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1. WW Starfleet/USS OBERON - The Return (part one)
From: "Brian H Davidson" <briandavidson@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2005 01:00:43 -0400
From: "Brian H Davidson" <briandavidson@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: WW Starfleet/USS OBERON - The Return (part one)
WW Starfleet: A Long Vacation Ends
Time: Some time just after the USS OBERON went renegade
He wasn't feeling the pain any more. After fourteen miles, his
legs were just numb. But still he ran on, sucking down huge breaths
of the thin Vulcan atmosphere. The heavy gravity dragged at him like
a tractor beam, and the oppressive heat would have been stifling if
it weren't so damned dry.
The trail stretched out into the distance, hard-packed and
unforgiving. Many had come this way before, and many would follow,
but that didn't concern the lone human who ran the route today. There
was only here and now, and he was alone.
'Only another mile and a half,' he told himself, 'to the oasis.
Rest there... but for now keep going!'
The route he followed was not really a running path, merely a
hiking trail, but it served his purposes well enough. It was longer
by a good twenty percent than the trail he had been using the last
couple of weeks, but flatter. Almost no slope at all until near the
end, and that was downhill, into the oasis. Just another few
minutes...
Finally! The ground began to slope down, and he saw the patchy,
reddish-brown grass that indicated the presence of ground water, all
too rare at this latitude on this harsh and unforgiving world. He
gasped in relief, drawing upon his last reserves for the final push.
Reaching the oasis, he slowed as the trail curved around behind
a red sandstone outcropping nearly as tall as he was. He plodded into
its shade and dropped to the ground, panting heavily. The small pool
he had seen on the map should be just around the other side, between
the outcropping and two enormous boulders. According to the
information he had been given, this pool was fed slowly by an
underground stream that ran from the mountains, fifteen miles behind,
where he had begun his early morning run, onward to the city of
Kopar, some ten more miles yet ahead. That was the next leg, the last
for today. Half an hour of rest, and plenty of water, and he'd be
ready to hit the trail again. If fate did not interfere (which was
far from assured, in his case), he should be back in Kopar well
before lunchtime.
He moved on hands and knees, paying no heed to the small
scratches and cuts that the sharp-bladed desert grass left across his
palms. As he rounded the first boulder, the edge of the pool came
into view. It was mostly in shadow, the original outcropping blocking
out most of the direct light from the yet low sun. As he crawled
closer to the pool and its life-giving water, he noticed something
peculiar about the shadow of the rock behind him.
It moved.
He stopped crawling, remaining still for a long moment. It was
difficult to control his heavy breathing, but he knew he had to, or
whatever it was would be on him before he could react. If it hadn't
already detected him...
Turning his head very slowly, he tried to angle it enough to get
a look up and behind. His worst fears confirmed, mind racing
furiously to find a way to escape, he studied the blue-green
le-matya. Why had it not attacked him already? Why was it just
crouching there, watching him? Maybe it was not hungry, just finished
with a recent meal, and out of its usual territory. If so, there was
no reason it should see him as either threat or prey.
As he tried to decide what, if anything, he could do, a sound
came from the near distance, and eerie screeching wail that would
have been painful if its point of origin had been closer. The
le-matya reacted immediately, leaping from its perch into the shadows
behind the other large boulder. In seconds, it was out of sight,
vanished as if it had never been there at all.
"Are you well?" a voice called, from the same direction the cry
had come, but drawing nearer. He turned to see a hovercar drawing up
beside the oasis, its ionic propulsion system nearly silent in the
desert stillness. A familiar, and quite welcome figure was at the
controls, another man beside her.
"T'mara!" he called back. "I'm fine, just a little winded. Your
timing, as usual, could not have been better."
"You may reconsider that when you hear our reason for being
here," the cool Vulcan replied. "But come, we must depart before the
le-matya returns. I am certain that, despite your reputation, you
could not defeat it unarmed."
"Yeah well, you know what they say about reputations," he said,
standing and stretching to relieve the minor cramps that had begun in
his legs. "That and two credits will buy you a cup of raktajino. What
the hell was that godawful noise, anyway?"
T'mara looked back at him impassively, as usual. She gestured
toward the hovercar's control panel and said, "I used the car's audio
system to re-create the hunting call of a ken-toth, the le-matya's
only natural predator. It would seem that even the le-matya found
discretion to be the better part of valor today."
