Livian Sacrifice

Posted on 20 Nov 2019 @ 2:53pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Commander Ryan Alexander

2,951 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: Latari A III Orbit - Shuttlecraft Livia
Timeline: MD 01, 0718 hrs

Previously, on Retreat (Part 6)...

"Luke, stand down," Saalm said to the acting Galileo captain. "You have to look after the crew now. They will depend on you. Tend to all your medical needs and conduct repairs as soon as possible. I will see you when I return...Saalm out," she solemnly closed the channel.

Ryan turned to look over to Lirha. "Warp is ready on your command Captain."

...

Amararnai heard the order to stand down but she waited until Luke told her. He had taken control of the bridge, so it was his word to give, not hers - regardless of how she felt.

"Power down weapons, track the shuttle for as long as we can." The now acting captain let out a long sigh and tapped his comms badge, "All heads of departments report to the briefing room in one hour with sitreps." Luke turned to Ullswater and Callin "I would like you to be present with the initial plans for the weapons we discussed so work with Lieutenant Franklin, we'll be leaving as soon as were fighting fit so time is of the essence."

Amaranai sighed heavily and removed the targeting lock from the shuttle before powering down the phaser array. She heard Luke's request for Ullswater and Callin to work with her regarding a plan with the weapons. What was that about? She nodded and began scanning systems in preparation for a report that she might not even be allowed to give.

...

In space, shuttlecraft Livia's nacelles glowed bright then flashed, sending the small craft streaking into low warp away from the Starfleet convoy -- and straight towards the Tholians and crippled USS Trial.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

It took less than a minute for the shuttle to warp into the system but it felt like an eternity to the Orion captain. The stars streaked by through the view of the cockpit, and after several long seconds of fidgeting, she turned to her new companion with frustration still apparent.

"Why, Ryan? ...Surely you know this is a one-way trip. Why did you leave Galileo for," she motioned to the warp field in front of her, "the Tholians, of all things?"

Ryan gave a quick look over the shuttle readouts, making sure that nothing was out of order or a glaring problem was present before turning his full attention to Lirha. "I don't agree with what Lieutenant Commander Wyatt did but that really doesn't matter a whole lot, at least in regards to the answer to your question." He said as made eye contact with her. "Something didn't feel right with you leaving the bridge, and when I heard that a shuttle was leaving..." Ryan started before stopping for a moment to collect his thoughts.

"It wasn't and isn't in me to let you do what ever you were, or should I say are, going to do alone. I have your back ma'am; always have, always will."

The ensign's words sounded as pure as any she'd ever heard, from any officer from any species. And his previous loyalty to stay with her - in the Paulson Nebula - to sacrifice himself along side her, gave Saalm little doubt of his intentions. She understood him in a strange way - perhaps just as strangely as he regarded her. Regardless, he was one of the few people she'd met who shared such a passionate devotion to duty as she did.

She grumbled to herself with resignation then finally turned her attention back to her console while giving him a mandatory scolding. "If I find out you really did this just to get to my stash of Romulan ale," she looked him in the eyes, "I will haunt your soul in all of your afterlives. Now prepare to go EMCON when we drop out of warp. We don't know who's still out there."

"I make no promises." Ryan said as he returned back to his console, the most faint of smiles on his face. Ryan disconnected several of the automatic systems that would transmit errant electrical and communication signals, and started to shut down all none essential systems. "It's going to get a little cool in here." Ryan commented as he brought down the power to life support systems. He went through the checklist one final time before reporting to Lirha. "EMCON procedures complete, we are ready to initiate."

Lirha tapped at the helm to configure their approach as stealthily as possible then brought the small craft out of warp. "Prepare yourself," she warned, unsure of what they might soon find in orbit of the second colony. In space, a faint silver trail decelerated in the cosmos above the large Class M world as their shuttle decelerated less than ten kilometers from the last known position of USS Trial.

In the shuttle's cockpit, the stars ceased blurring and returned to normal, then the image of a damaged Miranda-class quickly came on screen. The ship was adrift and surrounded by some sort of force field - geometric in nature surrounding the ship on all sides with glowing yellow trapezoid patterns inter-spaced between angled nodes.

A proximity alert started to chirp on the Ops console, signifying the presence of several additional vessels.

Ryan returned his full focus to his console at the sound of the alert. "Captain, I am detecting the Trial. It looks like she is surrounded by energy filaments, readings are consistent with a Tholian Web." Ryan said as he typed in a few commands into his console. "I am also getting readings of three frigates that are in close proximity to the filaments. Looks like a standard Tholian patrol pattern, overlapping sensor fields, and equal line of sight and firing arcs."

So that was it, Saalm thought to herself while she stared at the unique phenomenon. The infamous Tholian web. "She looks disabled," she noticed in reference to the listing Miranda-class slowly rolling to the side with plasma venting from the remains of the damaged nacelle. "Lifesigns?"

