Ensign T’Fearne - The Thread Between Two Worlds [Part 1]
teayl.thorn
((Sojourn Shuttlecraft, Proxima Sigma IV))
((T-minus 84 Hours, 32 Minures 59 Hours, 30 minutes to Impact))
T’Fearne waved the three Saurian engineers forward, lending them her strength as they struggled to maneuver the salvaged device into the cramped cargo area of the Sojourn. The machinery—bulky and dormant—barely fit through the shuttle’s rear hatch, screeching against the frame as it was forced in.
She had considered leaving the device and its engineers at the remains of the Terminal, their wounds tended by Alyndra. But then the green-scaled Saurian, the one with nervous orange eyes, had said something that snagged her attention like a flashbang.
He’d called it “proprietary tech,” muttered engineering jargon about null fields and cascading power fluctuations—none of which particularly interested her. But then he’d mentioned it, almost as an afterthought, colloquially referring to it as a “Spare Emergency Brake” for Soliton locomotives.
Her ears perked. That could change things.
She dismissed the two younger engineers, sending them to report back to PS4’s local government, not that she had much faith they’d follow through. The green Saurian seemed to be senior to the others and had some knowledge of the device. She didn’t ask him to come—she told him. He would accompany the device and explain it to the Ronin’s engineers if needed. Though it seemed he had already been in contact briefly with Tucker.
Now, as the shuttle cycled through pre-flight checks, T’Fearne secured the Saurian in the rear compartment and headed toward the cockpit to join O’Connor and Syrex.
She unclasped her rebreather, streaked with red dust from the warm, toxic air outside, and rubbed her jaw, tuning into the snippets of the officers’ conversation ahead.
Syrex: Sorry we’re a bit late, lieutenant. We bumped into a couple of locals.
The Lieutenant, eyes locked on the helm readouts, seemed preoccupied. Alyndra was already busy unpacking at the science console. T’Fearne slipped into the co-pilot seat, silently grateful for the chance to return the favour O’Connor had extended by letting her fly earlier. The co-pilot and tactical positions weren’t as exciting as the helm, but she liked them anyway.
O’Connor: No problem. Had to work on a little problem with the shields…or lack thereof..
T’Fearne’s brows lifted, pointed ears twitching at that news.
T’Fearne: The shields are down? That’s a significant safety concern.
O’Connor: Nah, it won’t be a major issue…unless we run into radiation, get shot at, or ram something. I do plan to avoid all that as best I can though. Besides I was gonna bleed power from there and everything else I could to get us some more speed to catch up with the XO. Care to elaborate a little more on the folks you ran into as we take off?
T’Fearne was momentarily distracted, grinding her teeth a little as she imagined what Kirsty might say to her, as the security officer on the away mission, about going off without functional shields. She winced.
Syrex: Friendly, but a little injured. I couldn’t in my right mind leave them with wounds I could quickly heal. I’m sure you understand?
T’Fearne: We’ve brought one of them as a passenger—a civilian Engineer on board. And a device, I think Ronin’s engineering or science teams need to examine. I’ve secured both in the back.
O’Connor: Absolutely, safety first. Now strap in cause I’ve bled energy from the inertial dampeners as well. This is gonna be an old school rocket take off. Oh and it might get a little warm…cause you know, the minimal shielding.
T’Fearne secured her harness—a piece of equipment not often used—thankful she’d already braced the passenger and device in the back. She kept her jacket on. She liked the heat more than most species, while O’Connor tossed his to an empty seat and began working the console like a concert pianist. The Sojourn roared to life, arced up through the atmosphere, and punched free from PS4’s grasp. Behind them, the battered remains of the terminal and then the orbital station receded in a haze of debris and atmosphere. Leaving Kirsty behind, still down there on the surface.
A shimmering pulse, the stars elongated, and the shuttle leapt into warp.
((Timeskip))
((Sojourn Shuttlecraft, En-route to rondevou with Shuttle Craft Anna Pavlova, Somewhere between Proxima and Alpha Sigma Systems))
The hailing frequencies sparked to life, indicating an incoming call from one of the Ronin’s other shuttles—the Anna Pavlova.
T’Fearne verified the comm codes and opened the channel. The viewscreen brightened with the image of Commander Raga, eyes faintly luminescent as he peered at them, flanked by a sereen-faced officer T’Fearne recognised as Major Singh.
Raga: =/\= Anna Pavlova to Sojourn. We’re about ten minutes from you and about to come about to head back to the train. Have you, T’Fearne and Syrex had a chance to review the situation on the Express yet? The captain wants all of us to support Chief Tucker’s team and get them out of there so they aren’t trapped with Emzai. =/\=
O’Connor: We really haven’t had much of a chance yet, but we are pulling it up now and will do some cramming as we head to you.
