Hawaii Five-0 is property of CBS and its creators.
A/N: I needed a break from the shameless fluff of my last few stories, so you get this for a change. Not that it's much more substantial. This is me, we're talking about. ;)
At 03:27, Aloha Station Space Control noticed the unscheduled freighter. It was coming in erratically. It looked like the original trajectory may have been for one of the seedier bays on the far side of the station, but it appeared to have gone off course and was now in danger of crashing into an inhabited area. No registration number was visible.
The controller on duty thumbed the comm. "Unregistered freighter, this is Aloha Station. Please state your business." There was no response. The controller tried again. "Unregistered freighter, do you read me?"
There was a pause, then a voice. "It's loose! We need help!"
"What's loose?" No answer. "Freighter, do you read me?"
The connection appeared to be breaking up. "Help us! It's going to kill us all!"
"What is?" the controller demanded again. "Freighter, we can't help you if we don't know the problem."
Instead of a response, a rending sound as of metal being ripped away came through the comm, followed by screaming. The controller broke the connection and opened a link to security. "Aloha Station Security, this is Control Station 5, Sector 112. We have an unregistered freighter in distress on a collision course with sector 108. Pilot may be injured. Repeat, freighter is on collision course and pilot may be injured."
"Control Station 5, this is Aloha Station Security. Engage tractor beam. See if you can pull the freighter into Bay 5c—that looks like it's the nearest. We'll send a team."
"Roger that," the controller confirmed. He hesitated. "Security, the pilot said some thing was loose. Judging by the sounds I heard, could be nasty."
"I'll contact Five-0. Security out."
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"Okay, Duke, what have we got?" Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett, Earthborn Alliance SEAL (Space, Air, and Land, after the old Earth naval special forces of the same name), Reserves, leader of the anti-smuggling task force Five-0, asked the Aloha Station Police Department sergeant on duty.
"At 03:27, Control picked up an unregistered freighter on a collision course. Pilot was hysterical. Reported something on board," Sgt. Duke Lukela replied.
"Most freighters have something on board," Det. Danny Williams, formerly of Capitol Station PD, then Aloha Station PD, now second-in-command of Five-0, snarked. "Care to be more specific?"
Duke sent him a withering glance. "Not something, Detective, some thing. Presumed dangerous and at large."
"Bay secure?" Steve asked.
Duke nodded. "Evacuated and sealed."
"How many other ships in the bay?" Steve asked.
"Three," Duke replied. "Two other freighters and one private pleasure vessel. Plus cargo—the freighters were unloaded, but the shipments have not been removed from the bay."
"That's a lot of space to run amok in if whatever it is gets out," Danny noted.
"Yeah," Steve said grimly. He addressed Duke. "Any idea how many people on board."
Duke shook his head. "Other than the pilot, no clue."
"And no idea what the thing may be?" Another shake of the head.
"Let's take a look." Steve and Danny checked their weapons. Steve motioned to the rest of his team, then nodded at Duke to open the bay. Steve and Danny entered cautiously, weapons at the ready, Chin Ho Kelly, Lou Grover, and Kono Kalakaua falling in behind. They fanned out and checked the bay.
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
"Clear!"
Steve nodded and gestured towards the unknown freighter. It was easy to pick out—it had come in hard, and the nose was tilted into the floor of the bay, somewhat crumpled. The team took up positions on either side of the door to the ship. No sounds came from within. Steve held up three fingers and counted down, hitting the controls to open the door when he hit zero. He and Danny swung into place, facing the interior of the ship. "Five-0! Freeze!"
A low, vicious snarl was the only warning they had before a huge, furry form barreled into Danny, sending him crashing to the floor with a loud thud as his head connected with the hard surface.
"Danny!" Steve holstered his weapon and leaned over his partner. "Are you okay?"
Danny struggled to sit up, shaking his head to clear it. "I'm okay! Go get it!"
Chin, Kono, and Lou had aimed their weapons at whatever-it-was, but it had bounded behind a stack of crates before they could get a bead on it. "Fuck, what was that?" Lou asked. "It was almost as big as me!"
Chin tapped his tablet. "I didn't get a good look at it, but I think it was a Centaurian wolf." He showed them the picture.
Danny read the description. "Six feet at the shoulders, five to six hundred pounds, carnivore. Nasty. Endangered?"
"No," Chin said, "but I wouldn't want to keep one as a pet."
"Agreed," Steve said. "I'd still rather bring it in alive if possible. Chin, Kono, on the catwalk with tranq guns. Cover me. Danny, Lou, check the ship. Use live ammo and be careful—we don't know what—or who—else is in there."
"What are you going to do, Steve?" Danny asked.
"I'm going after it."
