Unexpected Guests Pt. 1

Posted on Wed May 1st, 2019 @ 6:58am by Commander Liselle Qwyyn & Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson & Captain Gary Taylor & Lieutenant Commander Aurelia Taylor

Mission: Episode 1: Hell is a four letter word
Location: Shuttle - Enroute to Trill
Timeline: MD 5
3028 words - 6.1 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

-- Federation Shuttle enroute to Trill --

Aboard the shuttle bound for the Trill homeworld, Liselle Qwyyn cautiously set a plate down at the communal table where her friends were gathered. This was the last of the dishes she had replicated: vine sweetened lida. It's purplish hue gave the fruit an almost bruised and unnaturally swollen appearance. She knew it didn't necessarily send a pleasing message to the eyes of most humanoid species, but in the past she had found its overly sugary flesh to be generally well accepted by those that gave it a try.

Satisfied with the placement of the food, Liselle passed a hand over the meal, indicating each dish as she crossed it. "Galzak, grakzih, lida, syto bean, mosa root, tarri tarri, enafral, ilamari, and foka flower," she announced. She paused then, tensing with anxious apology. "Trill doesn't cater to off-world appetites very well. We're still getting used to the idea of tourism. So if you can find something among these dishes that you like, you'll at least have something to eat at just about any restaurant where we'll be staying."

Finding her chair finally, she extended both hands. "Please. Dig in."

Gary looked at the lavish display of assorted foods Liselle had prepared for them. He pulled out a chair and sat down. The air around himself and Lia was in a word strained and he wished it wasn't but they had said a lot to each other and now it was obvious they were processing what each had said and trying desperately not to anger the other. "It's colorful Liselle." He pointed at the lida, "What's this?"

Clapping her hands together with delight at his participation, Liselle took hold of the plate and lifted it up to him. "Lida. It's very flavorful. I think you'll find they taste a lot like...mangos, maybe? Be careful, though, they are incredibly juicy."

He smiled at her obvious delight. "Lida." He repeated. Well, I like mangos." He took some of the fruit and put it on his plate. "Incredibly juicy huh? Thanks for the warning. I don't want to be making a mess." He picked up the fruit and brought it to his mouth. "Well here goes. In for a penny." As he took a tentative bite. His eyes closed as he savored the taste. Opening his eyes he looked at the others and then to Liselle. "That is good! Your right it does taste like mangos."

Qwyyn was positively thrilled with the early success. She immediately reached for another plate. "Try mosa root."

Gary looked at the mosa root. he didn't say it but he certainly thought that the mosa root looked like weeds found in his parents front yard.. He only hoped that appearances were deceiving. "Alright, here we go with the mosa root." As he placed some on his plate. "Well, it isn't moving." He observed as took a fork and took some into his mouth. He chewed for a bit, then grabbed a glass of water. "Oh bitter. At least to me."

Looking at the food, Lia wasn't sure what to try. Overhearing Gary and Liselle, she went for the Lida. Nibbling it carefully she found it sweet, but to her it had an after taste. *Keep eating this thing, at least its edible* she thought.

Taam watched as the off worlders dug into the Trill delicacies, though the tension between Gary and the blonde, Lia, was so palpable he thought he could bite into it and get a gush of juice, like the ripest of lidas. He wanted to talk to him, offer a hand, but this wasn't exactly an environment conducive to private conversations. He took a lida and some folka flower, it was a combination he'd always loved, though the smell reminded him of Merella's, and for that matter, Liselle's hair, ~Hey, great day to get in trouble anyway.~

