Blood and Sweat

Posted on Fri Aug 26th, 2016 @ 3:09am by Second Mate Quinton Beck
Edited on on Sat Nov 26th, 2016 @ 6:03am

5,029 words; about a 25 minute read

Mission: Tenuous Grasp on Destiny
Location: Temple of Light/ Laffitte
Timeline: May 12th 1848 2393

-Start-

Dinner was a somber affair as Quinton ate alone. That hadn't been the case since his fated birthday night, someone had generally stopped for a few moments and broken bread, passed on a trinket in remembrance. He had just seen off Fala, who had given him a small optical lapel camera, designed to be nondescript and undetectable. He would never imagine a time using it, but he knew Fala had given it to him from her personal stores, and that told him she cared. It was a nice gesture at least.

Now, Kas and Avor had taken to privacy since Dure had been presumably killed; Fala had retreated to a makeshift office/suite made with cargo crates in the anteroom; Akio had made use of the holodeck and created a passable ward for their disabled, and also found time to aid Terrence and Fala in defusing traps. Akio was a survivor, resilient, and fought for Judah as well, still disabled and barely able to interact with the world. His crew was ailing, dying, and no matter how hard they tried things only got worse.

The holodeck allowed for a small diner area, but the extra seats only made for loneliness compounded. He considered removing them but lost the will to bother. His mind was stretched with their predicament, stranded in a hiding place, nothing but tools and parts all around. He had no clue what to do from this point on, other than take the mighty prize before them as their own. Hunted by an enemy who would see them dead, Beck knew there was just no way out without that fight occurring. Someone else would die, he knew there was one more coming. Quinton lost his appetite, dreading the moment he would have to decide.

Othor also had something deeply wrong with him and had also taken to recovery. He said he needed his "totems", but they had all been left in the ship. The Second Star had not been heard from at all, it was presumed lost. Something about losing them deeply upset Othor, but that wasn't what seemed to plague him. Something in the final moments he had on board with Dure before leaving had broken him. Now he drew patterns on a holographic slate, the only remedy to the tension he felt which was driving him mad. Kas wouldn't speak with Othor, but Beck knew those symbols were Andorian.

Terrence had gotten them far in the last two days clearing the place of further traps and complications, he had taken it as a personal mantle and bless him for it. Quinton had taken the time to inventory and prepare for the moment Terrence and Fala announced all was clear. Once they could board the Laffitte and sift through the cargo stored here, they could make their escape. At least he hoped so. He knew the cargo field he saw was the stripped remnants of the yard outside, as well as a lifetime of other horded goods. He also knew the ship had been repaired by their predecessors, even so there were so few of them now any extensive work would take months if not years.

Kas surprisingly enough made the announcement he was waiting for.

=0= All hands, we got the last one. Confirm sector scans and come out to the Laffitte.

{Temple of Light- Airlock to Laffitte}

Terrence, Fala, and Kas were all standing next to the open airlock. Wiring and components littered the ground as they stepped over the destruction of much of the wall plating. Kas was clearly stricken, but was letting her work carry her. The other two wre clearing the debris from their careful work from the path. They pulled the last component of a nasty landmine, a power cell still trying to fry them all with plasma. Terrence tossed it to Nessy, the Exocomp with an upraised sensor stalk evoking the famous image.

In a flash Nessy disintegrated the cell, the containment field containing the force easily as the little robot consumed it for raw fuel. Nessy chirped happily, continuing about its rounds. As everyone arrived the other three came from various tubes and behind deck platings, they all four joined the group at the airlock.

Fala seemed to be in good spirits as she grabbed Quinton's hand, ushering him over to the defeated barrier. There were no windows, but the umbilical allowed for a section of gleaming white duranium to peek through at the edges. This was the precipitous moment, if this ship was a deathtrap or inert they were all dead. Fala chose to believe otherwise, she had a good crew working for her, she just needed to get them where they needed to be.

