Picking up a Hitch Hiker
Posted on Tue Sep 4th, 2012 @ 11:13pm by Ensign Natalie Kurtzman & Commander Jordan Gunning & Chief Warrant Officer K'Vaal Th'raas & Lieutenant JG William Biggins
Mission:
Heart of an Explorer
Location: Shuttlecraft 05
The bridge carried the quiet near-silence of a well-trained crew at the controls whilst everything was operating normally - no unusual threats or anomalies to heighten awareness, and thanks to their long spree of nothing more than travelling as they began to explore this sector, all of the systems were operating at peak efficiency. One signal suddenly disturbed the silence; a quiet double-tone from the Operations console, which Lt Biggins quickly activated to silence it, and bring the relevant information from the computer up onto his primary display.
Gunning looked up from the interim away team report as Biggins' acknowledgement passed across his consciousness. "What is it, Mister Biggins?"
"It's strange, sir," the junior officer responded. "Long-range sensors are detecting traces of a Federation hull alloy, twelve parsecs from our location."
"Federation hull alloy?" Gunning repeated quietly as he glanced around the bridge. "You're sure?"
"Yes sir, active scans confirm it," Biggins answered. "The mass of the object is very small, but the alloy composition is an exact match for materials used in Federation spacecraft."
"All right, we'd better investigate. Biggins, take Th'raas and a shuttle and check it out. I'll have a pilot meet you down there." Gunning turned back to the main viewer as the two officers left the bridge. "Bridge to Ensign Kurtzmann."
There was a moment's hesitation before a voice responded. "Kurtzmann here?"
"Prepare a shuttle craft for immediate launch. Lieutenant Riddle and Chief Th'raas will be with you momentarily."
"Aye Sir," came the reply over the comm. unit. "It'll be ready by the time they get down here."
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Shuttlebay
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"Crap!"
Natalie was practically running between the Type-11 shuttle and the shuttle bay stores and controls. I shouldn't have told the bridge it would be ready by the time they got down here! she thought to herself. It only takes minutes to get in the turbolift and ride it!
She didn't even know what kind of shuttle the bridge had wanted. She had assumed nothing as small (or smaller) than a Type-9, considering there were more than two people going to be in it, but then the Type-11 might be a bit of overkill for whatever the senior officers had in mind. Either way, if she was going to be caught out for making the wrong choice, she'd rather it be in a shuttle that didn't mean she'd have to sit on another officer's lap for the whole trip.
Chief Warrant Officer K'Vaal Th'raas stepped inside the shuttle dressed in an EVA suit and carrying a long case in one hand and a field kit slung low on his hip. "Ensign Kurtzmann. ." he said as he nodded his head to the pilot and moved aft to stow his gear before taking a seat at the ops console. "I am K'Vaal, I'll be making sure no one puts a scratch on your ship here!" The Andorian security officer said with a smile. "Have you heard what you're dropping us into?" He asked her.
"I haven't heard anything," the pilot responded. "All I know is that we're going on a trip. Beyond that, you got me."
Turning to the shuttle's other passenger K'Vaal nodded his head in acknowledgement of the Human's presence. "What about you, any ideas about what we're doing out here?" the Andorian asked casually.
"We've picked up traces of a Federation hull alloy, about a dozen parsecs away," Biggins said, overhearing the conversation as he entered the shuttle himself. He too was wearing an EVA suit, prepared for if he needed to exit the shuttle to retrieve whatever it was that they had detected. Kurtzman knew that if there was an emergency and she needed one, there were emergency supplies in the shuttle, along with a number of the standard-issue suits. "We're going to go and find out what it is."
As the Type-11 shuttlecraft dropped out of low warp a few minutes later, Biggins activated the active scanning protocols loaded into the sensor array. "Beginning sweep for particle detection now," he said; more to keep the other members of the away team informed than for any other reason. It wasn't long before the console bleeped at him. "I've got it. Change our heading twenty-three degrees to port, and 62 degrees 'down'. It should appear a few thousand kilometers off our bow."
"I have it," Kurtzman responded, as she banked the shuttle in the direction of the object. At impulse speeds, it didn't take them long to cross the distance, and soon the object was clearly visible through the forward view ports.
"I am reading an object, roughly three point two meters by two and a half meters in, in circumference. Limited power output, and no weaponry or shielding whatsoever!" K'Vaal announced. "There is evidence of a life support mechanisms, barely active! It's composition and structure is consistent with a standard Federation escape pod." He added.
"I'm detecting a life sign inside," Biggins said, checking the readings on his console. "I'm initiating transport, and bringing it into the cargo hold." They had cleared the shuttle's cargo area in anticipation of bringing the object aboard. "Natalie, keep your eyes peeled. K'Vaal; let's go take a look."
As the two entered the rear of the shuttle, Biggins moved forwards towards the pod, inspecting it quickly, mindful that he had no idea in what condition the individual inside was likely to be in. "It's not one of ours," he said, checking the ship registry. "But as far as I know, we're the only ship out this far."
"What is it doing so far out then? There are no warp capable M classes in this system that we know of?" K'Vaal replied as he drew a Phaser defensively to cover Biggins
"Let's see what the stars have given us then!" He added with a nod of his head.
Biggins moved close to the escape pod, and pulled the manual release control, releasing the clamps around the hatch and equalizing the pressure inside, before it slowly swung open.