-- Romulan Vessel --

Riov Mishka Valdran watched the Federation shuttle on her long range scanners, "Move to intercept that shuttle". Her ship the Havraha, turned slowly on to the course. "Check our cloak, I don't want any mistakes. I want those Federation Officers, our informant on DS9 has said there is a starship Captain onboard". She glanced around the bridge, "Erein Somkar, ensure our guests quarters are ready". Somkar left to comply with his orders, Valdran wasn't to be ignored. Tal Shiar Officers had a reputation, and he wanted to keep living. Back on the bridge Valdran noticed her Erei Riov was looking somewhat confused, "Khoal, you look surprised. Is there a problem?" The officer took a deep breath, "Riov, further to our information about the Federation shuttle. It would appear that the whole Command Staff is present, and that an ex-prisoner known to you is also a part of that Command Staff". Valdran walked forward towards Khoal, "Do we have a name?" The Erei Riov nodded, "He goes by the name Gary Taylor, he is First Officer of the Federation vessel". Mishka Valdran smiled to herself, "Taylor is aboard the shuttle? Then ensure we do not fail, I want both that Captain and Taylor". Khoal nodded, "As you command, but what of the others?" Valdran turned to go to her cabin, "Detain them also, they may provide additional information".

-- Federation Shuttle --

Liselle watched Lia's expression with pure joy in her eyes. "It's amazing, isn't it?" she said. "Oh, if you like that you really should try some of the -- "

"Sir!" A voice called over the comm. It was their pilot, and his young voice was having a hard time hiding his growing apprehension. "I have a vessel approaching on a direct intercept course. I'm having trouble getting a clean read on them."

Qwyyn looked to Phoenix. "Expecting someone?"

At the mention of another vessel moving on a direct intercept course, Gary was up and moving towards the cockpit. He glanced at Taam, old instincts taking over. His senses heighten and on alert. He entered the cockpit. "What have you got?" He asked the pilot.

"Sir, I'm -- I'm not exactly sure," he stammered. But the readout at his fingertips was clear, even if he didn't want to speak the computer's assessment of the vessel out loud.

Gary looked at the readout and practically threw the pilot out of the seat. "A warbird!" He whispered as he fell into the seat. "Everyone buckle in. We've got trouble! Liselle! I need you up here now!" He yelled even as he began evasive maneuvers.

~Damn it... Of all things in the galaxy, a damn warbird...~ Taam groaned internally before turning to Gary, it seemed they had found their way into some shit again, "Anything I can do to help?"

Gary nodded at Taam. He always quick on the uptake. "Find me a place where we can hide. We can't outgun or outrun them. so we need to rely on stealth."

"Right now it looks like the best place to hide would be underneath them." Taam said, though he didn't like the idea, either. While it was true, Romulan vessels, most vessels in fact, had a blind spot under their belly, nobody relished the idea of going there, "Scanning for something better."

Gary nodded, he had come up with the same conclusion. "Damn." He muttered, "Walking right into the lion's mouth." He muttered as he made several drastic maneuvers to avoid the Warbird and it's attempts to capture them.

Phoenix moved into the cockpit. "Whats going on? Why would Romulans be after a Federation Shuttle?"

Gary didn't turn in his seat. "I don't know and I don't want to hang around to ask them."

Lia mean time had been attempting to send out a distress signal, "Just an update people, their blocking our communications. I can't get a signal out, I don't think anyone knows". She looked around the shuttle, "Why us?"

--Romulan Vessel--

Valdran watched as the shuttle began to take evasive action, "I told you to check the cloak, and get close before taking any action. Follow them, and engage the tractor beam". Khoal dipped his head and turned to his front, "Come to 221.4 increase speed 50%, scan for lifesigns". The Warbird turned and picked up her impulse speed, she closed in on the shuttle and engaged her tractor beam.

--Federation Shuttle--

"I can't outrun them!" their young pilot reported. "They're gaining on us! And now they're trying to lock-on with a tractor beam!"

Qwyyn reached out and touched the young man's shoulder. He shared a look with her, and with a nod he jumped up from his seat.