The man smiled at that. T'mara had what was, for a Vulcan, an
amazing sense of humor. The jibe was her way of teasing him.
"Stupid nature preserves," the other man finally spoke. "I'd
have brought a phaser rifle but they won't allow even the most basic
of energy weapons in here."
The voice... it was instantly recognizable. Although he had only
met the younger man twice before, it was unlikely that he would ever
forget the sound of his own son's voice.
"Ray? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Long story, Jack. Get in and we'll tell you on the way back to
town."
With a grimace and a grunt of exertion, Senior Admiral Jack
Sullivan, head of Starfleet's Operations Branch, forced himself to
his feet and staggered toward the hovercar.
* * *
"Gone rogue? You're kidding! Stae-faan would never betray his
oath to Starfleet! And neither would 'Lanni, or any of the others for
that matter. Not unless..."
Sullivan didn't finish. The idea was nearly unthinkable. Sure,
certain individuals within Starfleet and the Federation had caused
problems for the OBERON and her crew before, but how could things
have escalated to the point that Stae-faan would have felt betrayed
by the whole of Starfleet? Surely he could not believe that Sullivan
himself would have turned against him. The saints knew that Jack had
laid his career and honor on the line more than once to protect them.
As they had for him. Either Stae-faan had lost contol of the Storm
within him ,or something evil was once again insinuating itself into
the Admiralty, something that threatened to expose, or worse destroy,
his friend.
The Admiral sat, along with his two companions, in the private
office of Captain Jordan Chao, commander of Space Station Vulcan One.
Also in attendance were several other Starfleet officers, and two
civilians.
"I, too, have difficulty believing that Starfleet's flag****p
would just suddenly go renegade without a very, very good reason,"
said the Captain, his quiet yet strong tones betraying nothing of his
actual feelings. "And yet, I have no concrete reason to doubt the
announcement from Starfleet Command. It is genuine, there is no
question of that."
Chao had received word of the OBERON's disappearance and rogue
status only the previous day. His orders, identical to every unit
commander's around the fleet, were to refuse any assistance to the
flag****p, and re****t its location immediately if contacted, but not
to initiate any hostile action unless fired upon. A special task
force was being assembled to seek out and capture, if possible, the
Olympic Class heavy cruiser.
He turned to his left, facing the man who sat beside him, the
near-legendary figure who had brought Starfleet through some of its
darkest hours. Now retired from the fleet and serving as Earth's
delegate to the Federation Council, Executive Admiral Jack Gerber
nodded at Chao's pronouncement.
"I agree, Captain. Unfortunately I am not in a position to take
any direct action."
"Well *I* am," growled Sullivan, leaning forward in his chair.
"And I'm going to find them before that task force does. But I'll
need a ****p, and some good people. The DUNCAN isn't up to a prolonged
search. Captain Chao, I'm going to need the CHRISTIE."
One of the other men in the room jerked at the sound of that
name, then relaxed. Gerber turned to him and grinned, knowing why the
guest he had brought was startled. "Sorry, Owen," he said, "he didn't
mean you, but I suspect he'll want you along for the ride."
Owen Christie, former Chief of Security aboard the very ****p
they were seeking, nodded and relaxed. "I imagine so, sir," he
replied. "There are not many people out there who know the OBERON and
her officers as well as I do."
Sullivan smiled, and it was not a pleasant thing to behold.
"Right you are, Mister Christie. And of those few, two are sitting
here right now. So yes, I'd like to have you along. I can't order
you, since you've left Starfleet for... other commitments, but your
insights and tactical knowledge of the OBERON would be invaluable."
Jack ****fted in his seat, facing the android more fully. "But if you
try to pull any of the crap your predecessor was known for, you will
regret it. That, I promise you."
He was referring to Colin MacArthur, former autonomous agent of
the Federation. Although he ostensibly fought on the side of the
Angels, MacArthur was the most amoral and unscrupulous man Sullivan
had ever met. He would stop at nothing to achieve his goals,
relentless and deadly, not caring who or what stood in his way.
"Although I now hold his position, sir." Owen replied rather
stiffly, "I think you will find that my methods differ considerably.
