The Long Limp Home

Posted on 17 Sep 2016 @ 1:42pm by Lieutenant JG Rayze

2,500 words; about a 13 minute read

Location: USS Tethys, Alpha Quadrant, 650 Light Years From Federation Space
Timeline: Early-2390, Backpost

[ON]

Bridge

"Report!" Commander Hitchens barked to be heard over the sound of the alert klaxons and the hissing sound that all members of ship-serving Starfleet feared to hear. There was a hull breach somewhere on the bridge, a small one, but still enough to be audible. With emergency force fields offline, the ship would continue to breathe it's precious atmosphere into the command center, the brain of the Tethys, sacrificing parts of itself until the breach was sealed or she gave her last gasping breath for them.

Sparks showered down as one of the damaged overhead conduits experienced a surge, casting bright yellow lights across the dark bridge for a moment. "Realigning sensors, Commander," T'kenath said, her calm, stoic voice cutting through the noise. The grey-haired Vulcan stood at one of the auxiliary stations which she'd converted to serve as Operations when her usual spot on the bridge had exploded from an overload. "The enemy ship has sustained heavy damage and is retreating, sir. I will attempt to put the image on what remains of the forward viewscreen."

It took a few seconds, but eventually the half of the large screen at the front of bridge that was still functional flared to flickering life. The image was filled with static, and the screen suffered a number of rapid power losses that caused the picture to strobe for a moment, but it finally remained steady enough for the bridge officers who were still alive to see their opponent limping away out of the Class D, Type 17 nebula. Though a large portion of the enemy had been literally blown away, a sizeable chunk taken out of it's hull to expose fires and leaking atmosphere from within, the normal shape of the vessel was easy to see: a sphere. There was a collective sigh of relief from those who remained standing, but the fight wasn't over yet.

"Lieutenant M'k'e'n'er," Hitchens turned towards the multi-tentacled being who floated above the Tactical station. "What is the status of the Borg who beamed over?"

M'k'e'n'er's voice came from a mechanical box strapped to the side of it's pulsating mass as it released chemicals and the messages were translated back and forth with no appreciable delay, "Internal sensors were damaged during the explosion of the sirillium pocket, Commander, but at last count there were four drones remaining." One of the being's tentacles touched a comm panel and it called out to the man who was second-in command of the Security detail on board the Luna Class explorer, "Bridge to Lieutenant Rayze. Provide this one with a status report on the Borg invaders please."

Deck 11, Main Engineering

"Oh, they're doing fine, Micky," Rayze said with ironic cheerfulness, and peeked over the edge of one of the consoles to see what the Borg were up to. Two of them immediately responded with a burst of disruptor fire, forcing him to duck for cover again, but he'd seen the other two doing something to the main control interface next to the warp core. He winced as the sparks from the blasts rained down on him, singing hair and skin. "My guess is they are trying to disable our engines right now."

Rayze made a series of hand gestures to the other Security personnel and Engineers who were hiding behind whatever they could find to shield them from the drones' weapons, =/\= "Use whatever means necessary to stop them before that happens, Lieutenant," =/\= M'k'e'n'er replied, its voice sounding agitated as it always did when the Risian called him by the nickname some of the crew used. =/\= "We are a long way from Federation space or Starfleet reinforcements. If they succeed in damaging the warp core beyond repair, it will take us-" =/\=

"Please don't quote me numbers right now," Rayze interrupted, and leaned around the console to fire his phaser at one of the drones to distract them as the other Security officers moved out from cover and closer to the enemy's position. As expected, the cybernetic creature's personal force field shielded it from the weapons fire, as they had been doing for the past several minutes. They'd run out of frequencies to switch to before they'd run out of Borg to kill. "We're a little busy right now Micky. I'll call you back, 'kay?" Rayze ducked once again as the disruptors blew a half-meter's worth of the console to atoms, then tapped his badge to close the comm line.

The others signaled that they were in position, so Rayze raised a hand and counted down with his fingers. 3...2...1...

