Screaming Rebel
The Samaritan's Dilemma - Part 3
by Douglas E. Kulp
(codename.doug@gmail.com)

Synopsis:
O'Cambell accepts his first command, The Screaming Rebel. But a grim discovery reveals that his dark past may not be all that it seems.

The Samaritan's Dilemma, Part 3
Soul Overboard

Despite the fact that he was suppose to be in charge, he couldn't help but feel like the fifth wheal. He knew very little about the ship itself, and even less about the crew and its operations.

To make maters more complicated, Nyesha practically ordered him to relax and "enjoy the moment." At the moment, there was nothing for him to do but study. But Nyesha's reasoning became clear as she had reserved the last few hours for a bon-voyage party for the crew. This would be the last time they would see their families here on earth for quite possibly a very long time, so she wanted to make the last day special. Once all the work was complete, the families started to poor in, and Ezekiel really began to really feel out of place.

He wasn't as knowable about the ships and systems as he needed to be in order to reassure the families that the crew was in good hands. They still seemed to be sympathetic and understanding, after all captains onboard a civilian ship did tend to come and go. But this only made him even more uncomfortable. Doctor Grim actually served thirty years in Starfleet and he told him that things really were a lot more laid back, and the standards didn't need to be quite as strict. Command on the Rebel or any other civilian craft was no where as authoritarian. Still, he didn't know which required more adjustment, the fact that he was no longer operating with the nearly non-existence standards he had grown use to with his last job, or the fact that he wouldn't be returning to the stricter standers of Starfleet.

Because of his lack of knowledge, he was unable to give the families a tour of the ship. So the task fell to the individual crew members to show their families around. He found himself following Natch and his family. As Mr. Natch was arguably the most knowable person about this ship's engines and support systems, it seemed like an excellent way to bend Nyesha's order of not studying. He did make a point not to slow down the tour by asking too many questions, but as it turned out, Natch's family, all midgets of course, were also major gear heads. Natch's dad, who actually worked for New York City's power grid, asked more questions about the power distribution network than Ezekiel could ever even think to ask or even care to ask; even as captain. Certainly being the tallest person in the tour group didn't help. Once the tour became too technical, he decided to dismiss himself and seek some personal time.

He found himself on the bridge; its layout was very different from normal Starfleet operations. For one thing, the bridge was a lot smaller. The pilot and navigation stations were placed all the way forward, just under the outer windshield. As the ship could land, it was essentially that they see what was in front of the ship, and a simple window was still the best way of doing this.

The systems operation console was placed behind the pilot's seat on the left. From here, the ships computer and sensor platforms could be operated, as well as control over all communications, both inside and outside the ship.

Behind the operations console was the engineering station, where all power, life support, propulsion, and navigations systems could be monitored and controlled. All though Natch made it clear that most of the time this duty was handled from the control room. His short stature made it difficult for him to the station, so when it came to "high risk" operations, the station was usually manned a Bolian known as Dowl, which was unusual because Bolians were not necessarily known for communion with machines.

His command chair was placed behind the navigations station, and the tactical station placed behind him. This meant that the "center seat" was no longer in the center of the bridge, but off to the side.

Behind him was the tactical station, and behind that was a serving console that had several storage lockers and a small replicator. And behind the serving station and engineering console were six observation chairs, which were required should any one need to be restrained during high risk maneuvers.

Something else that was different was the fact that there was another exit from the bridge placed between the pilot and navigation station, which took you down to a lower deck.

The bridge also had an eclectic appearance, with a number of control panels being made up from a number of brand names, each having a different style and color scheme. At the moment, nearly every thing was turned off. Life support had been shut down as it wasn't needed while on the planet. But the deck lighting had also been turned off as part of the "come to life" ceremony that Nyesha had planed, so the only light to see with came in from the hanger lighting outside. This placed the bridge in a state of silence that he presumed was quite rare during normal operations.