She looked at him in this moment as she needed to, as the crew needed to see him. "Captain... we have secured it. We wanted to wait for you..."

Taken aback Quinton struggled for words, it was cute in a roguish, "aww shucks" way. This was a welcomed gesture but a part of him he felt he didn't deserve this. At last he spoke softly, "Thank you, everyone." He looked to Kas as he spoke the last word, making sure she knew he was there for her.

Raising the pistol to a ready stance he turned to the rolling door. He heard the seals on all of their suits, saw the lights flash green.

"We go over together. Be ready for additional surprises."

{Deck 14- Laffitte Main Engineering}

Four Exocomps flew right past their legs once they made the connections. Scanning and illuminating as the crew came aboard. The ship had clearly had work done, tools and parts, filthy remnants of work and people living here smeared on the floor and walls everywhere they could see near this solitary door. Most of them missed the nuance of a well used door, it meant there wasn't a transporter. It also meant this dampening field was purposeful, perhaps even part of the ship.

Kas only let Quinton enjoy his privilege as first on board for a moment before pulling him back. He had taken no more than two steps when she grabbed his collar and practically snarled, "Not you too. Understand?"

Quinton blinked at the tragedy in her voice, nodding over the open line, she turned away quickly before the mask slipped. She took the lead in front as the two of them made progress down the main corridor. The door to the airlock chamber room had been jammed open crudely, the unmistakeable presence of other life a deadly concern. The Exocomps could pierce the dampening effect locally but it still allowed for ambush.

Behind Kas, came Fala and Terrence, diligently scanning for traps as they had been the last two days. A feed sent to Judah's Bio unit recorded to their cobbled computer core made from spare parts. Akio had assisted Terrence using several scanners, memory units from the holodeck, and a few lucky grabs they had brought from the demised Second Star. With it, they compiled data and gave them a map of their surroundings, and gave Judah a small degree of his autonomy.

Rustling sounds attracted Beck's eye as Avor brought over the tool bags, handing one to Beck and Kas as well. Avor said nothing to Kas, it was hard to tell how things were between them, but the smiles and charm had gone away since that awful day. He could only have guessed at what they said behind closed doors but now they only worked in silence. Beck took the tool bag in stride from Avor as he fearlessly plunged into the ship's depth towards Main Engineering.

"Clear, it'll take time but it's way easier to detect them on this ship." Terrence pointed down the hallway, before he got too far. He also instructed Banshee to go with Avor, and it flew over, the low shrill tones of its high power antigrav units thrumming gently. Signalling to Fala they went towards the source Terrence had found, tools already out. The air on board was fresh, it was cycled with the stations apparently, but the gouges and missing hull section were evident from the outside, there were definite dead ends. The doors to the right of them were sealed due to venting. The venting was caused by open EPS ports, atmosphere would reignite the flames so safeties vented the room. It also explained why the ship was on low power.

There were definite hazards still, Beck couldn't stop himself from calling after them, "Go slow, watch for anything." Beck let them continue their work, and to Avor he asked, "It looks like the bridge is burned out, can you set up Ops in the Engineering Main Bay?"

That he asked, instead of ordered, irritated Avor, who desperately craved work. "Yes, I will. Once I haul the rest of the crates over presumably."

Beck let the anger and challenge in Avors voice by without comment, he returned the ferocity in the Andorians gaze however replying in an even tone. "Use the Exocomps. Just get it done."

Avor left Kas and Quinton on the Laffitte, the dark corners obscured his navy hue well. The ship had only emergency lighting and no power systems. It seemed to be drawing minimal power from the station so they figured that was a first priority. He tried to access anything of note from the wall panel, but no central computer existed on the ship, there was no operating system at all. Darkened panel and overhead lighting at ten percent made a persistent void even their palm beacons didn't illuminate fully.