"Difficult to determine through all this interference, stand-by." Ryan said as he did his best to cut through the interference without boosting power to senors and give them away. "I am detecting a between 2 to 5 faint readings amidships, between decks 4-6. Without boosting power to detectable levels, I can't give you better accuracy." Ryan said after a few moments.

"What's the status of the Tholian ships?" Lirha replied to Alexander. She knew at least a couple had sustained damage during their engagement with them, and now wondered if they presented any vulnerabilities.

Ryan furrowed his brow as he analyzed the sensor data. "From what the senors are picking up, it looks like light. I can detect some concentration of gases which may indicate at least one hull breach, but I am having a hard time getting accurate readings due to the interference." Ryan said, wishing that he could give her better information.

"Then they're still functional...and probably still a threat," the captain pondered out-loud. She'd hoped Trial had inflicted more damage to the silicon vessels but it now appeared as though the they hadn't lasted long once Galileo retreated.

"Very well," Lirha continued with a heavy sigh. "Set course for the lead--"

Saalm's order was interrupted by the sudden detection of a propulsion signature appearing on sensors. She barely had time to discern its properties but the position and speed of the blip on her console led her to believe it was a small craft emerging from one of the moon's orbits.

"Captain," Ryan stated as something briefly revealed it self before going dark. "I think I just saw a small craft headed to theTrial." Ryan said as he reviewed the data for a few moments. "Yes, I am sure I saw something, for an instant. It matches a Federation signature but I can't give you much more than that, its running silent like we are." Ryan said as he analyzed the data further. "I think it might be the Virginia, but I can't be 100% certain, there is just to much interference and unless we want to light ourselves up like a lighthouse at night..." He said with shrug.

"The Virginia?!" the captain repeated with surprise. "...What's she doing...?" Lirha remembered the mission she'd recently sent them on - a classified site survey of the impact crater to discover the origins of the Genesis signature they'd detected. But what were they doing now in orbit? Heading towards the Tholian vessels on some sort of stealth mission?

"I'm setting a course to intercept," Saalm quickly decided. "Whatever they're doing..it's foolish. But maybe we can help." She looked over to Alexander for his support.

"Yes, ma'am." Ryan said, as he went to work.

Shuttlecraft Livia's impulse engines came to life and quickly turned the small craft towards its new trajectory while accelerating. Like a small metallic dart in space, the Type-6 support craft quickly closed the distance to the USS Trial.

"Captain, passives are detecting movement from one of the Tholian vessels, it looks like it is moving towards the Virginia." Ryan said as he studied the data for a few moments. "It looks like an intercept course, I think the Tholians detected the shuttle."

The captain cursed to herself under her breath in her native tongue - whatever their sister shuttle was attempting, now appeared to have no chance of success. At least, not without help. And as much as Lirha wanted to hail Virginia to speak to the away team, she knew such a transmission would compromise her own shuttle's limited stealth. There were few options available and Saalm could feel her heart beating swiftly in her chest. "Get ready to bring our phasers and shields online. On my command," she prepared.

Ryan wanted to add some input, but knew they didn't have time to implement a half dozen alternatives that went through his mind. "Aye, aye, ma'am." Ryan replied as he entered in the command sequences that would be needed to bring systems online.

The lead dart-shaped Tholian frigate continued its intercept course towards Virginia, and in less than five seconds, slowed its speed as it moved in between the Trial and the incoming shuttle to block its path. Suddenly the front of the silicon-based ship emitted a bright cyan energy cone which surrounded Virginia and started to pull the shuttle towards it.

"Captain, passives have detected that the Tholian frigate just locked on, and engaged a tractor beam on the Virginia. It looks like she is being drawn to the Tholian vessel." Ryan reported, waiting for her command to bring the shuttle up to full power.

There was no time for Lirha to contemplate the next move - what they'd just witnessed meant dire circumstances for the other shuttle without any intervention. Looking down to her nav console, the captain's slim green fingers delicately manipulated the thruster controls to align their craft on a strafing run. "Ryan, we have to help them. On my mark, bring all primary systems online and divert auxiliary power to the phasers."

"On you mark aye." Ryan said, his hand hovering over the LCARS button which would initiate the command sequence to bring all systems online.

"Mark!" called out Saalm as shuttle Livia closed in on the Tholian frigate and Virginia.

The systems of the Livia were brought online a heart beat after Ryan initiated the start-up sequence.

"Target that tractor beam, concentrated bursts," Lirha ordered, "and fire!"

Ryan executed Lirha's order. Concentrated bursts shot out of the little shuttle. Impacting near the tractor beam projector. "Senors are reading minimal damage to shields, ma'am."