He rubbed his hand over the back of his command chair as he stood over it, and then slowly and deliberately lowered himself into it. He could see out through the starboard window, just over the small auxiliary console he had at his disposal, and over the celebration that was taking place just dock side. It may not be a Galaxy Class Starship, but there was no denying that this was still a fine ship, finally tuned and extremely capable. But something still seemed wrong about the moment, there was still that feeling that he didn't belong here, as if he was unfairly cheating fate or that this was all still alarmingly too good to be true.

Just then, the aft door to the bridge opened, and Nyesha stepped in.

"And there you are, Ezekiel. I go hunting all over the place for you and you are here, sulking in the darkness. You should enjoy the party before we leave," she said.

"I just had to find some time alone with my thoughts," he said, only just acknowledging her.

"I see you are enjoying your new position. This is a good thing," she said as she sat down at the operations station, "But I was thinking not long ago, why is your family not here? It is short warning surly, but with transporters at our disposal, they could have easily come here."

"My family?" Ezekiel said, "All my family is a part of Starfleet. My sister is on Deep Space Nine. Only my dad is here on Earth. But we haven't been on speaking terms since my arrest for the Goggines incident. If he were here, it would be to slap hand cuffs on me. That 'black mark' that isn't as black as I thing it was."

"I am so sorry, if I had only known, I would have walked more softly," Nyesha said.

"Don't be. Things were never very good between us any way. Violating the Prime Directive was just the straw that broke the camel's back. He was a starship captain that took one of those deep space exploration assignments. He was gone for fifteen years. The only times I saw or heard him were these long range communication bursts that were a week old once they were received by the Argus Array," Ezekiel said, "We were never very close."

"Look mon, if it helps you any, I think you made the right decision," she said, "What you did, you did to save your crew."

"When I beamed my people off the Edison, maybe, but after that I suddenly grew a spine and became the Prime Directives greatest advocate, no mater how many additional lives that it cost me. And then they still threw the book at me, for what, failing to vanish into thin air?" Ezekiel said.

"I don't know what happened to you while you were on Goggine, but you can't live in the past any more than you can undo it. We have all slipped on the road behind us. Some of us may have even fallen from grace. But it is the road ahead of us that we must continue to travel, even if we must than walk with a limp. I know that don't answer your questions, but may be it shows you the way to find the answers that you are looking for." With that, she stood up and moved to the aft of the bridge. "Now leaved the shadows behind and join us with the living. You will have to confront the shadows soon enough I think."

"I'll be there in just a moment," Ezekiel said.

She turned to leave.

"Nyesha?" Ezekiel suddenly said, "Thanks, at the very least, you pulled me out of the ditch, and back onto that road."

"You are most welcome," she said.

He turned back around to look out the front wind-shield, and at the hanger doors that were still closed. But it is the road ahead of us that we must continue to travel, even if we must than walk with a limp. Simple words, but for the moment, truer words were never spoken. He began to search his memory, wondering if the bible held a similar idea. He got up, and decided to Nyesha's advice, and return to the land of the living.

A few moments later, he had made it back to the peer. Their was still at least an hour before the final ceremony was to take place, so he made one more round with all of the represented families. The largest of which was Doctor Grim's family, complete with a substantial population of young grandchildren, and even one newborn great-grandchild that was only three weeks old. Oddly enough, Ezekiel noticed that there was no Mrs. Grim in the mix. He thought that it was best not to press the issue, but even so, he could still see in Mr. Grim's eyes that she was still missed.

Having completed the rounds, he decided to make at last one visit to the catering tables. There he encountered a surprise, the spread proved to be quite lavish.

"Ah, mon-capi'tan, at last," the server said with notable enthusiasm. He was a young human male who was quite notably very attractive in his own way, "I was beginning to think that you did not eat. I make it my mission in life to cure you of that affliction, I assure you." With that, he quickly began to prepare him some kind of ravioli. But he didn't just spoon it from a tray, as much as he prepared a dish to be admired both visually and by its smell. "This is my spatiality, and old family recipe."

Ezekiel tried it, and was astonished with how good it was. "Wow, Nyesha spared no expense on the catering," he said.

"Catering?!" he said. From the tone of his voice, it seamed that he was just one the edge of being insulted. "Captain, I am Ensign Eneas Chappell, your master culinary artisan."

