Uninvited Guests

Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 3:48am by Lieutenant Nicholas Boucher & Petty Officer 2nd Class Zo & Ignatius & Raven Mattel
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 6:01pm

Mission: The Evils Within
Location: Hesiod Blue
Timeline: Night

ON:

Night had come quickly on Hesiod Blue, bringing a soft cool breeze off the ocean waves, and a tranquil peace descended upon the planet. The palm-like trees bristled softly against the wind, the only other sound to be heard apart from the constant hum of the base camp's solar generator. Foreign technology and native fauna creating their own calming harmony. The sky was completely clear, but there weren't any stars to see in this region; the night providing an almost-empty, sheer black vista above the campsite. Hesiod Green remained visible in space, giving off a slight emerald glow, while the region's dark-purple spacial storms could be seen clearly in the distance, even from the planet's surface.

The Valkyrie pilots currently off-shift were asleep in their temporary quarters, the tents hastily erected that day to accomodate the squadrons as they patrolled the region in rotations. Another group were still in space, somewhere, patrolling between Hesiods Green and Blue, ensuring the Pandora was protected. The camp was quiet and dark, except for one of the tents. Raven and Ignatius were sharing a small tent between them, the two friends initially excited by the idea of an off-world camping trip, but the close proximity was already becoming an issue. Ignatius was reclined inside his Starfleet-issued sleeping bag, while Raven sat atop her bed reading a book. Ignatius was supposed to be asleep so he could arise at 5AM to make breakfast, whereas Raven was about to take-over from Terrekal on camp duties, having agreed to take the late-night shift, which she also now regretted.

"I wish you'd tell me what was wrong." Ignatius sighed, as he looked to his tent-mate. The two had barely spoken since the afternoon, with the civilians busy accomodating and looking after their Valkyrie charges. It had been a hectic day of setting up camp, serving meals and drinks, cleaning up, and ensuring everything ran smoothly. They had no idea how long they would spend on Hesiod Blue as this all depended on the Pandora's top-secret mission, but they had settled quickly into their role as service providers. Ignatius had led the charge for the civilians, taking on the title as de-facto camp manager, whereas Raven had clearly lost enthusiasm as the day wore on.

"I'm fine, really." Raven sighed, heavily, still looking at her book without actually reading it, "I'm more annoyed that you keep asking."

"Because I know you, Raven," Ignatius replied, "I can tell when something's up." From his angle lying down, he studied Raven's face in the soft lantern light for a while, noting that she hadn't yet taken off her make-up and drag attire. She had been in it all day. "Are you going to stay as Raven the whole time? Do you feel like you can't be yourself here?"

Raven shot him a look that was equal parts 'spot-on' and 'too-far'. "Why would you ask that?"

Ignatius shrugged, "I won't sleep till I know you're okay and I'm trying to figure out why you're not. Do you feel the pilots and Lieutenant Boucher will judge you? They won't, of course, but I can sense your reservation around them. Us folks and military types haven't always been on the same page."

"Honey, I've never let anyone judge me and I'm not about to let a bunch of fly-boys start now." Raven said haughtily; it was all gusto. "Can we drop it?"

Ignatius frowned, as he laid his head back against the pillow and covered his eyes with a black velvet mask. "For now. But you will tell me eventually."

Elsewhere, in the mess tent, Crewman Zo and Terrekal had been enjoying a drink and a lively conversation. Their rapport had improved with the passing of the day and the shared bits of stress between the two. At first, Terrekal had been a bit "hands-on" with the man, but once Zo made it clear he wasn't interested in any chromosome ending in "Y" things began to get a bit more polite and less awkward. At this point, Terrekal took the Ba'Ku man at his word, though Terrekal remained silently suspicious.

The virile Fesarian was at the punchline of a joke when Lt. Boucher entered the tent. The joke ended with the line, "...well that explains the third arm." The two shared a laugh and clinked their drinks together in another of many toasts. Terrekal had managed to get some tranya down to the planet - mostly for calming his own nerves and libido - but Zo was drinking seltzer water all the same, even though now he was off duty.

"Ah! Lieutenant!" said Terrekal to Boucher as he entered. "Come have a glass with us. We're just winding down the day."

Nick smiled uncomfortably as he made his way toward the Fesarian and Ba'ku. He'd taken a quick minute to go over the personnel files of the people who'd been assigned to this little side-mission and he'd been shocked to discover that Zo was almost twice his age.

"As long as it's synthehol," Nick replied, taking a seat. "I'm still getting used to this whole command thing and would rather be clear-headed."

"Of course!" said Terrekal, hopping off the makeshift bar stool and going to the replicator. "What would you like?"

"Some kind of cheap tasting hooch," Nick replied, grinning. "I can't stand any synthehol pretending to be a fancy, expensive drink because they don't even come close to the real thing."

Terrekal handed him the cold glass and hopped back onto the bar stool. Zo swallowed a gulp of tranya and said, "Based on the minimal amount of repairs I've done today, I assume your crew is adjusting well to the nice environment?"