Sliding into the vacant space, Qwyyn's fingers immediately began working the console. "I'm executing a series of short-burst jumps at random vectors. It won't help us outrun them, but it will confuse sensors and keep that tractor beam off of us. Hold on. Tight." The whine of the shuttle's warp nacelles grew in pitch again and again as Qwyyn executed their jumps.

Just before their last jump the sound of the engines cut out suddenly and the shuttle lurched hard, tossing the occupants about. Qwyyn slapped her hands down hard on her board. "Damn! They have us!"

"Damn!" Gary swore. " What do we have in the way of weapons?" He asked though he knew it wouldn't help. It would at least slow the Romulans down... he hoped.

Phoenix sighed and drew out her boot dagger. "Never leave home without it" She sighed and held it out to her XO. "Didn't think I needed a phaser on this trip."

Gary offered up a grim smile. "Keep it." He replied even as he reached into the waistband of his slacks and withdrew a cricket phaser. "Like you, I never go anywhere without it. Though it won't help much, it is at least something." He looked at Taam and Lia to see if they had any weapons.

Phoenix looked at Liselle. "Next time I agree to go on holiday with you we are bringing the entire ship."

Feeling under a seat cover Lia produced a normal phaser, "I've got these hidden everywhere, I think I have one more somewhere in here". She noticed everyone looking at her strangely, "I liberated them on our last mission, compensation for injuries sustained. I got six in total, so I put two in each of our larger shuttles". She looked at her companions, "I rotate them, so their constantly fully charged. Call me stupid, but you never know when you'll need one. Point in question".

--Romulan Vessel--

Khoal cursed as the shuttle jinxed about, but then it seemed to hit something. "We have them, their pilot has damaged the engines of the shuttle". He turned to face Valdran, "Riov, I will tractor the shuttle into our cargo bay. Do you wish to greet your guests?" Mishka had remained watching the Federation shuttle dodge her vessels attempts to capture it, now the chase was over. "Bring Taylor to me in chains, chain and isolate the pilot also. The rest can be placed in the cells prepared for them, I will interrogate them when I am ready". Khoal simply nodded in response, turning he headed for the cargo bay.

--Federation Shuttle--

The shuttle shuddered as it's landing struts scraped along the Romulan deck, "Guess that means we're inside the Warbird", stated Lia. She threw the first phaser towards Liselle, then searched for the second she knew was in the shuttle. Finding it she brandished it in the air, "Found it, so by my math we have. One knife, one cricket phaser and two normal phasers. Why do I feel we're sort of in our own Alamo?"

"Maybe we are." Gary admitted, "But they will know they were in a fight."

Lia moved towards Gary, "I guess this brings back bad memories? Just don't do anything really stupid, or I'll kill you myself". She smiled at the end, just to show her true intent.

Gary nodded, a grim, determined look on his face. "It does." He offered without further explanation. "I promise nothing really stupid." As he hefted the phaser in his hand. "I wonder what their up to?" He asked to no one in particular.

Despite Lia's assurances, Liselle checked her phaser's charge for the third time. Her nerves were building and she needed something to focus her. "They blocked all of our comm traffic, so whatever it is, it can't be good."

Gary gave Liselle a sideways glance. "Your right about that Liselle. Whatever they want it isn't good." He walked over to her, "I know it's hard but try to relax. Being tense isn't going to you or us any good."

Standing in the shuttle, Lia looked around as to how small it was. "Look I maybe out of line here, but I don't think they want to kill us. All they had to do was blast the shuttle and leave, end of problem. But they didn't, their after someone or something. I mean look what they got, A star Fleet Captain her XO along with the Second Officer and the Security and Tactical Officer. The whole Command staff of a bloody Starship, what does that tell you?" She sat down on a seat, "They blocked the comm's traffic, but they forgot about the shuttles transponder. It's been sending out an old fashioned SOS since this all started, I didn't want to say incase you got a false hope of rescue. Its still transmitting, but its also low powered so don't think the cavalry is just over the hill". She moved about embarrassed, "I'd hide these weapons in here, and wait for a better time to use them. I mean there's six of us, what's the crew compliment of a Warbird?"

