." Everyone back up.

"Mandy I hardly think its going to matter if we back up or not if that goes off." Mari said.

"It will when I place a force field around the Captain and I. We'll be the only ones you have to mop up if I mess this up." Mandy replied.

Alec was thinking when Mandy said the info came from Vulcan Intel. *Valesca.* he thought as a slight smile played on his lips. She was commander of the Romulan warbird Makar and an old Intel friend.

Dani was standing firmly at her father’s side. “I’m not going anywhere either, I’m just getting to know my father I’m not going to lose him now.” She offered Alec a warm smile.

Alec shook his head at Dani, "No Dani, I appreciate your loyalty but do as Mandy says and move back with Mari and the others." He looked to Mari, "Be ready to raise the force field around us."

“But Dad...” Dani paused seeing the look on Alec’s face, he wasn’t speaking just as her father, but as her Commanding Officer. “Yes Sir” She moved back worriedly watching, she couldn’t lose him, not now or ever.

"It will all be fine Dani. We can laugh at this over dinner." Alec assured his daughter before looking at Mandy, "Alright Mandy, let's continue."

As his wife, Mari wanted to jump in there with Alec and Mandy as much as Dani did. As his XO, she knew she had to stay back, the safety of the ship and crew were at risk and they were at red alert.

Once everyone was clear Mandy continued: "Computer I need a 2 meter diameter force field around the Captain and I."

She took a deep breath. "I'd do this in sickbay, but a site to site transport could actually trigger it. Have stasis dish here. Is soon as I get it out of you I can drop it in there and it should hold it in stasis and stop any detination.

Alec saw Mari's worried face and he knew what she was thinking. "He gave her a wink. "It will be fine Mari. Mandy's got this." To Mandy he asked. "How the hell did I get this inside me? Tell me that."

TAG Mandy

Dani was standing trying to keep her emotions in check, on duty she was supposed to be detached from personal relationships, as was expected in the Drax Academy as well as that of Starfleet.

Alec glanced over Mandy's shoulder and saw Dani doing her best to stay calm in the wake of this situation. "Breathe Dani. Don't want you passing out. Mandy's got enough to deal with." He joked.

Dani offered a brief smile and a nod. “I’m not going to pass out. I’m not going anywhere until you’re out of danger.”

Alec nodded, "Good girl. Holding you to the no passing out Dani."

Shauna was watching the exchange from where she stood in-front of the centre seat. “We’re far enough from the Starbase and anything else now Captain.” She looked towards the helm Officer. “Bring is to a full stop, I want this ship as steady as a rock until the Commander has finished.”

"Good Shauna," Alec replied as he waited for Mandy to begin the procedure.

With the forcefield in place Mandy began. "This might hurt a little. Hey, remember that time we were up in our tree fort back home? That time you didn't want your stupid little sister up there with you and you tried to push me out, but instead I ended up pushing you out and you fell and broke this arm? Remember how bad that hurt?

Alec eyed Mandy as she brought up a childhood memory. "I remember Mandy. I also remember how much trouble you got in. Is this your subtle way of saying that this is going to hurt as bad or worse?"

"It's very close to the original fracture of your humerus. So you'll have to let me know. Good thing I know Karate." Without saying anything else she hit his arm hard with a sharp chop. He hears his bone break with a loud crack."

"There, it's disabled...sorry, I had to crush the device. Attempting to disable it any other way would have set it off. So was that just as bad or worse?"

Alec bit back a yell as Mandy without warning broke his arm. He hears the bone break. It takes a few seconds for him to be able to speak. "For Christ's sake Mandy! That hurts much worse. Are you sure you, this was the only way to disable the device?" He questions his sister, his arm hanging limply at his side.

"Short of beaming your arm into space, yes. Hold still....there..." I've removed it. " He hears a clink into a petrie dish."

"There it's out. Computer lower forcefield."

The field around them lowers.

"A few minutes with the bone mender and you'll be as good as new."

At that moment the proximity detector started going off. "Captain...I think we just did what they wanted us to do. 3 warbirds closing in on the station. I think they intended to get this ship away from the station one way or another, either by blowing us up, or making us fly clear!" Mari yelled. "Continue red alert!"

