Finding a Home

Posted on Fri Mar 24th, 2017 @ 5:38pm by Commander Andrew Knight

Mission: The Space Between
Location: FOB Perimeter
Timeline: MD 8 - 1330

The helm console began to beep alerting Captain Braylin that there was something ahead. He had been dozing in his chair so he awoke with a start. He made a few quick adjustment in the ship's sensors and called over his shoulder, "Zaem....get up here."

"What?" Braylin's partner asked as he stuck his head through the cockpit door.

"It seems we have found a warning beacon," Braylin replied, taking the helm off of auto pilot.

"Out here?" Zaem said as he slipped into the co-pilot's seat. "There's nothing but an old asteroid belt."

"Why would there be a warning beacon in an asteroid belt?" Braylin said, shaking his head. "Someone had to put it there."

Zaem checked the navigation database....as limited and out of date as it was. "There hasn't been any activity in this sector in...well...according to this....the last was the Federation. But they abandoned the base."

"Well....then they are either back or someone else took it over," Braylin said. "Where exactly is this so called base?" he asked. "Helm sensors show nothing."

"It's supposed to be on one of the larger asteroids inside the belt," Zaem said.

"Inside....are you sure?" Braylin asked, incredulously.

"That's what the database says," Zaem answered.

"Ok. Looks like we're going for a ride," Braylin said, taking hold of the joy stick. "Hang on to your ass." Then over his shoulder he called out, "better hang on back there. It may get a little hairy."

Cate had been standing at the only replicator on board this hunk of junk trying to get it to make her a cold beer, but it didn't have a clue what that was so it kept creating the wrong thing. As the ship tilted, she grabbed hold of a cabinet handle and quickly took a seat on a dilapidated captain's seat that had been spot welded to the bulkhead. "I can't take much more of this crap," she muttered and the two others that had escaped Manheim with her agreed.

Braylin's ship may have looked like a hunk of junk but it maneuvered like a razor under Braylin's expert hand and they zig zagged through the outer rim of the asteroid field.

=====FOB Ops=====

"Gunny....we have an incoming vessel," the ensign sitting at the security console announced.

Vasquez had been working at her station when the ensign chimed in with the announcement. "What" she said turning and looking at the ensign. When the words sunk in, Vasquez came to life. "Ensign, report. Identify those vessels...friendly?" asked the Gunnery Sergeant. She was not really looking for a fight right now and had not anticipated having to make any calls.

"There is only one ship," the ensign said. "It isn't in our registry." Since the incoming ship was not known to the Starfleet database, the only thing they had to go on was the sensors' analysis of what it would look like. The ensign put the sensors' image up on one of the viewers. "It appears to be a small freighter with minimal weapons. It's too far out to get life signs," she reported.

Drew exited his office just off of the operations center. He was halfway to the turbolift when the exchange between Vasquez and the ensign caught his attention. He changed direction and headed their way. "What do you have Gunny?"

Vasquez breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw the man arrive. She turned to address him "A slight situation, Sir" she replied briefly. "There is a vessel heading our way, a small freighter by the looks of it but we are not within sensor range to read life signs. It should be poorly armed" she explained. "It does not have one of our registries" she added.

=====Freighter=====

"This is nuts," Braylin growled as he whipped his ship around a huge asteroid then had to avoid a smaller one that appeared directly in their path. "Are you sure there's a base in this mess?"

Zaem shrugged as he held on to the arms of his seat. "I'm just telling you what the computer says," he answered. "Computers can be wrong."

"Oh that's just great," Braylin growled.

Cate got up out of her seat and stumbled to the door of the cockpit. Hanging on to the doorjam she watched as they dodged another cluster of asteroids. "Are you insane?" she asked, incredulously. "We're going to be pulverized."

"Insane? Quite possibly," Braylin said as he jammed the joystick to the far right and the ship veered away from another asteroid. "Pulverized? Not if I can help it. You need to have a seat, Starfleet. Unless you want to become your own patient."

"We're coming up on another warning beacon," Zaem announced. "That's two...and they are transmitting to someone. It looks like the asteroid field thins out up ahead."

=====FOB Ops======

Gunnery Sergeant Vasquez returned to her station. She looked at the Lieutenant Commander and awaited his orders. "How would you like to proceed, Sir?" she asked standing by to take whatever action he deemed necessary.

Drew's expression displayed an intense focus as he studied the telemetry track of the approaching vessel. "Open a channel."

The Operations Chief moved about behind her console, tapping a few controls and opening a communications channel. She nodded at the man. "You're on, Commander. Though I can't guarantee they will be in a talking mood" she added.

"Approaching vessel, this is Lieutenant Commander Knight. Please identify yourself and your intentions."

=====Freighter=====

"Our intentions?" Braylin repeated, looking at Zaem. "Is he kidding?"

Zaem reached for the comm button as Braylin avoided another group of small asteroids.

Cate put her hand on Zaem's shoulder. "Wait. He used his rank. He's Starfleet," she said. "We've found a Starfleet base."

Braylin could see the clearing ahead and accelerated the small ship towards it as he nodded to Zaem who tapped the button. "This is Braylin. Captain of the Arnev. We are independent freight procurers on our way to Starbase 900 with some of your people," he said.

=====FOB Ops=====

Drew turned to face Vasquez. "Confirmation? Are they who they say they are?"

Vasquez looked at the man "I cannot confirm the man's identity, just that his story seems to check out. He very well could be who he says he and here as he claims" the woman said. "But I'm not ruling out Undine or some sort of shape shifting creature, but that's just me. This quadrant makes my skin crawl" she explained.

=====Arnev=====

As the freighter leveled out and Braylin slowed its speed at the clearing, Cate sat forward and said, "let me talk to them."

Zaen pressed the comm button on the control panel and gave her a nod.

"Commander Knight. This is Lt. Caitlin Donovan. Starfleet ID code 41Charlie52Zulu. I was Head Nurse on Starbase Manheim until the Voth took over the base. Captain Braylin helped me and four other Starfleet officers escape. We were on our way to Starbase 900 but our.....," she looked at Braylin and asked, "what's that thing called?"

"An EPS Flow Regulator," Braylin said.

"Our EPS Flow Regulator is misfiring and we need to dock somewhere to repair it," Cate explained. "Is this a Starfleet base?"

=====Ops=====

Drew looked at the track on the freighter and the transponder code. "Donovan, Knight. Come to course 340 mark 75 relative and reduce velocity to 250kph. A Valkyrie starfighter will rendezvous with you in two minutes and lead you in."

=====Arnev====

As Zaen inserted the coordinates into the nav panel, Cate said, "thank you, Commander," then sat back down.

Braylin glanced back at the woman and nodded. "Nice, Starfleet. Too bad you aren't sticking around. I could use someone with medical skills."

"No thanks," Cate said with a grimace. "I like my floor to be stationary."

Braylin chuckled as he piloted the Arnev to the coordinates.

=====Ops=====

Drew turned to Vasquez. "Peel off one of the CAP Valkyries to lead them in and have an engineering team dispatched to the port facility." He turned and headed to the exit while tapping his combadge. "Doctor Nichols, this is CDR Knight. Meet me in the port facility."

=A=On my way.=A=

Drew stepped into the turbolift. "I may have an applicant for that Head of Nursing position you've been trying to fill."