Star Trek
Jack the Space Brat
Episode One : Pretty Girls and Pirates
by John Getreu
(jumpinpinkgoobers@verizon.net)

Jack the Space Brat

Of course, if Jack had known that it was impossible to sneak aboard a Starfleet vessel he would certainly not have made the attempt, maybe. However at the age of fourteen, as Jack had been on his own for two years and out of school for a year and a half, there were a number of things Jack was unaware of. On the other hand he did possess a somewhat unusual skill set for a boy his age. He could steal, he could hide, and he could make a computer do almost anything he wanted it to, especially the odd organic device he carried in his shirt. He'd five fingered it from a Rigellian businessman in Cancun three months ago and had been increasingly intrigued by it ever since. He could also beg.

Begging, in a way, was what led him to Starfleet. Starfleet people you see, were nice to him. Once he learned how to approach them, they almost always would buy him something to eat, or spare him a few credits. It was not a complete surprise. His mother had always told him Star fleet people were heroes; his father was one too, a Starfleet hero who didn't come home. It had been seven long years since he'd seen his father, half a lifetime. The memories were beginning to fade; only the anger remained.

He couldn't have said exactly when it was he decided to leave Earth. He did know that he couldn't evade the truant officers and port security patrols forever. He also really wanted to learn more about the technology he'd taken from the Rigellian. Finding a ship headed for Rigel hadn't taken long, and getting aboard a heavy supply shuttle delivering to the Half Twain was just as easy. The pilot was hung over; she was also a half open package of eye candy. Jack found himself wondering exactly what, besides drinking, she had been doing on her off shift. Having squandered several long moments clandestinely admiring the contents of her pseudo Star Fleet uniform, he forced his attention back to business. If anyone had been looking at that moment, they would have seen a skinny kid, slightly tall for his age, with dark straight hair and a noticeable trace of his mother's Asian heritage around the eyes. Fortunately no one was, and he was soon comfortably hidden in a large empty crate. He didn't think anyone would run a sensor sweep until he was aboard the starship, but he made sure the device in his shirt was running his hideaway program anyway. It wouldn't make him invisible to sensors, but it would change the way a computer reported what it saw.

Commander Elsa Joose was hung over; she was also a bit sore. She could not remember everything about last night, but the parts she did remember brought a smile to her face. Besides, as soon as she achieved a stable orbit, and locked into the traffic pattern she could set the autopilot and take a nap, considering the traffic up here today, it would take at least two hours to reach tractor range with the Half Twain. Unfortunately the flight recorder would notice if she left her seat before orbital traffic control locked on, which was really stupid. It was the twenty third century after all; any autopilot worth the name could lift off and orbit a shuttle, but corporate wanted things done their way. What did they care if a pilot needed to use the head, or if their stupid circus suit uniform chafed her boobs? Finally, after what seemed like forever, the autopilot locked in, and the red eye on the flight recorder turned green. With a grunt Elsa launched for the head, shedding clothes as she went.

Returning from the head Elsa picked up her uniform jacket and hung it over the back of her chair. The self adjusting Synskin bra she found in her bag, and slipped into was comfortable enough, though it had an annoying habit of letting her generous breasts do their own little dance when they encountered an eddy in the ship's artificial gravity. Still, in the shuttle's cool air it was better than nothing.

Standard Starfleet procedure called for an internal security scan at this point, so did corporate for that matter. Starfleet was the only customer who would actually make a stink about it though, Stuck up bastards, she thought, oh well might as well get it over with, then she could sleep. She brought the internal sensors on line and initiated a standard scan. She could not however get Starfleet out of her mind. Spit and polish bastards, she thought. They'd flushed her out of the academy in her second year of pilot training. Her performance was borderline it was true, but there had been one other female cadet in her class whose scores were no better, and she'd made the cut. She could not forget the night she'd run across the instructor in a bar in old San Francisco, and he'd tried to pick her up. If she had known that her career had depended on it, she'd have gladly screwed the man's brains out all night long, but she'd been young and naive. She often wondered if the other girl had been less so when the opportunity came.