"The ship's cook?"

"Now Captain, would a mere cook prepare such wonderful food as this? No, I do not think so," Eneas said.

"Well, I guess you do have a point," Ezekiel said between bites, "But if you don't mind me asking, why waste your talents on a ship like this?"

"Why? There is an entire galaxy of culinary delights out there to be had for the sharing. We are what we eat, and our food is an expression of our culture. I want to go out their and learn what other cultures have to offer the pallet, and perhaps share what I know in the presses. Perhaps then, when I grow up, I can come back here and open up my own restaurant that brings a galaxy of delights to my home," Eneas said, "That and I want some real adventure while I am still young. But I digress, take this for example."

With that, Eneas handed him a small plate that bite sized serving of what looked to be a gelatin like substance with an exotic garnish on top.

"What is it?" Ezekiel said, suddenly feeling very unsure about this.

"Ah no, when expiring zenoculinary, I have found that it is best to enjoy before you learn what it is," Eneas said. Now he really wasn't sure, but Ezekiel tried it any way.

It was salty, and some what bitter, strong enough that he had to be lightened with a chocolate like flavor. It was defiantly something that he would go out of his way to not have a second helping. Thankfully, it was a small bite sized serving.

"That is non other than a Klingon confectionary known as Rokeg blood pie, made from the blood of a pig," Eneas said, "And there is quite the story behind this treat. It was originally created by Prince Rokeg, who had foolishly insulted the captain of the guard. The captain declared to all, that he would not rest until he had eaten the prince's heart. The prince knew that he could not defeat the captain in battle, so he used a pint of his own blood, and used it to make this very dish, hoping that would satisfy the captain's threat. The captain was so taken by this delight that he ate the whole thing, right there on the battle field."

"And liked it so much that he spared the prince's life," Ezekiel said.

"Not if they were Klingons I do not think, oh no. The captain was so incensed with the prince's display of cowardice that he lopped off his head with a single stroke of his bat'leth. But he did like his dish so much that he insured that the recipe survived, and even gave it Rokag's name in his honor," Eneas said, "Or, was it to be a warning to his enemies?"

"It was a warning," Ezekiel said as he handed the small plate back to Eneas, "Trust me, it was a warning."

"Captain Ezekiel O'Cambell," he heard Nyesha say behind him. Turning, he found himself confronted by two more crewmen wearing ice-cream white uniforms. "May I present to you the Captain of the Spirit of Seventy Seven, Gazini Hlengiwe." Gazini was an average sized human male, with an extremely dark, almost midnight like skin tone that made his eyes, and his smile stand out all the more.

"Congratulations on your commission," Gazini said with a noticeably Zulu accent as he energetically shook Ezekiel's hand, "I am looking forward to working with you. And may I introduce my First Mate, Morkainnar Keen, of Batazoid. He is such an excellent first officer; the man practically reads my mind." Ganzini than broke into an open belly laugh from his own joke that no one else found particularly funny, least of all, Morkainnar himself, who probably already heard it hundreds of times already. Still, he seemed more annoyed than insulted and retained a worm smile.

"Greetings," Morkainnar as he offered a handshake. But it seemed quite clear that he was not all together impressed with his reputation, all though that may have been nothing more than typical Betazoid bluntness. "And no, Captain, I can honestly say that Ganzini thinks that was funny," he said. The defamation only made Ganzini laugh all the harder.

"We had only just arrived in orbit form a recent commission when a Starfleet inspection required us to get an update at Vulcan. They have gotten particularly bad this year. I will be glad when we make it to the frontier and get a little more freedom. It may be the only think that will keep us in business," Ganzini said.

"I have heard a lot of bad mouthing of the A.S.R.A. sense I have come," Ezekiel said, "I am wondering if it is entirely deserved."

"I understand that you recently quite service aboard a Utopian Freighter Escort," Morkainnar said. Ezekiel visibly winced from the observation.

"I wouldn't cal it a utopia by any stretch of the word, but yes," Ezekiel admitted.