At one, Rayze and five others stood up and unleashed a heavy barrage of phaser fire. It was a risky move, considering how close the drones were the coolant tanks; if one of those ruptured it would kill every living thing in Engineering. That'd take care of the Borg infestation, but Rayze rather enjoyed living these days. Fortunately their aim was good, and the impacts caused the drones to stumble backwards closer to their companions that were trying to hack the core. Their shields glowed bright red but held. That was alright, Rayze knew they wouldn't end this fight with their phasers.

"Now, Sabrina!" he called out to one of the Engineers, and the woman sprang into action while the Security detail continued to drain their weapons with a steady stream of concentrated fire. Exposed, she worked quickly, shoulders hunched as if she expected to be drilled by a disruptor bolt in the spine any moment, but she only needed a few seconds.

"Got it!" Sabrina threw herself underneath the console while Rayze and everyone else hit the ground and tried to make themselves as small as possible. The warp core began to hum with increasing volume, and it was just past an instant before it shot off thick, crackling bolts of lightning. Sabrina had turned off the grounding conduits that syphoned the static charges that built up around the core, and the thunder the lightning produced boomed so loudly that it was painful. Or something like that, Rayze hadn't honestly understood her plan when she'd shouted it to him a few minutes ago. It had the desired effect though. All four Borg were struck by the discharges, the blasts of electrical energy ripping through force fields, cybernetic components, and whatever flesh remained to them alike. Within moments, they had been reduced to smoking, sparking, and twitching corpses.

"Great job!" Rayze shouted with honest joy this time. "Mind turning off the light show though? My hair's standing on end." His mop of blonde hair was doing just that, making him look wild and crazy. Sabrina reached a hand out from under her console and turned off her trap. Engineering sounded almost entirely silent after the crackling cacophony, and the crew slowly began to move out from where they'd been hiding. Rayze wasn't the only one whose hair stuck out in all directions, and he started to laugh when he saw the state of his shipmates, his mirth at their sorry appearance and his happiness they had survived infectious. Soon, laughter from over a dozen beings filled Engineering.

"Rayze to Bridge," he struggled to say through his chuckles after another tap of his badge. "We're all good down here."

Briefing Room, Two Days Later

"...and it'll be another six weeks before we get the sonic showers back online, as they're at the bottom of the list of priorities." Sabrina sunk down into her chair, exhausted both by the unceasing work to repair the heavy damage to Tethys, and the long recital of the damage report. It seemed that almost no system made it through the battle with the Borg Sphere unscathed.

"Doctor Lincoln is still unable to get away from Sickbay," Commander Hitchens added. "But he sent word. The Captain's in bad shape. He doesn't expect her to be back on duty for at least four months, if not longer." The ship's first officer rubbed his temples wearily, then leaned forward to rest both arms on the conference table. "Given how much damage we've taken, and that we can't manufacture all the parts we need to get Tethys back to full strength, and with Captain Reanith out of commission, I have no choice but to turn the ship around."

There were heavy feelings all around the table. The Tethys had been making history with her long mission, pushing back the frontier of known space. Almost eight years since they'd left Federation territory, and though their mission of exploration had been reaching its end soon anyways, none of them liked the idea of coming within months of completing it only to be forced home because of heavy damage. Worse, they were worried for their captain, grieving over the shipmates they'd lost during the battle. It didn't take an empath to be able to tell that the entire crew's morale was going to plummet when they heard the news that they were going to have to head back.

"At least we'll get a chance to stop by the Kagyran Homeworld again on our way back," Rayze spoke up suddenly from his spot as far away from Commander Hitchens as he could without actually being out of the room. Out of all of them, he hid his disappointment and worry the best, and his tone was encouraging. "Maybe we'll even make it in time for the Spring Festival!"

The reminder of the friendly planet of aliens they'd encountered last year brightened a few faces. The Kagyran had been so hospitable, letting them take a three week shore leave on their beautiful forested planet, made the Tethys crew feel more welcome than any other race they'd encountered out here had. Even Hitchens smiled, if briefly, and didn't call Rayze out for speaking up without being asked a direct question for once; that rule had been established during the first sixth months after the mission had started.