"Well, I am grateful you didn't have to beam my arm into space. I've become quite attached to it." Alec replies just as the proximity detector goes off. "Bone mender will have to wait Mandy. Mari, shields up, weapons online. Attack pattern, Gamma, Delta. Not that it will do any good but warn those ships away."

"Gamma Delta it is! " Mari replied. "Captain, we have 3 fighters on board. Corelli..." she looked at Mandy..."Frank... has been training a couple of other pilots. They should launch from out here. If the station comes under fire they can try to draw the fire away so the fighters on the station can launch, it will be difficult for them to launch under fire."

Alec listened to what Mari had to offer. "Launch the fighters." He replied without hesitation not looking at Mandy. " Let them harass the warbirds to give the station fighters a chance to launch. Mari, we'll cover the fighters launched from here." He glanced at Shauna, "Ship status Shauna?"

Shauna looked towards Alec. “As ready as she’ll ever be Captain, shields are up, and weapons are ready. All stations report ready.”

Dani took a seat, she’d had to ramp up her mental ‘shields’ when Mandy had broken Alec’s arm, the sudden jolt of pain she’d sensed had made her jump as well.

Mandy swallowed her protest of Frank being sent out with the fighters. It was part of his new position, but she didn't have to like it. Instead she pulled out a hypo and injected it into Alec's arm. "That will block most of the pain. She looked at the proximity monitor. "At current speed we have a couple of minutes until we engage. Sit down and let me do some triage. I need to at least get that set and in a sling...not to mention, you're bleeding from where I pulled the chip out."

Mari nodded. "Confirmed...at current speed 2 minutes 34 seconds to engagement rage. I concur with the doctor. Sit down Captain."

"Do your triage Mandy. What I want to know was how that device got inside me." Alec asked his sister as the Ares sped back to the station. “Shauna, take Ops and monitor the power distrubution board, Don't want to be without power once the shooting starts."

“Aye Sir” Shauna nodded as she took over at Ops. “Power distribution is looking good Captain.”

Alec nodded, "Good. make sure it stays that way."

"Alright, I have enough time to set it, stop the bleeding and rig a sling." Mandy set the arm without warning him. **POP** "You need to come down to sickbay as soon as possible to have the bone mended." She ran a dermal regenerator over the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Fighter's launching Captain!" Mari yelled. "One minute until we're in weapons range!"

Mandy took some gauze out of her kit and wrapped her brother's arm into a crude sling to immobilize it. "Bone mending won't take long, but I can't do it here."

"You really need to work on your bedside manner Mandy." Alec said through gritted teeth before he addressed Mari. "Mari, warn the warbirds off just one time. If they don't break off and move away, when we're in weapons range fire on them. Pass the same word to the fighters."

Mari nodded. "Open a secured channel to Alpha squad....Alpha squad, We're about to give our guests a warning. If they don't heed it, open fire on them. Your main goal though is to make sure the fighters from the station can launch. Draw fire away from the station's launch bays."

She cleared her throat. "This is a general broadcast to our Romulan guests. Retreat back into the neutral zone immediately. If you fire we will consider it an act of war. This is your only warning."

The response was static.

"That's answer enough for me." Alec said as he looked at the bridge crew. "We're going in, guns blazing. Do your jobs and we’ll get through this."

Dani looked towards her father. “Captain, what if that’s what the Romulans want you to do? How do we know there aren’t more out there? They could wipe us all out at once.”

“I’m not detecting any signs of distortion from extra cloaked ships Captain” Shauna looked towards Alec. “Not that it means anything, they could be out of sensor range.”

Alec smiled at Shauna, "Send a message to the fleet. Let them know we have engaged the enemy."

“Aye Sir” Shauna nodded and relayed the message giving Dani an understanding smile.

"I've got to get back to sickbay and prepare for injuries or casualties. You get down there at your first opportunity or I will hunt you down! That is an order, Captain." Mandy exclaimed as she stepped off into the lift.

"All 3 warbirds are charging weapons Captain!" Mari announced. "Our fighters have launched."

"I'll be down as soon as I can Mandy." Alec promised as he stood, his arm in a sling. "Computer play Holding out for a Hero." Broadcast to the station, our fighters and the Romulans." A moment later the first notes of the song, came over the com.

Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where's the streetwise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed
Late at night, I toss and I turn
And I dream of what I need
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night
He's gotta be strong, and he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight
I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light
He's gotta be sure, and it's gotta be soon
And he's gotta be larger than life
Larger than life

The rest of the song was drowned out by static as the Ares rushed into the fray. "Mari, fire phasers as well as torpedoes. Attack pattern, "Delta, Omega three."

Shauna couldn’t help but smile at the choice of music, she made her way from station to station helping out wherever she was needed to help.

All Dani could do was to hold on and hope they came out of this unscathed.

Mari rolled her eyes a bit at his music. She had forgotten about his passion for late 20th century music. Through the 1980's were a good decade for music. She was there. She made a mental note to tell him about Live Aid sometime.

Mari jumped up and ran over to the tactical console which was up until now manned by a panicky-looking fresh out-of-the-academy cadet since they were, until a half hour ago doing maintenance while docked at the station. At the same time, she glanced at Dani, having the same momentary thought that she did that perhaps the Romulans were provoking them opening fire might be what they want. Maybe Alec was being a bit gun happy as a result of his time with the Romulans. <> she thought with a quick nod at Dani.

"It's ok Haskins, let me take this one, man station B and watch for any possible cloaked ships."

What she was about to say was probably going to make him angry and she wasn't specifically defying his orders yet, but it was her job to keep him in check. "Federation protocol says we fire a warning shot first Captain!"

Alec turned to her, His face neutral as he walked to the tactical station. "Where Mari? Where does protocol say that? We warned them to break off. Is that not a warning?" Alec countered his voice even an conversational.

Mari didn't respond to his question directly but just nodded and said: "Phasers and torpedos away...Delta Omega 3".

As they opened fire on all 3 of the vessels at once, per the attack pattern she said bluntly. "First shots taken."

Alec sighed, It seemed he was doing an excellent job of pissing off the people he cared the most for. Mandy and now Mari. "Thank you, Commander." He replied with equal bluntness, knowing their was going to be a discussion later. If there was a later.

Shauna watched the exchange with interest, she had no doubt there’d be some private conversations going on later. She exchanged glances ships Counsellor, no doubt she’d have her hands full as well.

Alec spoke to Mari again, "Have the Romulans broken off their attack?"

Mari is about to reply when all 3 Romulan ships open fire on the station, concentrating on the deflector array.

"Does that answer your question?" Our fighters are moving into attack formation. The station's fighters are getting ready to launch."

"Concentrate our fire on the Romulan ships. Keep them from firing on the fighters as well as the station. Evasive pattern Hunter +Delta Gamma 3." Alec spoke crisply.

"Targeting their disruptors and torpedo launch tubes. " Mari replied. They were indeed going to have a conversation about this but she wasn't sure at the moment who was right and who was wrong.

One of the fighters fired and hit the warp core of one of the Romulan ships. "Enemy target at three O'clock just took a hit to their warp core. They're going to blow....less than a minute." Mari added.

"Can we beam the crew into the cargo bays?" Alec replied in response to Mari's statement even are the Ares bobbed and weaved to avoid incoming enemy fire.

"Only if we drop our shields. That will paint a big red bullseye on us if we do that Captain. We're opening ourselves up to taking fire from the other ships and being caught with our shields down when that warp core blows."

"Can we drop our side shields to transport that crew over? Turn the Ares away from the other Romulan ships? Alec questioned. Knowing their options were extremely limited.

There wasn't time for conversation the Romulan warp core was going to blow in about 30 seconds at best. The Romulan Vessel had already lost its shields.

"Helm, set course 245 mark 15. Be ready to step on it! "

The ship slowly turned its side towards the Romulan vessel.

"Transporter room be ready."

"Dropping port aft shields NOW! Transporter room NOW!"

Alec counted to eight and then said "Raise shields and get us out of here!" As the Romulan ships engines flared and exploded.
He called down to the transporter room. "This is the captain, how many did we get?"

The other two less damaged Romulan vessels suddenly went to warp and retreated as the warp core on the severally damaged vessel exploded.

"Only 8 sir. It was really strange; the transporters would only lock on to 8 Romulans. All were actually confined in a small area near one of their aft cargo bays. My scans could detect up to another 100 Romulan life signs on board, but for some reason we couldn't lock on to them."

