Grim: I'd noticed that on TNG too. For all the Feddie's love of science and knowledge it always seemed like they were learning things because they had too, not because they wanted to. Thought this would be a nice change of pace, especially as it's a Klingon crew doing the exploring.
Andy: I try to reuse as many 'guest stars' as I can when it comes to the ship's crew. She's only got three-hundred or so people aboard, and as anyone from a small town can tell you, you will see the same faces a lot.
Kadh: Thanks! Glad you're enjoying it. Another thank you for belaying the Jindarian info till later; what little I know about them sort of indicates why you brought them up....
J. Carney: Don't have to wait very long.
Was posting this when you replied. Glad you ventured over from off-topic land, I'm anxious to see what you think of the rest!
Anyway, here's Chapter Two. Hope you enjoy.
--------------------------
Chapter Two"Any questions?"
Five vac-suited but helmetless Klingons were gathered around Leral on the shuttle launch deck. Some of their expressions were enthusiastic. One was not.
"Lieutenant, why am I assigned to this...mission?" The speaker was an Ensign. He was one of Grimbek's underlings, K'tal. K'tal was new to the
Hiv'laposh. He was young and fit with dark hair and skin but light, coppery eyes.
"You're to ensure the security of the science team." Leral clarified. She tried to keep her voice from being snappish. She'd expected such a reaction from a Marine.
"Easily done if we simply destroy this thing and be on our way." K'tal snorted.
The other four team members glanced at the Marine. Meran and Huk were the scientists. They frowned. Ra'dok, old warrior that he was, barely had any expression at all.
"You'll have to meet a greater challenge than staying where it's safe." Leral stated. K'tal bared his fangs and glared.
"Any
other questions?" Leral asked, ignoring the Marine. No one answered.
"Load the shuttle. We launch as soon as possible."
The shuttle crew began to disperse. K'tal was still sneering. He whispered something to Rinbar, the Marine responsible for the explosives. They were several steps away, but Leral clearly heard the word 'woman'. She narrowed her eyes, opened her mouth. The two Marines were already walking away.
"Help me run through preflight, Lieutenant?" Ra'dok asked.
Leral looked at him. The grey-maned old pilot had a serious look on his craggy face.
"Of course." She replied.
* * *
"That boy is going to be trouble." Ra'dok said, easing his husky frame--made huskier by his vacum suit--into the shuttle's pilot's seat.
"He's said nothing that hasn't been said before." Leral replied.
The pilot grunted.
"He says anything like that again, remind him why you're a Lieutenant."
Leral seated herself in the co-pilots chair and took a cautious look into the rear of the shuttle. The other four team members were loading the gear. She and Ra'dok were speaking quietly.
"This is not my first command, Warrant Officer." She said, flipping switches as she began her portion of the preflight check.
Ra'dok grinned.
"Your first command was in battle. Young bastards like K'tal will follow anyone towards shooting. This is different. It's your plan, and he doesn't think the idea is worth the trouble."
Leral opened her mouth, but said nothing.
"You have your blade?" Ra'dok asked.
Leral growled at the insult. Her
d'ktagh was sheathed on her hip.
"Yes."
"No disrespect intended, Lieutenant. I just think you should keep it close, make sure K'tal sees it. He might remember you've used it before."
Leral considered, then nodded. She turned back to her panel.
"Merely advice, Lieutenant." Ra'dok muttered. "You do not have to listen."
"If I was stupid enough to ignore the ramblings of a Chief Warrant Officer, I'd not deserve to be called Lieutenant." Leral smiled slightly.
Ra'dok laughed. It was a low, hearty noise.
* * *
The stubby shuttle eased out of the
Hiv?laposh?s docking bay. Ra?dok was a confident pilot, and the maneuvering was smooth.
Leral had little to do for the moment. She sat in the copilot?s seat, staring out the small craft?s wide forward viewport. Ra?dok was bringing the little ship around, taking up a position off the battlecruiser?s starboard bow. She hadn?t had much opportunity to see what was essentially her home from the outside. She examined the old cruiser with interest.
?Pretty, is she not?? Ra?dok asked.
?Pretty isn?t the word I?d choose.? Leral replied. The old battlecruiser's low-slung nacelles and long neck were classic Klingon design and lent a predatory air to the ship, but there was more to her than that. Here and there her hull was a darker or lighter grey than the rest; scars repaired with different grades of metal than she'd been constructed with. Her exterior lights were agleam, as they always were during shuttle operations, but somehow they made the cruiser darker, throwing swaths of her hull into shadow. Leral considered.
"She...looks like she wouldn't bother to kill you before she ate you." She said after a moment. Ra'dok cackled.
?
Shuttle One,? The cockpit speakers crackled. It was Ran?jar?s voice, of course. ?
The sop?nagh Is in position. Proceed.?
?Confirmed, acting.? Leral answered. The ship had been watching the stone eater, waiting for it to turn its maw in the least worrisome direction.
She turned to Ra?dok but the old pilot was already throttling the shuttle up to maximum power. She turned to her panel. The distance between shuttle and stone eater began to lessen, the numbers on the range indicator changing more rapidly as the small craft accelerated.
There was nothing outside the viewport now. The
Hiv?laposh was already far behind.
?Lieutenant, make sure everyone?s strapped in.? Ra?dok muttered. His manner had changed. She was in charge of the mission but the shuttle and its passengers were his responsibility.
She looked back into the passenger compartment Scientists and Marines alike were trying not to appear apprehensive, though the Marines were going to greater lengths. All were properly secured, as they had been before take off.
K?tal was glaring at her, though not when she looked directly at him. She noted the expression and turned back to her controls.
?They are.?
Ra?dok nodded. The range continued to shrink.
?Shutdown in thirty seconds.? The pilot advised.
?Shuttle One to
Hiv?laposh.? Leral called out. ?Switching to external sensor feed.?
?
Affirmative. Confirm when feed established.?
The panel indicators went dark as Leral tapped the correct buttons. Three seconds passed before they came back to life. Their data came from the battlecruiser now; the sop?nagh would certainly notice if the shuttle used it?s own sensors on the approach.
?Feed established.?
?
Affirmative.?
?Shutting down main engine?.now.? Ra?dok announced. The low hum of the impulse drive died away. Interior lights flickered, then went out and the slight breeze from the vents died away.
?All systems powered down.? Leral confirmed. The shuttle had batteries but she did not bring them on line. The atmosphere in the shuttle could sustain the crew for several hours and it?d take awhile for the gravity plates to lose their charge. If she hadn?t required the cockpit indicators or the inertial compensators she?d have shut them down too.
?Beginning thruster burn.? Ra?dok stated. A faint noise, like paper quietly ripped, echoed through the cockpit. Leral felt nothing; the inertial compensators were designed for low warp speeds. Such subtle changes in velocity would not tax them.
She looked up. There was nothing but empty space beyond the viewport. Long minutes would pass before the sop?nagh appeared.
The pilot leaned back in his seat.
?Now we wait.? He said.
Leral nodded.
Topic: The Miners of the Stars (Read 29644 times)