Prices Paid pt. 2

Posted on Thu Aug 25th, 2016 @ 8:27pm by Second Mate Quinton Beck

3,144 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Tenuous Grasp on Destiny
Location: Yr'zz Temple of Light/ Second Star
Timeline: May 10th 1128 2393

-Continued from “Prices Paid” -

{Temple of Light- Dimensional Aqueduct Array}

Taking the central path to the station interior had brought them to the heart of the small complex powering this impossible place. She had no clue what to expect, this place had provided little else but mysteries in its resistance to their intrusions. Despite the danger, she knew the answers lay ahead of her, and that was what she needed.

Kas walked without fear, confident in her stride a keen eye on the scanners and ground in front of her. Lights adorned the simple burnished brown walls every five meters. There was a tall glass viewport along the last stretch of corridor, it overlooked the machinery which held the ovoid universe with murky white walls in place. A light beam split from a central point beneath them shining upwards into the wide array at the top connected to the living portions of the station.

In the core of it all was the mini epicenter of a mini universe, the small structures and starship a small aspect of the space. It was beyond any science or comprehension Kas could hope to have understanding of. What they had thought to be a rudimentary Antimatter reactor and simple housing had turned into an elaborate array maintaining this universe. Four pillars of plasma fed into a core unit symmetrically spaced within them feeding the powerful pulse from the bottom into the top receiver. The white fiercely pulsing light at the edges of existence seethed in malevolence. Kas understood little, but took scans for their reference later. Akio would want every bit of data, Judah too.

The corridor had curved only once leading to single doorway well secured into the metallic rock strata. Terrence was fearful as he crept behind her, jumping at any sound even if it was his own. There were lights just like before, stopping right at the door, casting it in surreal light this far beneath the surface. A simple console eye level to Kas on the door had the unmistakable five finger shape for a handprint scan.

She considered it for a moment, scanning furiously. “It’s no projection, which makes sense, if something in this room needed attention you wouldn't want to be slowed by your own devices. Fala could probably get through this in five minutes, let’s go back and find Beck-”

An explosion sounded nearby, red lights dimmed into being as main power flickered off. Terrence yelped, his dark insecurities and fears plaguing him to no end. Kas was in action, she tapped the stud on her collar yelling.

=0= Captain! Fala! Any crew of the Second Star come in!
There was only silence on the open line.
{Bridge Second Star}

“There was an explosion?!” Dure snapped to attention glaring at the controls. The Exocomps had delivered much of the materials but had stopped their surface runs in fear. He was shocked into inaction for a moment, Othor however was keen on the moment.
From beneath his mysterious countenance he boomed in his low bass way, “We have been found.”

Dure leapt to the fore as well ordering the exocomps, “Peggy, Nessy, Banshee, Zombie, offload the materials quick.”

=0=Akio, you need to get Judah on the workbee now!”
Akio replied right away, he was already in progress on that front. Avor was unloading on the asteroid surface, but time was now of the essence.
=0= I’ll tell Avor to pull the whole load and send the back the bee with Zombie.

Othor was also speaking fast, ordering the computer to shut down systems, and prepare the last of their equipment for transfer to the surface. The workbee could only handle so much, he had to prioritize this last load. The most important items had been sent first, but there were still items needed for the ship to run he had to pull if they had any hope of getting the Lafitte to work. He was mid stride to leave the bridge when the chimes sounded.

A simple laser tripwire relayed a random ping, noise only to anyone listening. It was a border sensor that told them Tasco had found their radioactive wake and was following their trail. Now he merely had to follow the path, their final moment was down to hours away at best. He felt a peculiar calm, the realization that the waiting was over was a small comfort to the understanding of what awaited them.

Dure took a deep breath, he knew what the day was going to bring. “Othor, get everyone out of here.”

In the vision of his mind’s eye Othor turned cold equation in his head. “A man set to defend his kith and kin must weigh what he risks carefully, old friend. If this is the path you choose consider this. Those who remain will be molded by a life without you while always wondering what it would have been like to have lived with you.”

“That’s a sacrifice I am willing to make, If it means they get to live.” answered Dure.

He trailed off and returned to his work. Othor was left standing with no idea how to proceed. They couldn't send the Second Star away on autopilot, Tasco would notice and ignore it. The ship had to have someone on it, so Tasco was forced to pursue. Akio and Judah were no candidates, Lui was in her final moments, Vicente stable but unconscious. It came down to the two of them. He was arguing to take Dure’s place, but it really occurred to him what winning this argument entailed.

{Temple of Light- Cargo Bay}

The explosion from the device Beck loosed from the wall had ruined the hologrid, as well as the illusion. The plasma emitters had enough dust and interference that their beams were evident now, but what greeted them beneath the deception was gruesome. Parts large enough to discern who it was lay in a heap beneath the emitters. It was Vollad, he had evidently tried to run through the doorway and been cut to ribbons.

