The Maiden Voyage of the M.S.S. Qaraq

Posted on Thu May 1st, 2025 @ 2:02pm by Petty Officer 3rd Class Raven Mattel & Commander Mindo

Mission: Outside the Box
Location: M.S.S Qaraq - Quarters
Timeline: Several hours after departure

ON:

In the barren desert of California, an hour out of San Francisco, there was a sprawling junkyard of forgotten ships. Great hunks of old machinery, there to be salvaged for parts or left to rot away. The remnants of these once great vessels loomed above the ground like shadowy giants amongst the dark, night sky. On this very early morning, the sun had not yet awoken, and the evening winds still swept sand across the desert surface.

At exactly 4am just outside of this junkyard, a swirl of blue lights appeared, and a figure cloaked in black step out. Moments later, another blue light and another figure arrived. One by one, a group emerged in the darkened desert, each one dressed in black with their appearance concealed through hoods and veils. They only carried a single bag or case each. None of them spoke, they merely stood patiently in the darkness.

As soon as the twelfth person had arrived, there came a silent nod from the first figure, and the group walked forwards into the desert - not a word spoken between them. A worker in the junkyard saw the group and quietly raised up a PADD, pressing a button on his screen. Then, what had appeared to be a large sand dune in the middle of the desert suddenly shimmered away and behind it, lit only by soft moonlight, was a ship. It was not a large vessel - an old merchant passenger ship, rescued from the junkyard at the 11th hour and given a new purpose.

The ship was small but provided enough space for a crew of twelve. An old Serenity-class private transport, the ship's new designation "M.S.S. Qaraq" could now be seen across her upper hull, though she bore no other flag of origin. While the craft was Federation in design and aesthetic, Starfleet never produced or utilized any Serenity-class vessels. Given that, the obsolete craft had been refitted with better amenities. Those making the restorations had been careful not to install any Starfleet-designed equipment. Everything had been arranged to launch the Qaraq from this junkyard in the dead of night, and she was to slip away from Earth without record or recognition.

The dark figures disappeared into the vessel and a few moments later, the old bird sprang to life. Engines burred into action, forward bow lights brightening up the night desert.

Inside the ship, the crew took their stations for launch.

[Later]

It was late in the evening now, the M.S.S Qaraq had departed from Earth several hours earlier and was now speeding towards the Neutral Zone as fast as this old ship could take them.

Petty Officer Mattel paced pensively in the small space that was her quarters. It had only been half a day but being on this ship was a very different experience for her. Sure, she had been on small transports and shuttles before. Her journey to Risa on the Ferengi passenger ship was an unforgettable experience for all the wrong reasons. But this was different. Once they were into the Neutral Zone and out of Federation space, they would be entirely on their own. Undercover also meant there was no one covering them if they got into trouble. She hoped the ship was up to the task, she was pacing because she feared it was not.

Deciding she could not pace any longer, Raven took in a breath and exited her room. After a very short walk, she found herself knocking on Mindo's door.

In his private quarters, Mindo had already gone to bed, but he hadn't found sleep. He'd been lost in his thoughts, and no matter how long he shut his eyes, he could not drift off. Across the room was a wet bar installed by the members of Warp Nine as a "ship-warming gift." It contained quite a lot of different kinds of liquor, with even more stashed in their "contraband" in the cargo bay. Mindo doubted he'd get to any of that, but also knew it could come in handy for a bribe if and when they were boarded.

Upon hearing the knock, Mindo let out a sigh of relief. Any distraction was a good one at this point. He was glad when he saw Raven on the other side of the door.

"Raven," Mindo said, blinking at the light coming into the darkened room. "Hi. What's up?"

"Oh, you know, just chilling." She lied as she wrapper her fingers around each other awkwardly and tried to give a nonchalant shrug. "Just seeing how you're going."

"Can't sleep either?" Mindo said.

She smiled. “Not a wink. Glad to know I’m not the only one.”

Mindo smiled. "I could use a drink. Care to join me?"

"Nothing too strong," She instinctively replied - a sentence that Raven Mattel had likely never uttered before in her life. It was like someone else was in possession of her voice. "You know, I uh, don't want to start violating rules on my first day."

Mindo grinned as he stepped to the bar and pulled out two glasses and popped open a bottle of tranya. "Fortunately, this is your first night, so the rules are a lot less stringent." He handed a glass of the fruity liquid to her and hunkered down on one of the two beanbag chairs he had brought along for the trip. Everything in the room was close to the ground, including a near-legless desk and a futon on the floor that could be raised into a small couch. The dresser was full-sized and looked a bit out of place, almost like a novelty.

"You're lucky, you know," Mindo continued. "If this were any other mission, you'd have to wear one of those ugly new uniforms."

"You'd know I'd rock any outfit they gave me," Raven gave boastful laugh. She lowered her long legs down into the beanbag chair as gracefully as she could manage. "I guess this is a tradition for new recruits, meeting the captain for a drink?"

"Only the most fabulous of recruits," Mindo said. "You know, I'm already missing Iggy, but I'm so glad you're here."

"Me too." Raven smiled, raising her glass. The ship shuddered, causing her arm to shake and their drinks to spill a little. "To the MSS Qaraq!" She declared.

The duo clinked their glasses in a toast to the ship.

OFF