"Thank you. The CMO will be down shortly to examine them. For now, keep them in the cargo bay with a full security detail." Alec stated as he ended the contact. He looked to Mari. "You heard. We got eight."

"Eight...and it's strange that we could only lock on to those eight in a confined area. We need to get down there to talk to them. " She looked at her sensors. The other ships are retreating. I think we can stand down to yellow alert for now. You need to get that arm fixed."

"Strange is one way to put it Mari. Odd is another, like the Romulans wanted us to beam those eight aboard. I want Mandy to scan them completely to make sure they don't have anything on or in them that can hurt this crew and ship." Alec answered firmly then added, "Yes, go to yellow alert. I'll get the arm fixed later."

“Maybe we should get a look at these Romulans?” Dani looked at her father curiously. “I should be able to tell if there’s something off about them.”

Alec nodded at Dani’s words, "Good point Dani, come along with us and let's go see these Romulans and if they are hiding anything. Mari, have Mandy meet us there."

Mari nodded and contacted Mandy. "She said she'll meet us there." Let's go great our guests."

Alec nodded, "Let's go and see what we can find out." He looked to Dani, "Join us Dani. Something odd about all this." He commented as he headed for the lift with Mari and Dani close behind.

Dani nodded and stood up from her seat joining her father and Marissa.

Once inside the lift, Alec spoke to Dani. "See if you can pick up anything from the Romulans. This isn't right. Only getting eight out of a hundred. There has to be a reason, and I want to know what it is."

Dani nodded. “I’ll do my best Sir.” She offered her father a smile.

"I know you will Dani. Never a doubt in my mind." Alec answered his daughter.

They step off of the lift and enter the cargo bay. They can see eight Romulan officers. Upon inspection, at least some of them don't appear to be fully Romulan. The officer with the senior most rank insignia is a female. While she has some Romulan features, her ears are only slightly pointed and she has dark, Betazoid looking eyes.

Alec came to a stop in front of her. Without preamble he addressed her. "I'm Captain Hunter and these are my officers. My XO." As he nodded to Mari on his left, "And my Chief Counselor." As he nodded to Dani on his right. "How is it only eight of you were able to be transported?"

The officer nodded. "I am Sub Commander Parissa. I am grateful that you were able to rescue us. It is my hope that with your help they can be stopped before it is too late. The eight of us were in the brig. They locked us up because our telepathic abilities kept them from taking over our bodies and minds. None of us are pure Romulan. The pure Romulans lost their telepathic abilities overtime, unlike our ancestral brothers the Vulcans. Much of your Federation is in grave danger Captain. When the parasites take over, they emit some sort of personal shielding. Transporters won't work on them unless they allow it."

Dani gave Parissa a curious look. It was glaringly obvious to her that Parissa and the others were all terrified, they were doing a good job of hiding it though. “She’s telling the truth Captain.”

"Subcommander Parissa, what are these parasites you speak of? Where did your ship encounter them?" Alec asked as he glanced at Dani to get her take on the statement.

Dani stood waiting to hear more about the parasites. “Are the parasites detectable? As in by an empath?”

"They've saturated much of Romulan space, but the changes on our vessel started when we visited a Dilithium Mining station on one of the surviving moons of what used to be Romulus. We don't use Dilithium on our ships, as you probably know, but we do have multiple mining facilities throughout our space. My father was a Betazoid merchant and my mother was Romulan, her family owned one such facility. "

She looked at Dani. "You can't specifically detect them with empathy, or telepathy. They shield themselves from it because, from my observations it makes them uneasy, even ill. That's why the eight of us were in the brig. Aside from the fact that they couldn't or didn't want to take us over, we attempted a telepathic/empathic mutiny on the rest of the crew. There were actually a half dozen more of us that did not survive. That was 14 of us total, "

She looked back at the Captain. "You can only really detect them by the change in personality of the individual they have taken over and the fact that an empath or telepath will no longer be able to read their thoughts. They come across as...well...a void. Like a black hole. That in itself is unsettling. There are some races that can't be read of course, but this is worse than that. Void is the best explanation I have until you experience it.

Alec absorbed the information. "Thank you Subcommander. One other question, how do you defeat them? They must have a weakness that can be exploited."