Fala didn't see it at first, and was extolling her bad luck while checking herself for injuries. Mid rant she noticed Beck was not replying or even listening, and followed his sullen gaze to the ground. There in the field of bloods red and Green before her and arrayed in a seared gelatinous flesh, she arranged the myriad pieces mentally and yelped in disgust and horror.
“Quinton, we must be more caref-”
“How many Fala. How many more will die?” Beck had a look on his face Fala had never seen before, panic.Their small crew kept losing people, each one was a loss felt in his soul.
“I have been unjust in my regards to you. Forgive me Quinton, but I was preparing for the inevitable litigation we were facing.”

Quinton Beck said nothing, the grotesque pile searing itself into his brain as a monument to the incompetence that had brought them all here. Vollad had been a good kid, the type you knew was scheming, but would share the bounty. He counted in his head the dead and dying, Lui, drawing her final breath any moment now. Corry, a greedy traitor who got what traitors usually get coming to them. Vicente, out of the danger of dying, but facing a lifetime of problems and burn treatments… Lost in thought, and broken by inaction he felt his grasp on hope slip.

Fala continued, walking so as to block his view. She cared not one whit for Vollad, he had been a temporary crewman, overpaid due to Orion Syndicate pressure. His death would cause them all further headaches down the line for sure, but that was ancillary to their present plight. She was no leader, and needed Beck to get his swagger back. It meant giving a compliment without having received one which was baffling. A Ferengi never gave without expecting to receive, though she considered his services to be ample repayment given their situation.

“We need you Captain, Vollad can be buried and remembered when we have the time. You… are the only one who can get us out of this.” Her Ferengi brain was already working on the approach to take with Kas should she need to use her instead as she spoke this ploy to Quinton.

Beck looked at her finally, “For this price… our deal is cemented in blood. No 17th rule, a blood contract. You need us, we need you, fine. But you will never turn on me again or I will shoot you down sure as the worlds turn.
Fala bristled and nearly retorted, her contingency plans were brutal and he knew it, but through gritted teeth Beck shut her down. He had changed in this last moment, he was different.
“Til death do us part. That means damn your contingencies, turn on me, you’re dead on the spot. Can we deal?”
Now Fala said nothing, simply nodding, she held her hand in human custom for him to grasp.He grimaced in the gesture but met her hand in bargain.

{Sickbay- Second Star}

Lui was going to die at any moment, Othor and Akio stood in vigil. The drop window was in thirty minutes, the last time anything would leave this ship. She would die if they moved her, would die if she stayed. She would die even if they did nothing, as was their current plight. There was no easy answer, but they knew what was right. If she was alive they had to take her too. Leaving her here was certain death. Othor knew Akio had done all he could, but the two men prepared Vicente who was still in deep sleep to be moved.

The gurney had a loose wheel and made an unimaginable racket as they wheeled the bio bed to the Airlock. Vicente slept the whole way, the bio bed keeping him under for his stability. They waited for him to be loaded into the impromptu workbee shuttlecraft. The door cycled open, Zombie, with a death’s head imprinted on as a nameplate, the Exocomp exited and chirped its readiness. However there was little room on board.


Judah was in the workbee already, Akio had seen to that. The bio-unit he rode around in strapped to the side of the workbee, tubes stretched inwards. Judah’s body is in white medical wrap, contact sites with stains at point of entry on elbows, heart and neck. His body was paralyzed, but the mind was overactive. Not being synced with a sensor suite made him feel blind and dumb. Judah was silently screaming helpless, he couldn't help or contribute like this.

There was only room for one more large object, Vicente. The rest of the space was for the other two seated occupants. Othor was keenly aware of the fact that four people remained on board the dying ship. It would make sense to leave Lui, but these decisions rarely defaulted to the sensible choice, he’d never breathe those sentiments aloud. Delicately strapping in Vicente, now freed from the bio bed, Othor told Akio to tend to them and prepare the last two seats. There was one last conversation he had to have.

{Second Star Bridge}

“The time is near,” whispered Othor. I see you have made your decision.” Decades of reading the minds that lurk behind the honest and the deceitful had taught him to know which is which. It also the nuances of emotion and intensity people express physically. Dure bore the sincere face of a man determined. “Please, old friend, reconsider the value of a life lost and a life lived.”
Dure continued monitoring the final load of the Workbee before its descent.
“I have no intention of joining in this madness.”
Othor continued to observe the silent mind of that stalwart Andorian.
“Know for this moment that you trap your loved ones from this moment onward.”
“Go coal-skin. And tell her my thoughts were of her. Tell Avor I am proud of what we built together in the time we had.”
Othor let his tears fall openly, “Dure, come with us, just set the ship and go with us.”
A beat was all the time they could afford as the timer sounded for the pre flight launch. Dure still didn't meet his gaze, the shame he felt in the truth of Othors words and the reality they beheld keeping him to his course. He would not be swayed, they all died in an hour if he didn't do this, Kas would die.
“Tell them all good bye.”