"At least 1,500 plus troops." Gary replied further making Lia's point. If the Romulans wanted them dead they would have done so. No, this was something else. Perhaps they wanted information, technical and/or tactical data. Whatever it was it didn't bode well for them.

Taam stepped over to Gary, kind of whispering into his ear, "You don't think this is a blast from the past, do you?"

Gary turned to face his friend, a grimace appearing on his face. "That kind of blast I don't need again. Though I wonder what their up to."

A lyrical sentence escaped the captain as she cursed in her native tongue. At looks she shrugged. "Better than the Human wording of Clusterfuck I think." She said knowing not many understood it and even then, the gist was the same. "Maybe they have the wrong shuttle." She hoped. "I have no grudge with the Romulans, hell the niece of one of their previous praetors serves on our vessel. This better be a case of mistaken identity."

"You don't think that prior Praetor wants their niece back do you, Captain?" Taam queried, "This might be the welcome home wagon..." ~No.~ He thought, ~That's way too easy. This probably has something to do with me and/or Gary. Well, shit.~

"Nope" came the response. "The niece in question was born in federation space and she has contact with her Romulan kin. They would just send a ship for her. This is not about her. But It could be mistaken identity."

"Captain, I think your whistling in the dark. This isn't about mistaken identity. There's a definite reason and purpose behind this. I can assure you of that." Gary answered with certainty.

~Yep, definitely about one of us.~ Taam surmised internally, wondering what either of them had done to hack off the Romulans, ~Oh, yeah, a lot....~

Gary's thoughts were much along the same lines of Taam's. The Romulans never did anything without a reason. He heard Phoenix say she didn't have a grudge against them and he was sure the same was true with Lia and Liselle. It was a different story for himself. He had a serious grudge against them and he was willing to bet Taam had one as well.

-- Romulan Vessel --

Arriving at the cargo bay Khoal walked around the shuttle, he then placed his troops to the rear and forwards of the shuttle. Since it had no power, the phasers were no longer a danger. He along with around ten Romulan crewmen stood opposite the door, he now walked forward and hammered on the door. "Open up and exit the craft, you are now prisoners of the Romulan Vessel Havraha and her Riov Mishka Valdran". He stepped back and waited.

--Federation Shuttle--

Gary heard the Romulan voice demand they open up. He looked over at Taam. "Something is wrong." He announced, "They didn't make mention the Star Empire."

"Tal Shiar black op's perhaps?" Lia looked at Gary as she spoke, "They have been known to go rogue, or could this Mishka Valdran know you from an earlier meeting?" She turned to look at Phoenix, "Do you know her Captain?" Looking back at Gary she had a feeling he knew something, "Are they after you? Do you know this Mishka Valdran?" Lia stood thinking, "You know one thing has bugged me from the start of all this, how the hell did they know where to find us?"

"She may know me from my earlier imprisonment." Gary admitted, He hedged. He moved to the other topic Lia had voiced. "That's obvious. Someone told them. Don't know who but you can bet someone told them when we were leaving and where we were going."

Liselle moved to stand between Taylor and Taam. "You two have experience with the Romulans. What's our best move?"

Phoenix sighed. "Surrender" And she moved to the hatch. "We have done nothing wrong. They are in the wrong. Liselle, lock out the shuttles computer."

"Captain's right Liselle." Gary answered, "We don't have any other option. One thing. Romulans don't care about right or wrong especially when they have the upper hand."

OFF

To Be Continued...

Commander Lia Holmes
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Elysium

Commander Gary Taylor
Executive Officer
USS Elysium

Commander Liselle Qwyyn
Chief Flight Control / Second Officer
USS Elysium

Captain Phoenix Lalor
Commanding Officer
USS Elysium

Taam Sor'el
Freighter Captain/Entrepreneur