Getting Aboard

[Charles Cadwallader]

[Civilian Sector, Deep Space Six]

With his new identification firmly lodged in the computer system with all things able to show as him, Tank decided it was time to get down to the berth that Captain Martens had said to rendezvous with him at. He didn’t have any clue what he’d find but he’d have to go in now and risk it, his timetable had been thrown out of whack when he’d received an unexpected messenger while coming back from a meeting to arrange his identity.

He had been walking back from this meeting, pretty smug with himself for having reconnected with an old contact that had been able to implant his false identity deep into the computer without leaving a trace. Ideally he’d be able to walk through security checkpoints and right into the bay that Bob had indicated.

Tank was so smug with his achievements to date that he failed to notice the gentleman tailing him until he’d already walked himself into a back corridor. His luck held out though because he quickly recognized the man following him as Chris Williams, a former partner during missions that didn’t happen in places they never visited. 

“Tank,” Chris said with a smile.

Despite their friendly relationship in the past, neither was quick to make any sudden moves. “What can I do for you Chris?”

“It’s what I can do for you. Denton sent me.”

Tank bristled slightly at the mention of his former friend, compatriot and commander; but he didn’t move or say anything. 

After a moment of silence Chris continued, “Someone has made a move. They’ve laid down their hand and we’re not sure what cards we are still holding. Tank…” Chris paused again, “Admiral Denton was assassinated.” He handed over a PADD that detailed the retired admiral’s death, apparently from natural causes.

A second document was appended to the official report which detailed suspicions by members of the organization Denton had founded and run for years to oppose other Admirals, that he had been targeted and taken out by members of a rival faction who saw him as a threat. 

Just as Tank read the last line, he saw why Chris had showed up like this, his old friend confirmed it as well, “We lost contact with half a dozen high profile targets yesterday and we’re scrambling to recover.”

Tank handed back the PADD, “You know I’m not on that payroll anymore Chris, what are you doing here?”

“We believe that Bob Martens may have been on somebody’s list. I know he’s here on DS6 but I haven’t been able to gain access to him. I fear that whoever has targeted him has shut out anybody else from trying to get in, they don’t want to repeat what happened when you and he met so many years ago…”

Nodding, Tank couldn’t help but remember his first meeting with Captain Martens. The man had made some enemies of some very bad people within the Federation bureaucracy and Tank had been sent there to make sure nothing untoward happened to the young captain. The incident had changed them both and initially drawn them into a political nightmare that they had been desperate to escape.

As his most recent captivity and reactivation had shown again clearly, each time they thought they were out and clear, somebody moved to draw them back in.

“Thank you Chris, I’ll take it from here.”

“Tank, we need him, thing have moved too fast in the recent years. That balance of power is shifting even now.”

“I can’t promise anything old buddy, but you can be sure that anybody who comes at either Bob or I will have to answer for it…”

With that Tank turned and left, heading for the bay where he had arranged to meet with Bob Martens when he could. What he’d find there, he could only imagine. Least of all, he just wanted to be sure his friend was okay.

He quickly bypassed security checkpoints, adopting an air of casual incredulity of any possible delays while accepting everyone had their job to do. It matched his false background of a senior NCO well. 

Finally he was stepping out from a lift to see a ship being constructed in a docking bay. Vaguely the shape lent itself to the Defiant class, but it was undergoing intense repair or refitting that none of that class had gone through. 

A security officer approached Tank with the intention of checking his documents, Tank handed him the PADD he was carrying not even considering that it was false as it had gotten him through every other security checkpoint so far. 

The officer checked it all and handed it back to him, “Everything looks to be in order Colonel Chandler; Captain Martens is expecting you in his ready room, please follow me.”

Tank did as he was told, despite being taken aback by his casually blown cover. “Can I ask…”

“How I knew?” The officer finished before Tank could say it. “Ever since we got the computer core up and running on the Excalibur we’ve been parsing through all the data from the ship’s internal sensors as a matter of course. We’ve got some pretty sensitive filters running to identify any suspicious characters as well as flag a few selected people. You happened to come up on both, but not until today when you cleared through security on the say here.”

Tank had stopped in mid-stride along the transparent boarding ramp, looking over the ship, “What did you say this ship was?”

The officer turned at the open docking hatch of the small ship and gave a sly grin, “The USS Excalibur sir, welcome aboard.” 

“Excalibur…” Tank said to himself quietly, “Take me to the Captain.”

The two officers entered the ship and the hatch closed behind them.

--
Charles E. L. Cadwallader

"Aut viam inveniam aut faciam" - "I will either find a way or make one"