"Re-adjust phaser modulation to..." she frantically looked to her console which was now picking up shield resonance bursts, "three-one-one-point-four megahertz," she called out.

With a few entries into the console, Ryan completed Lirha's order to adjust the phaser modulation. Phaser fire reached out from the shuttle, striking the Tholian ship for the briefest of instances before the Tholians countered by readjusting their shield frequencies. "Looks like a hit ma'am. Tractor emitter looks to be offline." Ryan called out.

"Open a channel to the other shuttle," the captain quickly ordered.

"Channel open." Ryan said.

"Shuttle Virginia, this is Livia!," said Saalm over the comm. "You're free from the tractor, get back to Galileo now!" She looked over to where Ryan was seated with a grim face before continuing. "We'll distract the Tholians long enough for you to get away. There's no time for questions."

"Captain, the Virginia is breaking away." Ryan said as he watched the sensors. After a few moments the Virginia turned jumped into warp in the direction of the convoy. "Captain, Virginia has entered warp, vector indicates towards the convoy."

Saalm let out a sigh of relief then watched the tactical sensors to monitor the Tholian ship movements. None of them followed the other shuttle into warp, but instead focused their attentions on Livia. The two enemy frigates were now attempting to pincer her shuttle, leaving them with few options.

Lirha hesitantly looked to Ryan then initiated the next step of her plan. "We've done as much as we can. At least they got away...back to Galileo. Signal our surrender to the Tholians and power down. Full stop."

"Aye ma'am." Ryan said as he followed her orders. Ryan trusted her completely and knew that she had a plan. He would do is his best to support her. "Shuttle is full stop. Signal sent and powering down."

Once Virginia had snapped into warp, the incoming Tholian frigates ceased their pursuit and now trained their attention on Livia and her two occupants. Alexander's console lit up and blared with a weapons lock warning as the two enemy ships closed in on their shuttle and came to a stop across their bow.

Lirha hoped her plan would work. It was risky enough to simply provoke the Tholians, let alone fire on them. Privately, she had no idea if the they would accept her surrender...and that thought terrified her. A bright blue tractor beam suddenly activated from one of the Tholian ships and locked on to the Starfleet shuttle.

"Ma'am, they have us in a tractor and..." Ryan started to say before a warning light flashed on is console. "Incoming transporter signatures." Ryan said, moments before several Tholians beamed aboard.

The Galileo captain turned her head towards the back of the cockpit just in time to witness two cerulean transporter signatures manifest. They quickly shimmered away, and in their place now stood two Tholian shock troopers clad in some form of light-grey EVA suits. Both of the silicon creatures possessed six legs appendages as well as two arms, all attached to their tall center-mast crystalline structure. They stood approximately seven feet tall and held some sort of energy rifle in their hands.

Ryan turned his head slowly towards the rear of the shuttle. He wasn't really shocked nor surprised at the Tholian's for beaming aboard. "Looks almost like an exo-skeletal powered assist EVA suit." Ryan said, barley audible enough for Lirha to hear, but pretty certain the Tholian's could pick it up.

As shocked to witness the presence of Tholians as Alexander was, Saalm stared in silence at their intimidating stature and technology. As far as she was aware, they were the first Starfleet officers to see a Tholian in-person in over a hundred years. She swallowed a dry lump in her throat before slowly raising her hands and standing from her chair.

"I am Captain Lirha Saalm, commanding officer of the USS Galileo," she spoke, then flicked her green eyes to Ryan. "and this is Ensign Alexander. We have come with information for you...in exchange for a cease-fire." It was a bold offer considering the circumstances and their current lack of negotiating power.

The two Tholians slowly stepped forward on their multiple legs then stopped mere feet away. The lead one spoke and ear-splitting harmonic shrieks started to be translated by the UT.

"Federation...captain," it started, accompanied by more shrill sounds. "You are our property now. Do not resist. Or we will," it trained its weapon on Saalm's chest, "...kill you."

A deep chill ran through Lirha's body. The Tholians were much more intimidating in person than she'd anticipated. Hesitantly, she pulled her hand phaser from its holster and tossed it to the ground, then stepped forward to surrender. She looked back to Ryan to do the same, giving him a reassuring nod.

Ryan followed Lirha's lead, making slow movements and throwing his phaser next to where Lirha's had landed, and moving to stand next to her. The Tholian's before them were imposing, if not a little intimidating, to say the least. He couldn't help but wonder, since the Tholian's needed environmental suits to beam aboard here, if they themselves would need environmental suits of there own.

One of the Tholians tapped its sickle-shaped finger to a small device attached to its upper forearm. In unison, a cluster of bright blue transporter particles materialized within each of the four occupants then consumed them, leaving shuttle Livia now empty.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

Ensign Ryan Alexander
Chief of Operations
USS Galileo-A

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