Dead Men Tell No Tales. Part 1

Posted on 29 Mar 2017 @ 7:05pm by Ensign Miraj Derani

961 words; about a 5 minute read

June 2382 - Romulan Neutral Zone

[ON]

“Hit them!” Lianej Derani screamed.

The Cardassian at the helm moved his hands. Their course in warp changed, and the Cort Shipyards Heavy Cruiser once known as Berajant (Triumphant) and now known as Iro Maché - Serpent’s Tooth, swung in space, slamming its warp bubble into the fragile warp field of the Romulan ship it was pursuing.

The two ships fell out of warp, hulls entangled, the frame of the larger cruiser ringing, despite the power running to its Structural integrity field.. “Tractor field Mr Tserek!”

The Nausicaan Chief Gunner shouted out, “Tractor Field engaged!”. The powerful gravity waves hauled the smaller ship snug to the side of the larger vessel. There was a clang as the two hulls met, the deflector filed adjusting to envelop them both. “Boarding Gallery is connected and sealed.

“Are their shields down?” The Boslic woman asked, frowning at the data readouts on her small captain's screen

“Not yet.”

“Broadsides till its down. We’re going to drill as well, make sure they don’t try and run off.”

“Aye aye.” The Nausicaan began to fire the phaser banks, aiming for the shield generators.

Derani opened a shipwide broadcast. “Boarding crews, power the breaching drills, and load deck sweepers.” Then she turned to her First Mate. “Get me the captain.”

A moment later a Romulan face, dark skinned and deeply lined, eyes cold, appeared on her view screen. She didn’t give him a chance to speak. “I’m Lianej Derani, Captain of the Serpent's Tooth. I have you ship in tractor. Drop your shields, power down your weapons and prepare to be boarded. Resist and I will give no quarter.”

The Romulans face was hard as flint. “Board this vessel and every warbird in the Romulan fleet will hunt you down.”

“They’ve been trying for years. Forgive me if I don’t feel scared. Who am I speaking to?”

“Derin Rh’Verek, and I have powerful friends in the Senate.”

“Not that powerful,” Lianej scoffed. “You’re captaining a merchantman not a warbird. “Now, Derin, you know what I want, and I will be boarding your ship to get it. You can surrender, and we’ll come through the airlock. Or I can come through the hull. Your choice.”

The Romulan twitched, but beyond that held his composure. “I will destroy it first.”

Lianej laughed, a short sharp bitter bark of a sound. “Of course you will. And if you do, you will get to die last. Only after you’ve watched the slow death of every other person on that ship. It might take months. Let me take it, and you can limp home to Romulus, with a few scars and a story for your grandchildren.”

“Go to hell, bitch.”

Lianej cut the transmission, and spoke to the boarding crews from her captains chair. “Over the side, lads. No quarter, but get me some prisoners.”

With that, she rose, settling the belt that held her phaser, knife, and painstick more comfortably around her hips and headed for the boarding ports. With the rest of the crew who were to take part. Her first mate, a scarred up Bolian, half his nose missing, the rest of his face bubbled in a heap of caustic burns, fell into step beside her. “It's not a big ship. The plunder won’t be huge.”

The captain didn’t look at him. “But it will lead to bigger things Rudd, I promise you that.” Rudd made a doubtful sound. “They can have the women.” she allowed. “And there’s bound to be some twink fresh out of officer’s school for Bal Doru. Hesmil can have her pick too. Once we’ve questioned them.” she warned. “I don’t want to find she’s cut out a tongue we need before we’ve finished with it. Anyone no-one wants we can sell for feed to the Orions.”

Rudd’s reply was cut off by the screeching of the huge metal cutting drills that had latched like lampreys onto the Romulan ships hull, and the huge toothed wheels began to cut through. By the time the two reached the boarding gallery, there were three red hot circles big enough to let three men abreast through carved through. It was faster than transporters for moving large quantities of men, and it had the added advantage of making the prize stay still, or be exposed to vacuum Just in front of them, crews of men were preparing the powered rams that would knock the hull plating through, and behind them, squads of people with the the huge mini torpedo launchers that would drop deck sweepers through the breach ahead of the pirate crew.

“We’re skirting mutiny,” Rudd hissed. “There's only so long this lot will go without seeing shares!”

“Then the quicker we’re done here, the quicker we can find a prize to tide them over, don’t you think.?” Lianej said pointedly. At that the ram handlers fired their huge hydraulic batterers, and the side of the Romulan merchantman caved in in three places.

“Fire in the hole!” shouted Tserek, and the next set of pirates jumped forward,and in practised synchronization, they let rip a series of adapted grenades, mini torpedoes that had had their original payloads removed, and were now giant stun bombs. There was a series of retina burning flashes, and then hollow booms, and then silence interspersed with the soft crump of the bodies beyond falling to the deck.

Derani drew her phaser, checked it was set to kill, and followed her howling, baying, crew across the breach.

To Be Continued

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