"Well, following government affairs as I have, it might interest you to know that many of the elected officials that sit on the Air and Space Regulatory Authority advisory comity are also sitting chairpersons for the Utopian board of management," Morkainnar said, "A conflict of interests is a disbursing ignitability that the Federation Council conveniently ignores because of the vital role Utopian Industries plays in Federation defense strategies. It's important to note that Utopian divisions have much larger budgets with which they can afford to update their systems with, as the new regulations constantly demand. And when they do update, then tend to receive bulk discounts." Morkainnar's discussion of politics managed to wipe away even Ganzini's seemingly indomitable smile.

"Do not worry my friend, you will learn soon enough how things work out there," Ganzini said, "I certainly had to learn things the hard way. But we are all on the same side. Just one big happy fleet."

"A 'happy fleet' made up of merely three Deep Star Ranger light cruisers?" Morkainnar said.

"It's far better than being out their in the big black all by your self, do you not agree?" Ganzini said. Morkainnar nodded.

"That is quite true enough," he said.

"But surly you would have to admit that A.S.R.A. plays a vital role in insuring the safety of space travel. Despite modern technology, it's still an extremely hazardous environment," Ezekiel said.

"Now hold on one minute," Nyesha interrupted, "I did not introduce you to talk about nothing but politics. Don't you boys have something a bit more interesting to discus?" The three of them exchanged looks between the others. Obviously, Morkainnar could read their minds and started off with the response.

"Interesting weather, isn't it?" Morkainnar said.

"It's a bit to humid for my taste," Ganzini said.

"Welcome to Galveston," Ezekiel said. Nyesha could only groan in defeat.

"Is the Seventy Seven ready for the trip?" she said.

"We topped off our supplies at Vulcan, and have already joined up with the John Brown," Captain Ganzini said, "We are as ready as ready can possibly be."

"Excellent, than why do we not get this show on the road," she said, "O'Cambell, would you please do the honors?"

He made one final round with the guests and crew, reminding them that its time to begin their final farewells. He then joined Lie by the gang plank. Lie official began the ceremony by blowing a traditional bosons whistle.

"Crew of the FRS Screaming Rebel, assemble into formation!" Lie ordered. What was left of the party had quickly come to an end as the crew quickly got them selves into line, with Nyesha Spirit the first one in line. It was a sloppy line - by Starfleet standards, but they still looked sharp enough. Once every one was quiet, Ezekiel stepped up to address every one.

"To the crew of the Screaming Rebel, and to gathered friends and family," he started, "As all of you know by now, I literally just took this command a few hours ago. I don't really know the ship, or her crew. I only know what I have been told that Captain Jason Richards, the man whom I am replacing, gave his life so that this ship and her crew could return home safely. It dose not mater if you are serving on this ship, or a fishing trawler, or a Federation Starship serving on the front line, there is no finer tradition in, be it maritime or aviation, than for one crewman to give up his life for his ship. I pledge to you now that I will look up to his example, and try to be as good a Captain as he was. But from what I see in front of me, this crew had already honored his memory, by first returning home safely, and then again setting out once more. I promise to do all within my power, to see that this crew is once again able to share the company of their families. Commander Lie, will you please bring the ship to life."

"Aye aye skipper!" Lie said. She again blew the bosons whistle. "Crew of the FRS Screaming Rebel will now come to attention. Board her and bring her to life!"

"Aye aye, first mate!" the crew responded. They then turned and sprinted up gangplank. The security team ran along the weather deck to take up their position next to the moorings. Lie was the next to last crewmen to run onto the ship, with Ezekiel closely behind her. Both of them quickly made their way across the weather deck to the exterior bridge, a control area placed just behind the support for the main saucer section. From their, they could hear Natch already inside giving orders that would activate all systems.

The navigation lights, beauty lights, and main fog lamps all came on, filling the hanger with light. The crew scrambled throughout the ship, turning on all of the cabin lights. Any thing that could be seen from outside was turn on.

And then the warp nacelles began to glow with a blue energy, and the ship began to vibrate with real power as the main energy generators and impulse reactors were brought on line. One could then get the feeling that the Screaming Rebel was no longer just a ship, but now a living, breathing thing, thriving with power.