And in this instance, my goal is the same as yours: to find the
OBERON and bring her back home safely. My knowledge and resources are
at your disposal for the duration of the search."
"Mine as well, Jack," Gerber added. "What little I can give,
anyway. I wish I could go with you personally, but I'm needed here."
"Thanks, Jack," Sullivan answered, nodding to the man who shared
his first name. Gerber had been much like a father to him while
acting as Fleet Admiral. No FA since then had held the office for
more than a couple of years; Gerber had reigned over Starfleet for
almost thirty. "I know you'll be working as hard on the politcal
front as I will be on the military."
"The AGATHA CHRISTIE is yours to use as you see fit, Admiral,"
Jordan Chao interjected. "You may take any of her regular crew you
wish, myself included, or pick a crew of your own."
Sullivan nodded again. "Thank you, Captain, and I'll take you up
on that. Things are relatively peaceful around here right now, so I
think SSV1 can manage without you for a while. I'd like to try and
get a few people I know of, but for those positions I can't fill, I'm
sure your regular crew will do nicely. Oh, and for the record, the
****p itself will remain under your command, while I coordinate the
search."
Much the same situation had worked well enough when Sullivan had
been promoted to Commodore while serving on the OBERON's predecessor,
the USS OLYMPIC. At that time, Stae-faan LuCypher had been just a
fresh Ensign out of Camp Venture, serving his first posting to the
flag****p as OPS officer. The new Captain was to be Lexia Tremaine,
the OLYMPIC's former Counselor.
Lexia... if only she were here now. The OBERON was her ****p, and
she knew her crew better than any of them. If anyone sould find the
rogue ****p, it would be her. But Jack Sullivan was determined to get
the job done, whatever it took.
Jordan steepled his fingers, so typical a Vulcan gesture from
the one-quarter Vulcan. "I would request only one thing from you,
Admiral, in regards to staffing." As the Admiral glanced toward the
woman at Chao's right, the Captain knew that Sullivan had anticipated
his request. "Doctor Taka**** is a highly skilled surgeon, with much
exeprience with the unusual. Given the OBERON's history, it seems
prudent to expect exactly that."
Sullivan agreed without hesitation, knowing that there was more
to it than just professional respect. He had heard rumors since
arriving on Vulcan weeks earlier, tales of how the Captain had bonded
with his CMO. Whether they were actually lovers or partners, he did
not know, but there was definitely something there. He could feel it,
and Jack Sullivan was not known for his empathy. If he picked up
on it this easily, well...
"Of course," he said. "Thre is one other Doctor I want to get
hold of, if I can, but Doctor Taka**** is certainly a welcome
addition."
The small Japanese woman in blue lab coat over a regulation
medical uniform smiled slightly, nodding toward the Admiral in a
manner very reminiscent of the traditional formal bow of her racial
heritage. Jack liked her immediately.
"Commander Pigeon," Chao said, turning to the last officer in
the room, who had not yet spoken, "you will be in charge here until I
return." Andrew Pigeon had been with Chao since his arrival here,
serving first as Chief of Staff and then later as Exec. Much like
T'Mara, the amazing Operations Chief, he had become an indispensable
piece of SSV1's command staff. Chao was already having trouble trying
to replace him in his mind when the time came for the Commander to
take his first ****p command. It would not be long in coming, Chao was
certain.
T'Mara, for her part, sat and listened as her current and former
bosses discussed other staffing issues. It was not long until the
meeting broke up.
"I want to be on our way at oh-eight-hundred station time
tomorrow," Sullivan said as they all rose.
Ray Duncan had studied his father slosely during the meeting,
his first chance to actually observe the man in action. He was
impressed. It was quite obvious why his mother had loved the man.
Jack's loyalty to his friends was palpable, and Ray knew that he
would do everything in his power to find them and protect them from
whatever forces stood against them.
"Well," he said as father and son headed for the door, "looks
like vacation's over."
(To be continued!)
(With special thanks to Lynette Cowper for the use of Oyuki, Ian
Hamilton for Andrew, and most of all, the much-missed Jack Gerber for
his namesake)
Respectfully (and joyously) submitted,
-Brian Davidson
SrAdm. Jack Sullivan
Capt. Jordan Chao
Cmdr T'Mara
Ray Duncan
Owen Christie
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