"Commander Magabe," Hitchens turned to the helmsman. "If what Lieutenant Reynolds says is true, and that she won't be able to give us better than warp 6 until we reach drydock, how long will it take us to reach Federation space?"

The ebony-skinned man closed his eyes as he often did when running calculations in his head, "A year and...a half, give or take." Frowns started appearing around the table, and he coughed when he opened his eyes once again and saw the look the others sent his way. "But I'm sure we can find ways to trim some time off that estimate."

"Let's hope so," Hitchens agreed, and pressed on. "In the meantime, as Acting Captain, I'll need to rearrange the staff until the crew in Sickbay is able to return to their posts. Lieutenant Reynolds, you're the most senior officer in Engineering, so you're the new chief. I know you'll do your best to get us put back together again." Sabrina nodded, her face serious, and Rayze gave her a thumbs up and big grin she tried to ignore.

"Lieutenant M'k'e'n'er, you'll be my XO for the foreseeable future," he said next to the sentient, floating sac of gasses with its constantly-waving tentacles. "I want you to focus on working out duty shifts that will give us what we need to make repairs, but also give the crew a chance to take a break. God knows, they've earned it."

"This one will endeavour to do its utmost to anticipate and satisfy your needs, Commander," M'k'e'n'er replied. Rayze let out a short laugh.

"Ensigns 1000110 and 1000111, secure any scientific experiments in progress and shut down the labs," Hitchens went on. "We'll use the saved energy to power the replicators a bit longer, until we can take on supplies. Find out from your people which has any experience in engineering or repairs, even if it was just a simulation or two, and send them to Lieutenant Reynolds as soon as possible."

"We will require..." 1000110 started.

"...several hours to carry out your orders..." 1000111 added on.

"...Commander," the first Bynar finished. Rayze's eyes had bounced back and forth between them as they sat on either side of the table, and he felt a little dizzy.

Finally, with a heavy sigh, Hitchens turned his attention towards the eager blonde Risian. They'd never gotten along well, much to Rayze's disappointment. Commander Hitchens was just too much a stickler for protocol and discipline for the Risian's tastes, and really seemed to hate his first name for some reason. Honestly, Rayze thought Garfield was a fine name, but for once he kept his mouth shut. With feigned casualness, he rested his hands on the conference table, met the commander's gaze, and waited patiently.

"Lieutenant Rayze, you'll take over Security for the time being," Hitchens started to say, and had to talk over the first part of Rayze's thanks. "AND YOU'LL BE LEADING a foraging team back to the Class M moon we charted last week around the Class J planet in orbit of the binary yellow stars. Focus on gathering as much edibles as you can, but keep an eye out for any sign of dilithium, deuterium, or anything else we might use as a power source to take the strain off our core and generators."

"Yes, sir!" Rayze almost shouted, startling everyone. It wasn't the man's volume that had shocked them; he was often loud. Their astonishment only increased as he continued. "I won't let you down, Commander, I promise." For possibly the first time in eight years, the Assistant Chief of Security had actually used the first officer's rank. Hitchens looked like he might have an aneurism right then and there.

A few seconds later, Rayze spoiled the moment, "Is there anything in particular you want me to find for you, Garfield? You seemed really fond of those yellow fruit thingies we picked up. You know, the ones shaped like a Benzite's chin? Don't think I didn't see you stuffing your mouth full of them early in the morning before breakfast in the mess-"

"Dismissed!" Hitchens barked, and the officers all immediately jumped to their feet, such was the tone of command in his voice that it brought back memories of Academy days. Many of them shared small, tired smiles with each other as they filed out, but Garfield Hitchens remained behind, nursing his aching head. No way was he going to let it take them a year and a half to get back home, not if he was going to have to put up directly with Lieutenant Rayze in the meantime.

"Maybe we can forget him with the Kagyrn on the way back," he mused, and was only half-joking.

[OFF]

Lieutenant (jg) Rayze
Assistant Chief Security Officer

&

The Crew of the USS Tethys

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