There was no proof of course, by the numbers she simpl…What the hell? She stared at the computer screen. According to readout there was something else alive on the ship. Not human apparently, though the readings weren't familiar. She asked the computer to identify them. After about forty seconds it read out one single word. Cat.

Oh, well, that wasn't all that unusual then. Most starships carried cats, for the same reason ships always had. Something was wrong though, the mass reading was too high. She fiddled with the computer and found a menu that let her ask it exactly what species of cat massed 25.8 kilos. After about two minutes of computer noises it gave her an answer complete with a picture. It was called a Sharcat, and it was an Earth-Vulcan hybrid, both larger and meaner that your typical Earth cat, apparently they were popular as pets with that particular social segment who possessed more money than sense.

It did look mean too, meaner than she wanted to deal with on her own. She didn't think it could get to the command deck from the cargo hold though, so she wasn't really worried about that. She could however decompress the cargo deck for several minutes. That would take care of the beastie easily enough. She was about to access the life support controls when another idea occurred to her. Suppose she tampered with the scan log, and let the live cat loose on the Half Twain? An evil smile came to her face. It would serve those prig Starfleet bastards right if she did exactly that. The more she thought about it, the better she liked the idea. Her hand moved away from the control panel to her cup of coffee perched nearby. Down below in the cargo hold, Jack dozed peacefully unaware.

* * * * *

When he awoke, he knew right away that he was no longer on the shuttle. He wasn't sure how he knew, just that he did. He also knew his calf muscle was starting to cramp, and he needed to get out of the crate without delay. Cautiously he lifted the lid a crack. The lighting was low, a good sign no doubt. He took a few seconds to check the device in his shirt. Then he lifted the lid and silently stood up. He was right, he was no longer aboard the shuttle, and the hold was deserted. A small thrill of triumph ran through his stiff aching body.

Commander Kelly Keyes, The thirty six year old Cargomaster of the Half Twain finished running the internal scan for the second time. The results were exactly the same as the first time. She sighed inwardly and told herself that Per…she meant Captain Appapis, would not blame her for it, but still, she felt responsible. In her mind's eye should could see that long row of Royal Navy officers, hanging on the parlor wall of her childhood home, frowning at her. Per would not though, in fact, in private he was a surprisingly non judgmental man. That however, was a secret she had sworn to keep, and if he felt it necessary to express his displeasure with her while on duty, it was she reflected, a small price to pay for what they shared.

"Captain."

"Yes Commander?"

"Here sir," she pointed at an auxiliary screen.

"What am I looking at Commander?"

"According to the computer banks it's an Earth-Vulcan hybrid called a Sharcat."

"So we have another cat on board."

"The problem is the mass reading sir, at 35 kilos it's three times greater than the normal range for that species."

Per Appapis raised his blond eyebrows, laced his fingers behind his short haired head in a characteristic gesture, and locked his green eyes on Commander Keyes.

"So we have a very large half Vulcan cat on board?"

"So it appears sir."

"Appapis to engineering."

"Engineering, Juno here sir."

"Chief, how long until we're ready to warp?"

Lieutenant Commander Cha Juno's curiously inflected Martian voice hesitated for a beat.

"Roughly two hours Captain, as scheduled."

"Thank you Cha."

It was not, he reflected, that Cha Juno was a sloppy engineer, far from it. It was rather, that while transport vessels had benefited from dilithium technology, they were limited by the ability of their EPS "plumbing" to safely handle a power level for which they were never designed. Synchronizing the nacelles and balancing the fields simply could not be hurried in these old crates.

Captain Appapis stepped to the equipment locker removed a tricorder and took a moment to tune it to the ship's internal sensors.

"Captain…" There was a very personal note in Commander Keyes voice, mirrored by the light in her big brown eyes as he looked into them, "Perhaps you should take the hot potato."

She was of course, referring to the fully charged hand phaser that resided in the console of the Captain's chair at all times.

