Dead Letter Drop

Posted on Wed Aug 4th, 2021 @ 2:13pm by Lieutenant Clara Lawson

Mission: Darkness Rising - A Phoenix Lalor Sub Plot
Timeline: MD23
575 words - 1.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Clara's task was simple She was to take the shuttle, to a rendezvous and collect and transmit data. She arrived at the location, a lone communication satellite, far between systems and suited up for a space walk. Since the loss of their base, this would be their only line of communication until they could link up the new base with their handler. The data they were transmitting was simple, a report on their current status, the loss of their base and their newest member. She wondered how their handler would handle that little snafu.

Shutting down the main power she sealed her helmet and moved to the rear hatch. She attached the tether line, and opened the hatch and de-magnetised her boots. Floating she gripped the edge of the shuttle and pushed herself off and out into space.

The jump was short and she was soon grabbing onto the Satellite and inserting the data padd she carried into an information slot. As she did so, she kept her gaze sweeping the area, as what she was doing was highly illegal and she knew that at any moment she could be faced with a starfleet vessel.

The PADD pinged and she withdrew it from the slot and then she pushed off of the satellite and headed back to the shuttle. She re-entered the shuttle, sealed the hatch and re-magnetized her boots. Then she moved to the cockpit, and restored main power to the drive.

Clara worked in complete silence, not even humming. She had no need for music or noise. Once the drive was back on fully she set her course. As she went to engage the warp drive, a starship shot out of warp. She rolled her eyes and put in evasive manoeuvres. Typical. Bloody typical.

As her shuttle streaked away her Comm crackled. "This is the USS Hightower, Come about and turn your engines off." Yeah that was not going to happen.

Clara calmly initiated the warp drive and shot to warp before they could bring their weapons or tractor beam to bear.

=

14 hours later, she dropped out of warp on the dark side of Rigel X and plotted her course to their home base.

Under the cloak of a snowstorm she landed in the hanger beside the Equinox and sealed the hanger.

Then she exited the shuttle and headed up to the main living area of their new base. Once there she moved to the terminal she and Lily had moved from the old Black watch and set up in the living area. She inserted the PADD into the slot and hit download. The Terminal would take the data and messages and assign them to the crew as required and download them onto separate PADDS for people. The terminal took several minutes to complete the data transfer and when it pinged she removed the PADD and began inserting the blank padds each with a crew member's name. Sasha's first. Then Lily, Malakai, Mattias, Gwynn, Kara, Jax, Anna, Joshua, Xavier and herself. There would be nothing for Kate at this time, due to the fact no one knew she was with them.

Once each PADD was done she stacked them in a pile and then headed up to the sleeping quarters to hand them out. She slid each corresponding PADD under the door of the person for whom it was meant.

When only her's was left she headed to her bedroom to read it.