Admiration stayed Othor’s hand. This man was giving his life to throw the scent off the trail. It was tragic and noble… an idea came to him but he had never tried what he was considering now. Holding just one lifetime was troubling enough, and there was much to do ahead. Could he do this for Dure? He could damn well try.
“Trust in me,.” he placed his hands upon the Dure’s temples, “I will tell them all of that and more. Your children will come to know their father yet.”
Dure turned around finally and Othor loomed, a specter in his imagination larger than life.

{Temple of Light- Cargo Bay}
Avor had pulled the last of the previous load into the chamber entrance, the large hologrid making easy traction on the floor. He stared across the room as Kas rounded the bend leading to the false entrance now blown out. He did not understand why, but found himself chasing after Kas.
Beck and Fala had clearly recovered when Kas arrived, miles ahead of both Terrence and Avor. They looked surprised to see others so soon, and Kas surmised her frantic attempts to hail them had gone unnoticed. Then she saw neither of them had their communications studs, along with many other bits and pieces missing from their clothes.
Kas spoke with no trace of irony in her voice as she said, “It appears there are traps here, you should be careful.”
She saw Vollad, and the upbeat tones fell flat. She looked to Quinton and Fala both in horror, and Quinton simply replied, “Yes, let’s find them and disable them. I’ll see to the lad.”
A communique came through from the workbee, landed at the asteroid surface, Akio on the comm, “I have wounded, we need to take cover now!”
Kas, Avor and Quinton turned and ran back up the sloping tunnel, as Beck passed by Terrence, he slapped a scanner to the man's chest where he caught it. “Find em, shut em down. Nobody else dies.”

He left Fala and Terrence behind and ran to the landing site, losing ground to Kas as she vaulted the distance. She rounded several bends, leaving the Temple behind, securing their helmets at the boundary of the hologrid whose natural force fields maintained atmosphere. The workbee landed, overloaded to the hilt with everything the excomps could stack and weld. Inside, they also saw the four occupants, Akio was the only one moving.

He bounded out of the workbee, cursing and stammering, he managed to get out, “Drag the whole thing, we have to take cover!”

Akio frantically hurried, panic and manic expressions evident on his face. Beck couldn't believe it when he saw all three of their injured occupants strapped into seats. Lui shouldnt have been moved at all, and Judah… Judah should not have been removed from that chair. Akio was trying to tug the workbee, but its anti gravs couldn't cope with the load on it and failed to lift it.

Kas grabbed Akio to calm him but he threw her off, trying to drag the workbee impossibly. Othor was also unconscious inside, It made no sense as there was no space, everyone was crammed in there, how many people and how much stuff came on this load?
Akio bellowed in mounting panic, “There’s no time, Tasco knows where the ship is! We have to hide all of it!”

“Damn it all, Kas grab it and lift!” Beck grabbed the front end and lifted, the antigravs barely registering the help but they made jerking progress when Avor, with strength hidden within his wiry frame, gripped in and pulled.

It wasn’t until they made it under the cave lip and inside the field perimeter that Kas noticed someone wasn't on board. They pulled everyone out, The bio beds immediately getting setup for Lui and Vicente. Lui’s vitals had dropped but she held on, Vicente was still okay, Dure was missing. Akio tended to Judah and Lui but Othor was merely asleep.

She grabbed him by the collar “Othor, tell me where is Dure. Why is the workbee weighed down, why is he not here!” She answered her own questions as she asked them. Othor was not awake, and neither was he asleep. He looked to Kas, and whispered, “Channai, g’lo fo Treno,” and Kas gasped deeply. Avor came to her in an instant but she shirked his hands and left them for the temple entrance.

She ran back outside and tried to see the Second Star on its ecliptic, but when it didn't show up on her visor, she knew the Second Star had left orbit. Her scanners lacked any depth, but she waited, looking and without realizing, praying. In her solitary vigil she recounted her every word, and found regret.
Below, the crew awaited news, knowing they weren't likely to hear any. They prepared to breach the Laffitte working as hard as they could. Only Quinton once came to her, sitting in silence staring into open space as minutes turned inexorably into hours. Dure had no chance, this was all for nothing and she waited for any sign to the contrary.

Time was cruel to Kas, as she waited and felt more of her vitality leach away.
“Channai, g’lo fo Treno.” His final words, perhaps intended for her. “You will find happiness.”
She wept.
She waited.
Hours gone by rewarded her with a series of short flashes. She watched that quadrant of her sky, crowded with floating hulks. There was another flash moments later, long and steady. Despite the distance she knew it to be a phaser firing. Second Star was firing weapons!

There were staccato pulses illuminated in the ambient dust and clouds of their environment. The Aerowing had returned fire once more. Kas held her breath, fearing the worst, and cheered audibly when she saw one more long flash, one more proof of life for Dure, alive at the stick and fighting for her.

There were two explosions, one after the other. Bright sky and powerful pulsing energies lit up the scans in their furious exchange.

And then there was nothing from that point on.

-End-

 

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