"What?! No!" Danny exclaimed. "Are you crazy!? That thing will rip you to shreds if it finds you."
"Then I'll just have to be careful," Steve replied.
"Steven! Rushing headlong into a dangerous situation armed with just a handgun in not careful!"
"Relax, Danno. Everything will be okay." Steve was gone before Danny could say anything else.
Steve cautiously ducked around the crates the wolf had gone behind. At least a hundred crates were stacked up, forming a maze. He couldn't immediately see anything. "Kono, Chin, see anything?" he spoke into his comm.
"Negative," Chin's voice came back. "We're not going to be able to get a good shot, either, unless you get clear of the crates. Watch your step."
"Noted," Steve said. Checking ahead, behind, to the sides, and above, he moved into the maze.
"Steve," Chin's voice sounded in his ear, "I see it. It's on top of the crates, moving southwest."
"Got it. How close is it to my position?"
"I don't know," Chin replied. "I can't see you."
Steve was about to talk back when he heard a noise above and behind him. He started to turn, but a heavy weight landed on his back and sharp claws dug in. Steve screamed.
Danny and Lou had just finished clearing the freighter when Steve's scream came through the comm. They found five heavily mauled bodies, obviously the work of the wolf, and a busted crate, probably what the wolf had originally been contained in, but no other signs of life, human or alien.
"Steve! Steve, can you hear me?" Danny shouted into his comm. No response. "Chin, what's up?"
"Wolf got the drop on him. I've got an approximate location. I'm going after it."
Danny heard a thud and a clang, presumably the sound of Chin vaulting over the catwalk railing and landing on the containers. Danny thumbed the comm over to the channel for ASPD. "This is Det. Danny Williams, Five-0, requesting backup to Bay 5c, Sector 112. Officer down. Repeat, officer down. Need medical assistance. Come in hot—there's a Centaurian wolf on the loose."
Danny and Lou raced out of the ship in time to see Chin aim into the aisle between two rows of containers. There was an enraged howl, and a large form leaped onto the containers in front of Chin. Chin fired again, but the beast kept coming. "Shit! The tranqs aren't working!" He dropped his rifle and ran, the beast hot on his heels.
Danny and Lou skidded to a stop in front of the maze of containers. Danny watched in horror as the wolf chased Chin. They were too far away and too high for him to do anything. "Kono!" he yelled frantically into the comm, "can you get a line of sight on him?"
"Yeah," Kono said. "Taking aim now."
"Shoot to kill, Kono. Don't waste time with tranqs."
"Got it," Kono said. A loud shot rang out, catching the beast in mid-air as it leapt for Chin. It crashed down onto the containers, unmoving.
"Nice shot, Kono," Danny praised. "I'm going after Steve."
Danny raced through the maze, heading for where he remembered seeing the beast leap from. He prayed Steve wasn't too badly hurt, and that he'd be in time. Danny rounded a corner and spotted Steve lying face down on the ground, unmoving. Even from that distance Danny could see blood seeping from deep gouges on Steve's back. Danny crouched down beside the fallen man. "Steve! Steve, can you hear me?"
Steve groaned and shifted slightly, but didn't open his eyes. At least he was alive. That was something. But for how long? Danny turned his attention to Steve's wounds. Five long slash marks gaped on Steve's back, exposing muscle and bone. "Shit! It really did a number on you!" Danny ripped off his vest and shirt, pressing the material to Steve's back, trying to cover as many of the wounds as possible, but the area was too spread out, and blood soaked quickly through the thing material. "Shit, shit, shit! Where are the damn paramedics?"
"Right here." Someone gently shoved Danny aside and took over. Danny sat back on his heels and nearly sobbed with relief. Please, God, let him be okay, Danny prayed.
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Danny sat by Steve's bed, waiting for him to wake up. He was exhausted, but he refused to leave Steve's side. The claws had done muscle and tendon damage, but hadn't hit any organs. The doctors had sewn Steve back together, using over 100 stitches. He'd need physical therapy to regain strength in his back, but he'd survive. Danny was still afraid to believe it; he needed Steve to wake up.
Danny was nodding off when he felt Steve shift beside him and heard a groan. "Danny?"
Danny was instantly alert. "I'm here, Steve."
"What happened?"
Danny bit back a rant. Now was not the time. "You got mauled by a Centaurian wolf."
"Oh, yeah." Steve was silent for a minute. "Danny?"
"Yeah, babe?"
"Remind me not to do that again."
Danny couldn't help laughing, even though he was close to tears. "Count on it, babe."
"Good," Steve said before he drifted back to sleep.
"Yeah," Danny said softly. "It's all good."
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A/N: So this was more along the lines of what I envisioned this verse to be like, before it veered off into the Five-0 Menagerie. :) Oh, well-I can do both, right? ;)