"Let's get to Engineering." He broke the silence without ceremony and waited as Kas took the lead, who did so, no reply needed. They both took careful strides scanning as they went. Neither of them knew much of the internal layout, their schematics on hand from the public databases, but they saw discrepancies which told them it was out of date, or classified still. It was surreal to consider this was once a Starfleet vessel, forged with purpose and thrown against the harsh galaxy. Now it was their salvation, a desperate hope to live which depended on this vessel to fly once more.

Updates came in from Terrence and Fala, sweeping had cleared out sections for their peace of mind but the lack of results provoked paranoia in all of them. What could be there unseen was far more frightening than what they could plainly see. All the doors were jammed open, it seemed on low power they all locked up and whoever had worked here had gotten tired of this. Exposed paneling, and stripped consoles lined their path but after nearly an hour of careful guided walking, they finally reached Deck 13- Main Engineering.

"Careful, if there was anywhere to place a trap..." Beck didn't trust his scanners, despite searching for holographic technology, explosives, power signatures, even simple battery activity, nothing had come up yet. The doors to Main Engineering had been forced open long ago, slight oxidation apparent in the exposed panels, this had been a busy place. They walked with weapons drawn, scanners active, but nothing greeted them save the echoes. Where once a Mighty Warp Core had thrummed there was an empty space, the cavernous recess going beneath them and above them several decks. The Core shaft appeared to still have the linkages needed, just no engine.

"There, that's the main trunk coming off the Umbilical. Power is routed through the ship..." she stopped and followed the image her scanner revealed, "from that junction box." She indicated an exposed wall which had clearly been opened for access to the components and various power cables crudely placed. Standard worklights, using rudimentary halogen bulbs were strung up around the wide area. Bio-residue was on most everything, someone living had spent a great deal of time here.

As they approached the junction box, there was a clear control dial through which all the cables had been routed. It was set to the "off" position, and Kas looked to Beck for the next step.

"We need to get Akio in here. Continue sweeping for more traps. Priority one is securing the ship, making it safe." Reflexively Beck looked around him alert for danger. The dark and battered interior with makeshift assembly seemed far from safe as it was, but this was the only path left to them. Their scanners let them know when a bulkhead was sealed, and why. More often than not it was a sealed section due to vacuum exposure. As they expanded their search through Engineering and adjacent decks they slowly staked their claim on the ship, learning its paths and winding interiors.

It took hours, but they passed the time relaying messages back and forth, Kas and Beck put the Engine room into order slowly. There was a great deal of work done already, much of the ship was ready, there were only a few needed components. What wasn't scuttle was makeshift or just completely foreign to Starfleet designs, bridges, custom mounts, transformers, they all were installed, the dedication of years evident. Kas was fixing a Deltan plasma generator manifold, and he held in his hands cabling marked for the Nyberrite alliance. Someone had made this their pet project, made custom modifications as needed which meant they had to learn this ship from bolts to stems to field coils.

Avor joined them in Engineering while the crew all silently worked in their various sections. Kas and Beck were going strong on the work and he wordlessly stepped in to help. The banter was light, far too sporadic to be anything but someone trying to hear a voice other than their own. Time and work added to the stress, they needed relief or someone would snap soon. Finally, they found a topic to consider,

=0= If they are fresh though, is how the green coloring gets into the final paste.
Othor was stocking their galley, no food replicator had yet been found. The holodeck was rudimentary at best and could barely synthesize believable flesh composites, they certainly had little nutritional value.

=0= That's too messy though, I get it all over the place if i mince or chop.
Terrence was hungry, their rations were all the same three variations and he was sick of all of them, the discussion with him was always about food.

Akio replied from Engineering,
=0= You could try adding salt to the chopping board, my wife did this. The herbs won't fly so bad."

Fala chimed in, she always did,
=0= Hew-mons and their salt. Brine shrimp and peppers add Risan Shallots, seed oils, and high temperatures. It doesn't get better than that and you live longer

"Not eating that," Terrence quipped in person to Fala, as the two were together and finished their task. It was still audible over her line though, the gaffe earned a smile from many of them as they heard her chide him. Fending her off, he hit his stud to announce,
=0= Certified clear, Decks 9-17.