"Not a bad idea Kell, but as you know removing it from the bridge would be a violation of Fleet regs, I'll get one from the security station.

"Track me, he called over his shoulder, as he strode to the turbo lift, and don't worry, If I am successful there will be Lion meat tonight."

Commander Keyes curly black hair bobbed as she snorted to keep from laughing. She loved that man, but he had the weirdest sense of humor.

* * * * *

Captain Appapis, phaser in one hand and tricorder in the other, strode purposefully along the deserted main corridor towards the freight office in the stern of the ship. In the distance African veldt grasses waved at him under a bright summer sun. Well, not really, but part of him wished that it was so. As a boy, he'd had the rare experience of living with native Kalahari Bushmen for two months. They had taught him not only the ethics of hunting, but the sense of adventure, the thrill of the chase begun. It was this that now quickened his pulse.

He checked his tricorder, but it had lost the signal, probably due to EM leakage from the EPS conduit overhead. Chief Juno was starting to ramp up the warp engines no doubt. Pausing at the next comm. station, he activated it and whispered,

"Appapis to bridge, Kell is our quarry still in the freight office?"

"Aye sir . . . no wait, it's moving into the crew lounge next door. Captain, . . . our cat just activated a food dispenser."

"Very good, keep tracking, and maintain comm. silence in this section until you hear from me."

It had of course; occurred to him that while the mass reading given by the internal sensors was out of range for a Sharcat, it was well within range for a great many sentient species. He set his phaser on medium stun and quietly moved out.

Reaching the door to the crew lounge he stopped out of range of its sensor and was just able to reach and remove the access panel to the door's controls. He made an adjustment to the circuitry and stepped smartly in front of the door which shot open at twice its normal rate. He crouched phaser at the ready, and lunged into the lounge. The young boy seated at the far end was so startled that he froze with a handful of food halfway to his mouth.

"Don't move," commanded Captain Appapis somewhat unnecessarily. "Put both hands on the table."

Jack, with fear in his eyes, put down his half eaten soy burger and did as he was told. Captain Appapis pointed his tricorder at the boy and scanned him. He was carrying something, but the energy signature was too weak to be a weapon.

"Take that thing out and put it on the table."

Jack did as he was told.

"Slide it over to me."

The Captain placed his tricorder in front of it and scanned it again. Well it wasn't a bomb anyway, at least not something the tricorder recognized as such, as best as he could tell it was some sort of biological circuit hooked to a cheap pocket comp.

Captain Appapis came to a quick decision. The boy appeared to be genuinely frightened, which if he were a terrorist or suicidal, would definitely not be the case. He clipped his phaser to his belt.

"What's your name son?"

"Jack."

"Go ahead and finish your food Jack, then we'll talk."

Jack was accustomed to eating with Star Fleet people, besides he was hungry, so without second thought he did just that.

* * * * *

Fifteen minutes later Captain Appapis put down his empty coffee cup.

"Now Jack, suppose you tell me what you're doing aboard my ship?"

"I want to go to Rigel."

"Why?"

"I think that's where that thing came from."

"Your parents wouldn't buy you passage?"

"My father's dead. He was in Star Fleet."

"And your mother?"

"I don't know where she is. She doesn't care about me."

"So you have no family, no money, no friends, and you're going to another planet without any idea of how you're going to survive.

"Uh, well…"

"Jack. Do you know what happens to people like you?"

"Um, no."

"Exactly, you don't know, I don't know. Jack, no one will ever know. You will simply disappear. You'll be lucky if you don't wind up as a slave or a medical experiment on some godforsaken world, no one ever heard of of."

"Look, if you take me to Rigel I'll pay you. That thing must be worth something, you can keep it."

Captain Appapis shook his head, "Jack if Rigel doesn't kill you someone else will. Would it be that bad to go back to Earth?"

"There's nothing back there for me. I don't want to go back."

"Well what do you want?"

"I…I want to be in Starfleet!"