"Mz. Lie, signal up all lines," Ezekiel ordered.

"Signal up all lines! Secure the mooring cables!"

The crew worked with the peer workers to undo the ropes that connected the Screaming Rebel to the peer, letting her drift free. They then began to bring the ropes up to the shuttle bay where they could be tended to and stowed away.

With a loud clang, the hanger doors began to part, revealing a sky so blue that it blinded you to look at it.

"Maneuvering thrusters, all ahead, one quarter," Ezekiel shouted for the benefit of the family members watching from the deck.

"One quarter, aye," Lie said, "Engineering answers, one quarter."

There wasn't even as much as a shudder as the Screaming Rebel gently started to move forward. Looking back to the peer, he could clearly see the families waiving good buy to them. The little kids had poppers that shot colored streamers over the hull. Even the dock workers waved as they slowly drifted into the bay outside.

He then looked back, and up, and his new first officer, and began to wonder what it was that she was thinking. She didn't seem to be very sure of herself.

"Regretting not taking command?" he said.

She looked down on him with a hard expression that was difficult to read. But her expression quickly softened. "I have other regrets," she said.

"I meant what I said," Ezekiel said, "I always mean what I say." She hardened again.

"Promises are like flowers. The are always beautiful when they bloom, but with time they inevitably wilt and fade away, forgotten," she said, "So let me warn you, if you try to take advantage of me or the ship, I will personally brake your neck. Do you understand me?"

"Perfectly," he said, "You may, or may not be ready for command, but it looks like you are a good first mate. It's the first officer's job to stand up to the Captain when he is wrong. Now, let's get the men inside, and get under way."

"Eye skipper," she said. He then pressed a large button that sounded a siren. This was the queue for every one still on the weather deck to move below decks. Once every one was inside, she pulled up a leaver that closed a number of hatched that restored the weather deck's aerodynamic shape. "Weather deck to bridge. All hands are hands below, the Rebel is now free and clear to navigate. We are now transferring control to you."

"This is the bridge, we have control."

He and she than went down a short stair that went inside. There, a second lever closed the hatch that lead to the outer bridge. Both of them quickly went to the bridge.

"Skipper," Stunn said from the helm's station, "Galveston Bay control has given us permission to take off." He and Lie then traded places, with Stunn taking up his post at the navigation console.

"Thank you Mr. Stunn," Ezekiel said as he buckled himself into his command chair, "Mz. Lie, accelerate us to one quarter impulse and ascend to orbit when able."

"Aye aye skipper, accelerating to one quarter impulse power,"

The Screaming Rebel surged ahead with impressive power. Looking out the window, he could see the bay racing beneath them, and even started to bounce on the water as it picked up speed. And then, in a moment of pure magic, the Screaming Rebel turned upwards and pushed itself into that piercing blue sky. He could feel the Earth's gravity pull back as the ship continued to accelerate upwards. Looking to his right, he could see the sea drop away. Within moments, even the blue sky began to fade to darkness. Then, when the ship rolled around as it accented into orbit, and the sun moved into view of his window, and he was forced to squint against the bright white light.

He was getting tired of the darkness. It might have been a more bearable darkness if there was also silence to go with it. But Ezekiel was only just able to suppress one coughing fit before another picked up to take its place, threatening to rip out his lungs and throat from the inside out, making sleep impossible. Even in the damp cold air, he could feel the heat of his own fever rolling back onto himself.

Suddenly, there were a series of loud heavy metal clangs as the locks of a heavy iron door were undone. With the grinding of a hinge, there was a crack in darkness, forcing him to wince from the bright white light that flooded his cell from the outside.

Two guards moved in, and gently dragged him from his cell to a central room where all of the cells could be served at once. The room had no windows, and was lit only by a collection of cheep candles and oil fueled torches. The floor was covered with a disgusting sludge of straw and waste that probably accumulated over the span of centuries.

But despite the overpowering stench and disgust, Ezekiel lacked either the strength or the will to keep his face from falling into the mire. He had to fight the searing pain of his infected wound in order to look up enough to see a steel armored boots that stood before him.