This was a load off everyone's mind, it meant they could breathe a little easier, maybe even sleep. The stardrive portion was safe for the moment though much of it was sealed off, there was still a chance something lurked.

Beck kept that line of thought to himself and replied,
=0=Good work, we'll crack the Saucer section tomorrow. Anything to report on your tour?

Fala replied for both of them,
=0= Empty as the grave, shuttle bay is empty, Deuterium tanks are fully removed, Antimatter reactor as well.

Beck and Kas shared a look, you couldn't just make a reactor or filling tank out of parts, this was a major component of the ship to be missing. Panic tapped at the glass in Beck's mind and he banished that as hard as he could. There were no options if the engines had no fuel, what would they do now?

Akio stood at the entrance to Engineering, clearly holding the messy gutted room in disdain, he startled Avor when he suddenly said,
"This will not be a problem. This Temple of Light has a Matter/Antimatter generator, and it has fuel enough for our purposes."

He hadn't considered using the station's generator, they hadn't plumbed its depths yet. Quinton felt he had to ask even without knowing much, "Isn't that powering whatever is keeping this place intact?"

Akio nodded, "Yes, but we need a heart, a beating one. That is the only one we can get to."

Kas was wide eyed at the notion, she had a special fear and respect when it came to advanced technologies at play. "We have battery packs, like twenty of them, how long could that power the station?

Akio shook his head, "Perhaps half a day at most or not all with an instant failure. This base is a curious hybrid of technologies. there is more innovation in the design of so many disparate parts working in harmony then of the technology to perform this hidden universe. Though if I understand the rules of micro universal physics, due to the small size, attrition is much slower. We would have days before the collapsing edges reach us."

Beck leaned back against a broken and sooty console, "So we can use station power to get this old girl up to shape, then do what you're suggesting, pull the Station core as the last action. How long would it take to install, and how do we escape from this place?

"If we... all of us could learn a role and possibly make it a three day process. Escape, is automatic, survival is the hard part. As the universe collapses around us, we fly against the symmetry of the Subspace folding. Like a whirlpool drains, we must exit the vortice without touching the tunnel walls which will form. A sufficient burst from our deflector of... well I will need to research that, but essentially we will phase us into the normal world where I am certain, we will emerge outside the Asteroid."

Kas made a face, "How certain?"

Akio shrugged, "Eighty? There is a chance we phase into the Asteroid but I can't think of why anyone would design that."

Beck considered that would be an ultimate trap, to ensure your plan never gets stolen away. Quinton ran through their options, they only had battery power, and while they could recharge here at the station, it wasn't enough to travel on. They were hidden, but this was no home, and Tasco had connections who would follow up anyway. Hiding wasn't a good plan, though the hologrid provided replicated food, it was protein slurry at best. The ship was nice enough to live on but they were stuck here waiting to die.

"Okay then, there's nothing here we can't do. Draw up a plan, and let's get to work."

{USS Laffitte}

May 20th 0900 2393

"Captains... Ships log... Log entry for the crew of Second Star."

Quinton stammered, unsure of how to start the entry. he was compelled to make daily logs by virtue of his station and they had gotten grim as of late. He pressed on, eager to be done with the task.

"The plans had said two weeks and we are nearly finished in eight days, we are all ready to escape this confinement."

This timeline was aided by Vicente and Othor who both returned to duty. They were all working harder than they ever thought they'd have to but it finally showed results. They had lights, air, and thanks to the treasure trove in the Temples cargo bay, they had parts. Judah had been linked to a computer core found among the treasures for the last four days. Already he was spread throughout the ship, performing the functions of the ships computer admirably.

"The crew is working hard, I would never have dreamed we would survive this far, but by the sweat of their brow, we are still here. My good man Judah has taken it like a champ, even he is working and I am astounded by their service."