Jack was surprised to hear the words come out of his mouth, but it felt right somehow, like something he'd known without knowing it.

The Captain shook his head again. "Jack without an education, you could be the son of God reincarnated and Starfleet wouldn't know you. How far along are you in school?

When Jack didn't answer the Captain wasn't too surprised.

Per Appapis scratched his swarthy chin in thought. By rights and regulation he should take the boy straight back to the nearest station and return him to Earth. When it came to surviving family, and especially orphans, Starfleet always took care of its own. Of course it had never been his job to do so, but an idea had come to him and maybe, just this time, it was.

* * * * *

Commander Keyes was beginning to worry. It had been over thirty minutes since she'd spoken to the Captain. She'd buzzed his communicator twice without any response. She knew that EM interference from the warp drive was a problem in that part of the ship, and that the sensors had shown two somewhat fuzzy signals in the freight lounge. She even knew the food dispenser had been activated a second time. Something was going on back there, she just didn't know what. She was about to call for a security detail, when the sensor screen updated and showed two signals leaving the lounge and heading back towards the bridge. Curiously neither one read as a Sharcat.

* * * * *

The turbolift had almost reached the bridge when Captain Appapis suddenly brought it to a stop.

"One more thing Jack, I know when you're on your own, it seems okay to take what you need to survive. You're no longer on your own though. The men and women of Starfleet aren't just shipmates, we're like a family."

He handed Jack his odd device.

"You don't steal from family Jack, understand?"

"Yes sir, I do."

He restarted the turbolift and a few seconds later it stopped again and the doors opened onto the busy bridge of the Half Twain.

Captain Appapis took two steps on to the bridge and stopped with Jack at his side. Of course he already had Commander Keyes attention, or to be more accurate, maybe half her attention, as she was staring at Jack more so than him. He signed to her to put him on shipwide address. The dusky dark haired navigator, twenty four year old Lt. jg Seela Keeraht was the next one to sense his presence. That left only Ensign Alabatta at the engineering station. Noisily the Captain cleared his throat.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Jack Gavrail, our new cabin boy."

Commander Keyes stifled the urge to give Jack a hug, he looked as if he could use one, but instead she gave him a warm smile and simply said,

"Welcome aboard Jack."

Seela Keeraht came right up to him and shook his hand,

"Hi Jack, it's nice to meet you."

She smelled absolutely fabulous, her black eyes sparkled like stars, and she had an abundance of curvature that reminded Jack of the shuttle pilot. He was finding it hard not to stare.

"Cabin boy sir, is that an actual rank?"

Ensign Alabatta's faux pas, had it come from an older officer, would have earned him a sharply worded reply from the Captain, however at the age of twenty two, Cesar Alabatta had already impressed everyone who knew him with his agile intellect and an earnest desire to excel at everything he did. Diplomacy, reflected the Captain, would come with age.

"It's a customary position, Mister Alabatta. I would like to commend to everyone's attention the fact that Jack's father was a Starfleet officer."

"Oh well, in that case you're alright with me," exclaimed Cesar with a pearly grin as he too shook Jack by the hand. They were almost the same size, he and Jack, though Cesar's complexion and overall appearance indicated his Brazilian origin.

Captain Appapis had seated Jack at the spare terminal and got him started studying the basic operations manual for the Half Twain. Chief Juno had come on the bridge and been introduced. Jack had never before seen one of the Thirty Sixers, that generation born on Mars to a small group of colonists who, impatient with the rate of Terraforming, had decided to make some genetic alterations to their children for the purpose of making them more adaptable to their environment. Cha Juno's ebony skin, long straight yellow hair, and large round eyes, had seemed to attract Jack right off the bat, and the Captain was pleased that Jack seemed to be making friends so quickly.

Chief Juno seemed satisfied with the rate at which the warp drive was tuning up, estimating it would be on line in a few more minutes. The Captain was about to order Lt. Keeraht to lock in the course to Rigel when Commander Keyes businesslike voice cut into his thoughts.