"So this is what has become of Starfleet," a familiar voice said, "Strange, it saddens me to see you reduced to this, Commander."

"Prime Directive," Ezekiel babbled, "Can not... interfere."

"You do not recognize me, do you?"

"King Harr," Ezekiel managed to say, "Tell them... can't... interfere... with the growth..."

"I am afraid the time for talking is over with, Commander. Your stubbornness has left me no choice. To stave off a global war, I have agreed to sell you and your crew off to slavery. You shall be divided among the many Kingdoms represented as best as equity can manage. This will end many a campaign already marching for Torrlia Kay. As you are too ill to be moved, you will stay with me, and you will be a well cared for as we can manage. But judging from the color of your wound, you may not have long for this place," King Harr said.

"will not... tell them... Prime directive..."

King Harr knelt down to that Ezekiel could finally see his face. He looked sorrowful, even empathetic.

"Even though you will die soon, as their leader, you have a right to know what it about to happen to your men. Despite your grave illness, you may still live longer than many of your men. Some of the Kingdoms your people will be sent too are ruthless. They will torture your people to the end of their lives, until they divulge the secrets of the Federation, and of its technology. The worst of these are the Ginar, the Kingdom to the North that inhabits the rugged mountains. But they are truly the most powerful and most dangerous of my enemies, they are known far and wide for their ruthlessness, and their capacity for cruelty knows no boundaries," Harr said, "They demanded you until they learned how sick you were."

"Please... don't do this..." Ezekiel said, "Must... protect... development... natural..." King Harr only shook his head.

"You have given me no choice. I know that you did not choose this fate for your self or your people. But you have done nothing to discourage this destiny either. I am forced to make a simple decision, save the lives of fifty of your people, or shall I save the lives of millions of my own. I am truly sorry, but I can not ignore the math if this reality. I did manage to spare your execution; at least some of your people fill find mercy with this decision. But I do fear others will not. This is the way it must be, I am truly sorry," Harr said.

Just then, he felt a familiar and alien all at once. He was being taken by a transporter beam. He was able to look up at King Harr once last time, and one last time, with a sudden and unexplainable moment of clarity, was he able to see the depths of one last bedrail rage on King Harr's face.

When he materialized on the other side, the transporter had cleared out his infection. But he was still in a state of shock and passed out when a Human medical team in bright blue uniforms rushed to his side. All he could see was a black space, a dark and black space where one by one, became filled with only twenty three stars. He was arrested shortly after that, meaning that he had to recover from his injuries in the brig.

He then learned that shortly after the unprovoked attack against the USS Edison, the Yaran declared war against the Federation, which complicated search and rescue efforts. However, because of the Prime Directive, it never even occurred to them to search the planet below for survivors until a year after the fact. But with the exception of the Edison, the war was completely one sided. The Yaran even attempted a daring raid on Earth itself, but was foiled with Mars Parameter Defenses.

Reluctantly, the Federation finally sent a force to capture Yaran Prime. It took only two starships to decimate the Yaran parameter and the planet fell after only two days. Only to discover the Yaran military was not being projected from Yaran Prime. The war continues all though mostly in the form of harassing hit and run tactics, or going after softer civilian traffic.

As to the fate of the Goggine, little was known. A cultural survey team was sent to evaluate the extent of cultural contamination. The war did indeed expand dramatically, shortly after he was rescued, and while it may have seemed like a "global" war from King Harr's perspective, the conflicts were still confined to one continuant, and the court records noted that the war was already underway when they beamed down to the planet. So the notion that he caused the war to spread was dismissed.

Far more damaging were the observed temples being built in the Federations name, where locals went to in order to pray for the protection of their loved ones, to either end the war, or to keep them from being taken and sold into slavery. Some of the temples had even been dedicated specifically to the "commander's" likeness. It was this evidence that proved to be the most damaging in court.

=/\=

Captain's log:

We have rendezvoused with the Spirit of Seventy Seven, and the John Brown, and are now proceeding to Earth Colony Two, the capital of the Night Ride alliance. The trip is expected to take ten weeks. Two of which has given me time to get caught up with ship operations, and I must say; I am very impressed with the crew's performance thus far.