Judah had seen the worst of the time, spending five days isolated in his wrecked body had driven him mad but being totally unable to move limited his ability to express or act on his emotions. When Akio reconnected him to a computer, the first thing he had done was yell. Though the computer was small, intended for a personal shuttle, it was sufficient and Judah held onto it like a drowning man does a buoy. Not long after he was helping out in his special way, categorizing, assisting, routing comms, the crew was coming back together.

"Morale is rising somewhat as the ship comes to life, but Kas refuses to acknowledge any of our attempts to console her. We hace all done as much as we can, but truly the re-purposed EMH has been a little blessing as well. We lack manpower, but he doesnt rest. He really doesnt."

There were enough holo-emitters to line most of the ship, and even the hologram found a new home with much more ground to explore. Lacking skills, he mostly provided information on the Temple and minor maintenance, cleaning non-stop. The hologram only knew the initial facts, this station was bought from a scavenger who picked the bones of a First Federation science ship. He had provided a few names so far, but was not keen on yielding much information. The console device was a lobby/air lock function to the pocket universe, that universe with a small facility and a starship docked with a floating field of cargo surrounded by a million light years of murky white. This was a cargo bay of a super advanced society, the station installed separately with its own generator to power the lights in their internal habitat.

"We've explored this wondrous place, and found all of its secrets. It seems a shame to waste this facility, but we cant hide here forever. Tasco will find us, and if he collapses this place while we are inside of it... Well luckily we have a plan."

The Universe as they knew it fed off of a special reactor, it was also powered by the station generator, but this was a self sustained universe needing surprisingly little power. It took only five times over what they could conceivably generate with a standard warp matrix, meaning this reactor was more than adequate. Though it was of an unknown design, Judah was certain he knew it, and spent much time trying to recall where. He had indexed nearly all of the holograms memory, focusing on the inventory when he found it in classified data from the Voyager expdition.

"A Hirogen heart, in a neutronium casing and allowing for endless potential so long as we keep it fed. The other shoe however... this beating heart is keeping our bubble alive as well. We are about to try and accomplish a feat which will mark us as heroes for the effort or fools. Success will be the razors edge we walk to find out.

{Deck 11- Cargo Bay 3}

Fala knew it was placed in here, but Nessy claimed it wasn't. Fala wasn't about to argue with a robot, so she merely paged the file to Nessy for the hundredth time. She stood at the bottom of a well organized mound of random items in crates or otherwise lashed and bagged neatly. The large cargo bay was stacked floor to ceiling, as were the others. Avor and Akio were ready to install a component that she knew she had tagged for this,

"This one, get this one, its in the N series items, all stacked on the 7th row." Two chirps and slight shake as Nessy turned left and right in the informal "no" fashion told Fala she would have to find it herself. She stalked the precarious piles of valuable wares, muttering, "Barolian...Barolian, no that's Boyaji..." It took her a few moments and then she saw it, her photographic memory serving her again.

"Nessy! See here, Barolian. This is it yes?" Nessy confirmed and simply floated. Fala didnt even try to move it, knowing it was well over four thousand kilos despite being her size roughly. She paged the file again, "take this to Akio at Tractor Controls, I cant move it now can I." As Nessy grabbed the device in her own little beam and flew off, Fala opened her comm.

=0= Akio, sending you a gift. Barolian tractor emitter, I've seen these things rip out of starships before letting go, make it work if you can.

=0= Akio here, Barolians use Quantum Singularity drives, we cant power... never mind I can make it work. Akio out

Fala hit her comm again, summoning a different Exocomp,

=0= Im going to the Shuttle Bay Banshee.