The past several minutes of apprehension and fear had boiled down to this very moment. The light from the room outside immediately invaded the cramped interior of the escape pod revealing it's sole occupant - Thryskal, a Xindi-Insectoid. Although under normal circumstances it would have welcomed the sight of Starfleet officers before it, the light had temporarily rendered the Insectoid's compound vision completely useless.
There was only one thing that Thryskal could do in this situation. As it was not able to discern the people in front of it as friend of foe, the Ensign burst out from beyond the hatch. This action caused the Insectoid to bump into its rescuers and then it stumbled. Thryskal then desperately returned to its feet and scurried off into a corner in an effort to give itself more room should the need arise for a physical confrontation. As aggressive as his species usually was, even it knew that it was in a vulnerable situation. It hissed at the officers and then shielded it's large eyes with its arms, hoping that it would somehow aid in returning his eyesight before it was too late.
Picking himself up from the floor where he had been knocked down by the creature climbing out of the escape pod, Biggins squinted hard against the headache he had developed as his head had hit the floor, and reached to grab one of the hand phasers from the locker next to him on the wall, pointing it in the direction of the creature. "Identify yourself," he instructed it.
Taking a leap to one side, it took an incredible amount of self control not to fire on the creature as it knocked into Biggins. His antennae immediately determined the subtle biorhythms that identified the creature for what it was. What it did not tell him however was whether or not the Insectoid was hostile towards them, despite the fact that it was wearing a Starfleet uniform.
K'Vaal quickly moved to a new position, still keeping his phaser drawn on the Insectoid until the situation deemed otherwise.
Slowly, too slowly, the Insectoid's sight was returning. Yet, it still could not properly see the two men. Even the one that spoke. Did this person speak in Basic? It couldn't be. Where was it currently? Maybe it was best for the Xindi to answer their questions first. <"I--I am Ensign Thryskal...Thryskal'Skelniikan... pilot of the Federation Starship Mjolnir.. Saber Class...NCC-61280."> The ensign continued to protect its eyes from the light. It had no idea how long it had stayed within the escape pod though by now it suspected that it was a long time. <"Where am I? Who are you?"> It asked in its native Insectoid tongue.
The series of clicking noises emanating from the creature took a moment for the Universal Translator to compensate. "Computer, increase processing speed for Universal Translation!" He called out as the shuttle's on board computer acknowledged his order with a series of beeps.
Seeing the creature cover it's eyes defensively K'Vaal realized that the harsh lights in the cargo bay was also causing it some distress. " Computer, reduce illumination by thirty five percent!" he added.
Immediately, the lights in the cargo bay dimmed to a more comfortable soft glow.
Holding up a hand towards the Insectoid, K'Vaal lowered his phaser only slightly "Ensign, We're from the USS Iapetus! What happened to your ship?" he asked.
The Iapetus? Had they come looking for survivors? Although the lights had dimmed to a tolerable level now, Thryskal was still wary of the two men. It lowered its arm from its face. Its vision was returning much quicker now that the lighting had been reduced and the ensign found itself looking down at its hands for a few moments. What had happened to the Mjolnir? It seemed so long ago. It took a few moments for the Insectoid to recall the events that led it here.
<"The Mjolnir encountered... some kind of energy wave in an unexplored sector in the Beta Quadrant. Most of the ship's systems were compromised before anything could be done. It was destroyed."> Even though Thryskal only spent a short time aboard the Saber class starship, the Insectoid still considered it to be its colony. Now it was gone, along with everyone who served aboard it. But these officers had found its escape pod. Maybe there was still hope. The Insectoid took a step forward but not in a menacing way. <"Did you find any other escape pods? Are there any other survivors?">
K'vaal looked to Biggins for a moment before responding, powering his phaser down and replacing it in his holster. "Ensign, before we answer any questions, we will have to check your story out first." The Andorian replied "What was your last mission and heading?" He asked
<"We were sent to explore the unknown regions of the Beta Quadrant. Past the Typhon Expanse."> replied the Insectoid. <"Our science officer detected strange energy readings near a Class K planet in a system with two suns. Naturally we went to investigate the matter... and then the unthinkable happened..."> Thryskal leaned slightly against the nearby wall and placed its hand on its brow. It was still a little overwhelmed with the loss of so many of its companions.
"Ensign..." Biggins looked over at K'Vaal a moment before continuing. "You're in the Delta Quadrant... I think that we should get you and your escape pod back to the Iapetus and get you looked over."
The Delta Quadrant. <"What?"> Thryskal attempted to take in the news as best as it could. How did the escape pod it was in get to the Delta Quadrant? It was certainly alot to take in. The Insectoid's antennae twitched slightly as it attempted to gets its bearings. It had to agree with the Human. Perhaps, returning to their ship was the best thing to do right now.
The ensign nodded in reply. <"Yes... to the Iapetus."> Maybe from there, it would finally be able to get some answers.
"Ensign Kurtzman," Biggins responded, tapping his combadge. "Please set a course back to the ship; best possible speed."
"Aye, sir."
Lieutenant JG William Biggins (NPC)
Assistant Chief Operations Officer
Played by Capt. Krace
Ensign Thryskal
Chief Flight Control Officer
Ensign Natalie Kurtzman (PNPC - Krace)
Shuttlecraft Pilot
Chief Warrant Officer K'Vaal Th'raas
Tactical Officer
USS Iapetus