End log.

Twenty three stars.

He lost track of how just how many stars there should be on the cloth. Each star was represented by a birth stone of one person that he was able to save from the Goggines planet. It was meant to be a thank you for saving their lives. But something about the whole experience did not sit well with him. It was like a black seed that was starting to grow into his soul, and there was nothing he could do to pull the roots out. The black cloth now only served to remind him of how much was lost. It wasn't helping, so he returned it to the box, and returned to the bible passage that he was studding.

"And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, go your ways, and pour out vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sour upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man; and every living soul died in the sea."

He closes the bible and returned it back to the box. It wasn't helping either, all though he wondered why he was being drawn to the darker passages.

Just then, the door bell sounded. "Come," Ezekiel said as he placed his box back in its spot in the glass display case. A moment later and Nyesha stepped in.

"I am not interrupting any thing, am I?" she said.

"Not at all, please, come in," he said, "I have to hand it to your crew. They are good. I think there is a lot more they can teach me than I can teach them."

"Don't be too sure. After all, a crew is as only as good as its captain. Captain Richards was good, but soon this crew will become your crew, and I think you will have to remind them of a few things."

"You're probably right," Ezekiel said, "So what can I do for you today?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I will be transferring back to the John Brown soon," she said, "I don't think you need my help here any more getting up to speed on things."

Suddenly, the red alert klaxon sounded. Ezekiel quickly rushed over to the room's communication panel. "Bridge, report,"

"Skipper," he heard Teddy's voice say through the intercom, "We have just picked up an automatic distress call from a Starfleet shuttle. Its life support system is failing."

"Mr. Loggen, tell the rest of the fleet to continue on. We can handle this one on our own. We will catch up with them as soon as we can," Nyesha said.

"You heard the lady, change course to intercept and accelerate to warp eight. We'll be right up," he said. "At least it was something to do." With that, he returned his box to its place in his cabinet, and he and Nyesha quickly made their way the bridge.

As he was coming to expect, every one was already at their post when they arrived. Lie was at the helm while Stunn was at navigation; Teddy was at his operations with a cable connecting his console to a cybernetic jack plugged into a socket just below his left ear.

"What's our status," Ezekiel said.

"Strange, I am in contact with the shuttle's computer, but its not telling me much. It seems that its memory has been damaged, but none of its key systems have been affected," Teddy said, "It's not even returning its call letters."

"You mean it's not damaged, other than its life support system you mean," Ezekiel said.

"That's just it; it's telling me that its life support system is working at full capacity, but still notes that conditions onboard are still falling below habitable levels. It's not making any sense," Teddy said.

"Computers rarely do," Ezekiel said, "Stunn, how long until we intercept?"

"We will be within long range sensors in five minutes," Stunn said.

"Good, Natch, ready the transporter, we may have to evacuate the crew," Ezekiel ordered, "I want the medical crew standing by as well."

"I am getting sensor returns; skipper," Teddy said, "Hmm, this is most interesting,"

"What is it?" Ezekiel said as he looked over Teddy's shoulder.

"I am detecting a type six personnel shuttle. But I am picking up fifteen life signs, all though they are very week. I take that back, I am picking up fourteen life signs."

"Fourteen, that shuttle is only rated for eight, ten people tops," Ezekiel said, "They must have overloaded it. Lie, drop out of warp once we reach transporter range. Natch, you are free to energize as soon as you are able."

"Skipper," Teddy said, "I am having a hard time isolating the life forms. I now have eleven life forms and dropping rapidly, if we don't get their soon, their may not be any one left to save."

"Stunn, how long until transporter range?" Ezekiel said.

"Ten minutes at current speed," Stunn, "I don't believe it will be enough time."

"He's right, my readings show they are dropping off like Taran flies," Teddy said.

"Lie, the bridge is yours," Ezekiel said as he turned to leave.

"And where are you going?" Nyesha said as he pushed past her.

"I am going to help out at the transporter," he said.

A short turbo-lift ride later, he ended up in the main corridor of the main hall there the transporter alcove was placed. Natch was already there with the removable control panel in hand. Tanya and Eneas were just pushing up a medical gurney to bring it into position.