Nick took a sip, fighting the urge to cringe. Terrekal had done well. He set his glass down, feeling the liquor burn it's way down his throat.

"This is a paradise compared to some of the worlds I've been stationed," Nick stated, shrugging. "As far as temporary way stations while waiting for a senior officer go, we certainly could have done worse."

"The beach is a great change of scenery," said Terrekal. "I will admit, though, the whole thing has been rather uneventful. I'm to the point where I'm about to make trouble just so something happens!"

Nick laughed. "Back in the Marines, you would have been cuffed for a comment like that. Never tempt fate. Things can go from good to FUBAR in an instant."

He took another sip of his drink, this one going down a bit easier now that he was braced for it. "Not that we'd see anything like that here. No chance a squad of Jem'Hadar is hiding over the hills in this paradise."

Terrekal had never heard the term FUBAR before, but he got the gist.

Zo grunted in agreement as he took another drink of the seltzer. "A warp core provides the same amount of unpredictability," he said after swallowing. "You never know when something decides to break or cease working. And it always feels like you're constantly fixing the same things all of the time, even when you just fixed them the day before."

Nick raised his glass. "To boredom and repetition."

Breaking into the moment, there came a loud ringing of Red Alert klaxons from the runabout nearby. The shuttle had been acting as a de-facto command centre for the camp, running a constant surveillance of the region and active Valkyrie patrol. Now it had picked up something unusual and, by the piercing cry of the klaxons, potentially dangerous.

Nick rose to his feet quickly and began making his way out of the mess tent. "Zo, get the last two fighters prepped for launch. Mes amis, rain cheque on these drinks."

"Aye, sir!" Zo replied, handing his glass to Terrekal and leaving him there to clean up.

Terrekal disposed of the glasses and put the tranya bottle back on the makeshift shelf behind him. Then he ran to Raven and Ignatius' tent.

"Raven! Ignatius! Wake up! I think we have an emergency," Terrekal said, hitting the outside of the tent.

Ignatius sat up and took off his eye-mask with a sudden jolt. Lying in the bunk next to him, Raven had rolled over but was clearly not asleep either.

"Sounds like trouble!" Ignatius cried as he started to peel off his various blankets and pillows.

"He probably just ran out of booze." Raven tiresomely commented, pulling her sheet further over her face.

"He said it was an emergency!" Ignatius stated, his impatience evident as he rushed to leave.

"For a Fesarian, that is an emergency." Raven smirked. If Ignatius had found that funny, he wasn't around to laugh. The clothier had quickly jumped out of the tent and was looking for the rest of the crew.

Outside, Boucher took off at a run toward the runabout and tapped his commbadge. "Redran, get your ass out of bed and get to your ship. Be ready to launch."

He arrived at the runabout and burst into the cockpit. The crewman on duty was already at the controls, getting a look at the readings. Nick looked over their shoulder to see what had set off the alarm. He swore at what he saw.

The computer's message was clear. A proximity alert had been trigged by long-range scans, as a small group of three Talarian fighters appeared in the Hesiod region, dropping out of warp just over 200 kilometres away from Hesiod Blue.

"Keep me appraised the moment they make a move toward either planet, crewman," he ordered, as he turned and left the cockpit. He tapped his commbadge again. "Alphas 3 and 4, do not engage until we join you in orbit, but also, make no attempt to conceal yourselves."

Nick made his way quickly to where the remaining two fighters were parked. The camp was currently a flurry of activity as everyone bustled about. They hadn't been expecting trouble, at least not this soon, but they were all still ready for it. He needed to find Ignatius before he launched, and brief him on his plan.

Meanwhile, Zo had finished preparing the last fighter for launch and moved quickly through the last diagnostic. Five seconds later, the last fighter was cleared to launch.

"What's happening?!" A clearly frantic Ignatius cried as he joined the others; though it was pretty obvious with the pilots scrambling and the Valkyries being prepped for launch. He felt utterly useless in this scenario, but wanted to be involved nonetheless.

"Ignatius, get the camp ready, we may have some company," Nick replied, approaching the man. "Three Talarian fighters just arrived in-system. We need to draw them here and keep their eyes off Hesiod Green to keep the Pandora's mission a secret."

He placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Just keep everyone calm and under cover. Alpha Squad should be able to handle them"

Ignatius was nodding furiously, "Yes, yes, yes. Will do." He started running off towards the tents, his voice a shrill cry. "DON'T PANIC!" He shouted, clearly panicked.

[Hesiod Space - Lead Talarian]

In the cockpit of the Talaran fighter, the expedition's captain Gavar glared at the sensor readings. "Multiple Federation readings, all over the region!"

"We have warp trails between both planets and a recent patrol pattern." His co-pilot Nirden confirmed. "Are they trying to deceive us?"

"It is likely." Gavar sneered. "The Federation's arrogance is unrelenting. First they arrive with a convoy of freighters and supply craft, now they guard this region as if it were their own?"

"This region should be the domain of the Alrakis Pact!" Nirden hissed.

"Of the Talarians." Gavar quickly corrected him. "We will root out these rodents and destroy them, in the name of the Talarian Republic."

OFF