"Captain, we're receiving a comm. signal from Fleet Traffic Control, it's coded priority sir."

"Very well Commander, put it on the screen please."

"Twain…Half Twain, please respond. This is Commander Zersky of Fleet Traffic Control, urgent you respond."

"This is Captain Appapis of the Half Twain, go ahead Commander."

Commander Zersky looked visibly relieved to have gotten through.

"Captain I'm sorry to have to do this, but I need you to delay going to warp for a while."

"It's not a problem commander, can I ask why?"

"Yes sir, we have an incoming May Day on your direct vector. I strongly recommend you have your helm prepare for possible evasive maneuvers, she may be carrying a high sublight velocity as well"

"Very well Commander. Is there anything else?"

"Yes, I'd also like you to run a full sensor sweep when she drops out of warp, and shoot that back to us before you leave the system."

"Not a problem Commander, we are happy to oblige."

"Thank you Captain, Fleet out."

Jack didn't know what a May Day was, but judging from the looks on everyone's faces it must be something unusual.

"Captain, what's a May Day"

"It means there a ship out there in trouble, and she's asking for any help we can give."

"Is that unusual?"

"Yes, actually it is, because of the vast distances we travel, it's rare that trouble happens near enough to anyone else to ask for help. Starships tend to live or die by their own resources."

Jack wanted to know more, but suddenly had the feeling that they had more important things to do than give him explanations. He was right.

"Ensign, yellow alert. Commander, put me on shipwide…All hands, this is the Captain, stand by for possible ship to ship rescue. Chief, run a quick check of the transporter, continue bringing the warp drive on line, and keep it hot, we may need to move quickly. Lieutenant, bring all the sensors on line, and kick them out to maximum range. Ensign, bring the main phasers on line, run a quick diagnostic on the shields and put them on standby."

A chorus of "Aye sirs" ran around the bridge as the crew of the Half Twain responded to their Captain's orders.

* * * * *

Several minutes of intense activity went by after which the bridge crew seemed to relax and just wait. Jack wanted to fidget, but was afraid the Captain might send him below, so he forced himself to continue quietly studying.

Lt. Keeraht's voice was calm, almost emotionless, as she announced,

"Captain, sensors show a flare, three degrees off the starboard bow, a large ship coming out of warp sir."

"Put in on screen Lieutenant, maximum magnification."

It took half a minute or more for the ships computer core to achieve the desired result. When it did there were exclamations from the younger officers.

"She's a Constitution class sir," announced Lt. Keeraht somewhat unnecessarily.

"Indeed Lieutenant, are we on a collision course?"

"Negative sir, on present courses she'll miss us by eleven kilometers. She's running straight for Earth at point seven c.

"Captain, she may be venting plasma."

Captain Appapis swiveled his command chair and stared at his Chief Engineer.

"May be Mister Juno, What do you mean by that?"

"At visible wavelengths there's definitely a leak, but there are no corresponding signatures anywhere else in the spectrum."

"You mean like a test window?"

"Yes sir, except no one in their right mind would put such a thing on the outside of a starship. I'd sure like to get a closer look at that ship."

"Lt. how long to our closest flyby?"

"Three minutes thirty eight seconds sir."

"Stand by your sensors Chief; you'll get one shot at her."

"Captain," Ensign Alabatta's voice was tense, "They're scanning us sir, and locking weapons."

"Very well Ensign, please return the favor."

Jack felt his heart suddenly pounding. Was the Republic going to attack them? He felt a powerful urge to run.

"Captain, are they going to attack us?"

"Per Appapis swiveled his command chair and stared into Jack's frightened face. After a moment his face lit in a reassuring smile.

"No Jack, sensor scans are standard procedure under emergency conditions."

"What about the weapons lock?"

"That's an old trick from the Romulan War. The theory behind it was that if an enemy had taken control of a Starfleet ship, locking weapons would make them think they had been discovered and they would then open fire, though I only know of one instance when that actually happened."