"We are still eight minutes out, skipper," Natch said, "we are now picking up five life forms, and they are very faint. We aren't going to make it."

"All you can do is all you can do," Ezekiel said, "But at least we are going to try."

The minutes seemed to tick by with agonizing slowness, but fast enough to see the life form readings expire, one by one. At five minutes out, they were down to one life sign, and it could expire at any second.

But this last life form was proving to be stubborn, fifteen seconds out, it was still hanging on.

"Skipper, I can't isolate the life form from the other bodies," Natch said, "I've seen sardine cans with more room than this."

"Can you compensate?" Ezekiel said, "We may only get once chance?"

"I can sort of compensate," Natch said, "but it may be a bit messy."

"What ever it takes," Ezekiel said as Stunn began to count off the seconds. "Stand buy."

"Five seconds before we drop from warp," Stunn said, "four, three, two, one..."

They could hear the constant thrum of the warp engines shutting, indicating that they had dropped out of warp.

"Space time has normalized," Natch said, "energizing." His fingers slipped across the removable panel to engage the system. A moment later, a pattern of light formed above one of four pads. When the light faded, their must have been parts of at least half a dozen corpse packed into a small space than had been chopped up by the transporter beam. The slices fell away in a slick, gory mess, with gallons of blood flowing every where. The entire mess fell onto the floor.

Tanya and Eneas didn't flinch or hesitate as they started to pull away the strips and shreds of freshly dead people until they managed to uncover the one whole body in the mess that proved to be that of a young girl.

"She's alive," Tanya announced as she quickly connected her to a portable respirator, "but barley."

"General Quarters! General Quarters! Skipper to the bridge," Lie's voice said over the ships all-call.

"On my way," he said into the intercom. He then backtracked the way he came.

"Report," Ezekiel said as he charged back onto the bridge.

"Skipper, you need to see this," Teddy said as he called up a display of the shuttle. "According to my sensors there were eighty people on that ship, that's ten times what the shuttle's life support system can handle. No wonder the system collapsed. It also explains why the last one was able to stay alive for so long."

"As her peers died, the carbon dioxide scrubbers began to catch up," Ezekiel said.

"It gets worse skipper, I am counting three hundred additional bodies adrift outside the shuttle," Teddy said, "It looks like they were blown into space."

"Orion slave traders," Lie stated, there was a defendant acid quality to her voice, "Starfleet must have gotten to close, so they blew any poetically incriminating evidence out and air lock."

"But why pack them all onto a shuttle?" Ezekiel said, "Teddy, put the shuttle on screen, maximum magnification."

"Eye," Teddy said as his fingers worked the controls. A moment later, the drifting shuttle could be seen on a dozen smaller screens through the bridge. And Ezekiel's eyes grew wide.

"The USS Perseverance? Teddy, you said that the ship is in good operating condition?" Ezekiel said.

"According to its computer, yes," Teddy said.

"I know why they packed the shuttle with slaves. They were trying to save as much of their shipment as they could. They could return at any moment to reclaim their prize," Ezekiel said, "Lie engage the cloaking shield, then hard turn to starboard. Come to 127 mark 20 and proceed to warp two."

"You recognize this ship, don't you skipper," Teddy said.

"I do. The Perseverance was one of the auxiliaries to the USS Edison, three years ago. It was supposed to have been destroyed by the Yaran," Ezekiel said, "Only to discover that it has ended up in Orion service three years later."

"It certainly dose answer a few questions," Nyesha said.

"More than that," Ezekiel said, "It raises some old ghosts as well. Teddy, send a communication beam to the rest of the fleet. Tell them that we ran into the Orions and have to play cat and mouse for a bit. We will meet up with at Earth Colony."

"Hold on just a second, that is my call, Captain" Nyesha said.

"Not unless you want all three of us to tangle with the Orions," Ezekiel said.

"Very well then, send the message Mr. Loggen," Nyesha said, "I hope you know what you are doing, captain."

"Oh I know what I am doing. I just hope we have a chance."

To be continued...