{Lafitte}

Claiming the saucer section had revealed the Cavernous Shuttle bay was already equipped to retrieve cargo modules nearby. Offloading the treasures and scavenged parts was a dream come true for Fala, her meticulous record keeping pricing items at a small fortune. Alien-ware, foreign parts, re purposed technical parts came together as the composite parts found harmony in the Starfleet frame. Judah had an inventory and helped her locate items needed for the ship's repair, the drones would activate and ferry the container to her or take another one away. Fala found she sent little away, keeping only the most valuable and needed as Cargo space was beginning to fill up.

There was progress, and slowly they felt their new home welcome them in. Blocked sections were now part of the route, familiar work around and paths becoming well known. They still lacked a Medical or Industrial replicator, and the lack of wiring and needed parts was a mounting issue to overcome. Bypasses and sacrifices held their indicators in the "Caution" zone, a clear improvement from the "Danger" redlines they had seen all week. it was widely agreed that hard water showers were preferable to the sonic systems and they even ran plumbing to accommodate this. The small touches, the comforts and filigree that accumulate over time were already starting to appear.

Kas and Avor had even taken to speaking public, though terse, silence no longer reigned. Judah had found amazing things in their inventory, they had everything they needed and their work was now paying off. They all had to come to a stop when Akio sent out a message to Beck.

{Lafitte- Sickbay}

Akio had only just finished running power relays for their Sickbays operating suite where she lay but it had been far too late. Her slow death had been graceful and painless, mostly spent in dream. Akio agonized over their lack of ability to help her, secretly swearing dark and furious vengeance to their hunter who held them here. Beck and Kas entered sickbay to see Vicente weeping, holding Lui's hand, Akio had slumped in defeat against the chief medical officer's desk. He refused to sit behind it, feeling useless. All they needed was a medical grade replicator, but none were available, and she had died slowly while they labored.

Beck carefully took a seat next to her, the large open sickbay too bright after the days of darkness. Kas stayed back, but she still heard him gently speaking to her, Akio did as well, sitting nearby with his eyes closed. This was something they had all known was coming, and to see it now almost felt as a relief. Of course to feel relief brought on waves of guilt in a whorl of torment, it was maddening but they each bore the weight in silence. Giving the young man space, she stayed back until Vicente looked to his Captain.

"She will be with her family again. She is happy." He was grief stricken, but Vicente held Quintons gaze evenly. "She will be buried on Bajor sir?" He wasn't asking, but allowing for Beck to offer his grief as condolence. Looking at the young boys burns, scarring his face and still aching him was a special twist in Beck's stomach.

Leaning forward to Lui's other ear, he cupped it in the Bajoran way. He promised Vicente, "Yes."

"Bye bye mama." Vicente whispered to her.

"Bye bye sweet angel." Beck wept calmly, not one for hysterics in general.

Kas stood, unsure of what to feel. She hadn't let herself experience the loss of Dure, despite how Avor pressed her to. After so many days what hope remained he was alive? Quinton held his hand to her, inviting her over, but she shook her head and exited as quickly as she could while not running away.

Beck hit the comm stud at his collar, ever changing and expanding worlds in his mind causing him to become something new. Through the grief he felt, a resolve hardened in him. This was not their end. This was a beginning, something new bought and paid for by the ones who came before.

=0= Crew, Ms. Lui Kania has passed away. We all hope that she walks with the Prophets. We have one last goal before we can get out of here, and return her to her family lands. We must remove the power core from the station, and use it for ourselves. The chance we have worked for and fought so hard to stay alive for, is here... now.

He spoke directly to Kas wherever she was on her retreat from sickbay as he continued, all around those who worked listened,

=0= ...We have lost loved ones along the way. Let us be thankful for those who we have back, and know that we... are united. This is our home, by virtue of the sacrifice of those who laid down so we could fight on. I don't know what our future holds, but I'm confident we will see this through, this is not our final hour. We have worked hard, now we are here. Just a little bit more and we will have accomplished the impossible.

He looked at Akio, still sullen in his corner. "Get the ship ready, we are getting the hell out of here."

-End-

Quinton Beck

Fala Gaz

 

RSS Feed