T’Fearne: The Lt. briefed us on the conversation. The Ronin’s lost contact with the engineering team sent to board the train. This adversary—Emzai—is familiar to you. Any casualties so far?
Raga: =/\= We don’t believe they’re hostages, yet. Emzai didn’t gloat to us about having any of our people. However, the longer they’re aboard that train the higher the chance that’ll happen. Either way, we need to help Tuck do whatever they can to hinder her plans and try and get all of our people off that train. Starting by finding a way to breach the train. If we can grab her too, great, but she’s a low priority. Saving lives on two planets and the train is why we’re here. =/\=
Syrex: ::Interrupting:: Two planets?
O’Connor: We’ll get it done. It’s what we do.
The Lt. gave a shrug, working intently on the Sojourne’s helm.
oO Is that just bravado and wishful thinking or does he believe it? Will saying it make it so? Oo
T’Fearne: :: Grimly :: Understood, Sir.
Through the slightly flickering image pickup, the commander's expression was downcast. T’Fearne knew that more bad news was about to be forthcoming.
Raga: =/\= An antimatter device was set off at the station on Alpha Sigma. A similar device, we think, to what destroyed the one on Proxima. The train’s been dropping devices that have reflected part of the wave back to the other planet. If we can’t stop this, both colonies will be destroyed. We’ve got people on the ship working on that. Our focus should be on boarding the train and helping Tuck. =/\=
Syrex: So what’s our play here? With two spacecraft now rather than just the Sojourn our capabilities have basically doubled. Or are we leaving it here and joining you?
Singh: =/\= Commander, if I may? =/\=
Raga: =/\= By all means, Major. =/\=
On the screen, he nodded to the Major as she took a breath and launched into an introduction and tactical analysis.
Singh: =/\= I am a Starfleet Marine, Commander and ship to ship boarding actions are something that's been drilled into the DNA of Marines since long before vessels had warp drive. Extracting Commander Tucker and his people should be secondary to eliminating the threat this woman represents. If we can coordinate with the Ronin and confirm Emzai's location, I believe we could plan and execute a two pronged boarding action...one with the goal of securing our personnel, the other a direct assault on Emzai and whoever else she has helping her. =/\=
The Commander tilted his head, seemingly approving.
O’Connor: Whichever way, you need us.
The security officer's dark eyes flicked to the Commander’s briefly.
T’Fearne: Shouldn’t our people's safety be the primary objective?
She kept her tone respectful, but she agreed more with the Commander’s original opinion on this topic. The crew’s safety came first for her—apprehending some woman, however threatening, was a secondary concern.
Syrex: Ok understood, I can use the data Ensign T’Fearne and I gathered in the lav module to see if any matching signatures were onboard. Maybe it- Oh.
Alyndra pulled an artifact from her pocket and tapped on the console.
Syrex: We found this in the terminal, it seems to be a black box of sorts – A device for recording the last moments of the station. Only, it looks too old to be compatible with our interface. Maybe when the terminal was sabotaged, it was by Emzai? Her plan could, in some small part be here?
O’Connor: Maybe. Anything could be helpful at this point. See what you can dig out of it.
T’Fearne: I’m not sure the timing fits. The Soliton Express left Alpha Sigma approximately 40 hours before the Proxima Sigma receiving station was destroyed. If this woman is on the train, then she would have been nowhere near that event. If this adversary is dangerous, as you say, would she have the resources to have others carry out the actions?
Raga: =/\= She’s incredibly careful and methodical, but there could be a chance the station’s black box picked up conversation or other data that might help. We won’t know until we check. =/\= ::he glanced back at the Major:: =/\= What else do you need from us for boarding the train? =/\=
Nodded gravely, the Major continued.
Singh: =/\= We will need additional tactical intelligence but I believe it can be done with minimum casualties and acceptable risk to the civilians aboard the train. Unfortunately I believe we will need to take some risks if we are to regain control of this situation in the time we have remaining. =/\=
After factoring in the civilians, T’Fearne mentally upgraded the adversary, Emzai, to a higher risk factor than she had previously categorised. A profile of the kind of person they were dealing with started to form in her mind. Methodical. Dangerous. Willing to wait and lure her prey to come to her. Willing to destroy worlds. Not just a murderer and a saboteur—they were dealing with a terrorist. Then it clicked—She's a spider!
The commander murmured something off comms and continued.
Raga: =/\= I’d prefer to have a plan in place before we arrive at the train. We’ll wait for you to catch up to us, then we’ll warp in together. =/\=
A tone chirped—Alyndra’s console.
Syrex: Analysis complete. There were very faint traces of Mizarian DNA amongst the terminal’s wreckage. Were there any Mizarian’s onboard the train? Could there be a connection?
T’Fearne frowned—another thread in the tangled web they followed at warp speed toward a runaway train threatening to unravel two worlds.
[No Tags / TBC in Part 2]
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Security Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
R240107T14