Behind them the door opens and Mandy enters, but she remains quiet as she starts scanning the survivors as the questioning continues.

"I will defer to my mate, S'vdal for that question Captain. I came up through the ranks as a security officer. S'vdal is/was our chief science officer."

The officer that had previously seemed to be in quiet, Vulcan-like medication stepped up.

"I am S'vdal. We have no definitive answers on how to defeat them. It was my theory that a massive attack of psionic/telepathic/empathy energy, would at least weaken the parasites and perhaps free the minds of those they inhabit. But our small group of half-breeds were not enough. And they are indeed parasites, early on, various medical personnel were able to confirm that much, but they will block such scans with interference if they feel they are in danger of being discovered. I can also add to what Parissa has told you regarding Dilithium. They seem to like to consume it. Like food. Dilithium deposits through the Romulan territories have been mostly depleted. It is likely why they seek to, and may already have moved into Federation space."

"Well, that is a fine howdy do." Alec quipped at S'vdal's statement on the creatures. "You have both given us a lot to think and discuss." Alec replied. "I wonder if something could be done to the Dilithium to make it unappetizing to the creatures."

Mari shook her head. "Maybe. That would be quite the undertaking though."

Mandy finally chimed in. "If what they say about being able to detect the paristes on scans is true sure, all of them are clear and I'm not receiving any interference from any of them."

S'vdal nodded. "And you won't from us Doctor. But I did manage to store some of the data we received from a sister ship about scans they made early on. I knew that they were gathering the mixed breed officers up so I embedded it in a chip just under the skin behind my right ankle. You may remove the chip and study it if you wish."

Parissa spoke: "In return Captain, I have a small request. Since they threw us in the brig three days ago they have provided us with very little water and no food. We don't eat dilithium so they felt no need to feed us. Would you be able to provide some food and water for my people? And perhaps some blankets and pillows if you intend to keep us here in your cargo bay?"

Alec looked over at Mandy, 'Go ahead Doctor, remove the chip." To Parissa, "I will happily provide your people with food and drink as in fruit juices or water as well as blankets and pillows and even cots to sleep on. As the cargo bay is better than the brig."

"Thank you, Captain. " Parissa said.

"If you would just step over here for a moment Centruian, I'm going to momentarily separate you into a smaller containment field. I will then remove the data chip and return you to your group."

"Of course Doctor. Do you not trust us enough to come in here with all of us ?" S'vdal asked.

"It's not a matter of trust, Centurian, it's regulation." Mandy replied.

S'vdal nodded. "As my Vulcan father would say. That is logical."

He stepped aside . Mandy first separated him into his own field, then entered it with him and closed it again. She did the reverse after removing the chip and finally returned him to his group.

"I'll take a look at this and get back to you Captain." Mandy said formally, opting not to let the Romulans know that the Captain was her brother.

Dani looked towards her father. “Captain the Drax are more powerful than Betazoids, even though I’m half Drax the strength of my abilities would compare to a full breed Betazoid. If we do come up against any of these parasites then perhaps my abilities would come in useful.”

Before Alec could answer, a call came in from the bridge. Captain, Lt Cmdr Corelli and the fighters are preparing to return to the ship. They have retrieved the remains of three Romulans. Should they take them to the station or do you want them brought here?"

Marisa, who still officially retained command of the station, just nodded at Alec and silently mouthed, "Here is fine."

"Transport the bodies into Sickbay bridge. We can examine them there." Alec replied. He looked at Mari, "Done and Done."

"I'll go to the bridge to coordinate any repairs that we need from the battle. You..." She glared at Alec. "You get your arm fixed."

Without waiting Mari left for the bridge.

Mandy grinned. Making sure they were out of earshot of the Romulans, she added: "Oh oh...wife's orders... supersedes Captain's orders every time." Come on, it will take a few minutes for the fighters to come in and beam the bodies in. Let me fix the arm, it won't take long."

Alec stared at Mari as she glared at him and then turned on her heel and headed to the bridge. He shook his head slightly as he looked at Mandy and the big grin on her face. You find this all funny, don't you? I can't wait until you and what's his name get into some spat." He bantered acting more like a brother than captain.

Dani couldn’t help but smile as she followed on behind them, she was learning more about the kind of man her father was every moment, and she liked what she was seeing.

 

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