"Does the Republic think we're Romulans?"

"That Jack, is a very astute question. I doubt she does, but let's see if we can find out."

"Commander Keyes, please open a channel to the Republic, I'd like to speak to her commanding officer."

* * * * *

Twenty nine year old Captain Carson LeSoto of the USS Republic sat unmoving in his command chair. His posture strongly resembled Rodin's The Thinker, his straight grey streaked bangs hung slightly over his boyish tanned brow and his blue eyes were locked in that thousand yard stare exhibited by sailors and sea Captains since antiquity.

Shortly he spoke.

"Captain's log resume. Highest commendation recommended for Lt. James Kirk. When our port warp pylon was damaged by enemy fire and we began to vent plasma Lt. Kirk, temporarily cut off from communication with the bridge, launched a shuttle craft, and flying it in close formation used its low powered control and transporter circuits to modify the shield emitters near the damaged area and contain the venting plasma. Without his quick action, this vessel would most likely have been lost with all hands to enemy action."

There was of course a great deal more to the story, and he was sure Starfleet would want it all, but his succinct log entry would do for now.

"Captain, we're being hailed by that nearby freighter. Captain Appapis of the Half Twain would like a word with you."

"Very well Lt., Put him onscreen."

"Captain, this Per Appapis of the Half Twain, how can we help?"

"I'm not sure you can Captain."

"You're broadcasting a May Day."

"We have severely injured crew. I must get them to Starfleet medical as quickly as possible. Incidentally have you any Tiscatone you could spare us?"

Per Appapis winced inwardly. Tiscatone was a very powerful painkiller developed towards the end of the Romulan war. It was very effective on those who had been burned by energy weapons. It was also highly addictive, and was kept secured in the sick bay at all times.

"I'll beam over what I can spare. Forgive me for being nosey Captain, but I have heard that the Constitution class has one of the best sick bays of any Starship?"

"Had Captain, we were ambushed, and the first salvo completely destroyed it. Be warned, the Orions appear to have some way of hiding from our sensors until just before they attack. If you run across one, chances are he's not alone, don't let him stop you, run like hell, and call for help."

"Thank you Captain, I will keep that in mind. One more question if I may. My Chief Engineer says you appear to be venting plasma?"

A tight little smile crept across Captain LeSoto's face, "Let's just say that these babies have more sophisticated shield emitters than anything you've probably seen before. We'll be okay Captain, until we reach Earth."

"Very well then, I won't keep you with chit chat, good luck to you sir."

"Thank you Captain, LeSoto out."

Captain LeSoto drew a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Captain Appapis was obviously an old hand. It felt good to talk to someone, if even for a moment, who understood the burden he carried. He felt even better, a few minutes later, when he learned that Half Twain had beamed over almost half a liter of the precious Tiscatone. The images of his injured crew, his shipmates, his people suffering below decks was, at times, almost more than he could bear. Soon they would be home. Maybe then he could sleep.

"Well Jack," said Captain Appapis turning in his chair, "now do you understand why they scanned us?"

Jack nodded, then asked, "Why did the Orions attack the Republic?"

"Orions are pirates Jack, predators, they take by force, they destroy ships, destroy lives."

"Someone should stop them."

Captain Appapis cracked a wide smile.

"It's one of Starfleet's many missions my young friend."

Jack appeared lost in thought for a minute or more.

"Did you know my father sir?"

"No Jack, I did not."

"Do you think he fought Orion pirates?"

"I don't know, have you never looked at his record?"

"My mother wouldn't allow it."

"Well, continue your studies, I'll see if I can find any information about him in the Twain's computer."

* * * * *

Meanwhile, less than a dozen kilometers away in solar space, a sophisticated alien probe the size and thickness of an old fashioned sheet of writing paper, trailed in the wake of the Republic. Undetected by the sensors of either ship, it had, since the battle a mere forty hours ago, amassed a considerable amount of information, including the recent conversation between the two ships. Soon that information would begin a circuitous route back to the probe's Orion owner.