She hung there cold and dark against the black of space; drifting slowly in a degrading orbit over a planet heavy with electrical activity. She looked almost peaceful. Flares of light passed across her hull revealing pockmarks of all shapes and sizes. The ship was a nondescript transport hauler which had seen better days.
Not far, a passing Klingon cargo ship spotted her on long range sensors. The crew was on high alert after the recent events that left their empire all but defenseless. With the massive loss of their main fleet, they were left with simple defense force vessels armed with no more than simple, low-power disruptors. The empire was in dire need of raw materials and all available resources were sent to bring back as much as they could find.
The Jev, a Klingon cargo hauler on its way back from a fairly successful salvage mission, passed close by the drifting hulk and normal sensors didn't even pick it up. Only an alert crewman saw the ship's hull reflecting in the electrical activity through a portal in the ship's galley. The captain, eager to make his haul even more lucrative, ordered the ship to proceed and investigate.
Approaching closer, they found no signs of life. Every system on the ship was completely destroyed. It appeared that the ship had taken several electrical flares, presumably from the nearby planet. Several of the crew was leery of being so close to the planet that loomed nearby, but spoke nothing for fear of the captain's retribution. Bright flashes refracted through the passageways as bolts of energy raced across the planet's surface. A few winced from time to time from the blinding beams.
After settling into a comfortable distance away from the vessel, additional scans were completed and results showed no weapons fire. It was obvious the ship had taken several hits from the electrical storm close by. The Jev established a tractor beam and began pulling the ship away from the planet to a safe distance.
•••••
"Captain, we have returned to minimum safe distance." The helm officer called out. "The planet's activity is no longer affecting our equipment. Sensors continue to show no signs of life or power on board."
The Captain was wary of such a simple gift left out here in space. Finding ships alone was a rarity. Finding them cold and dark with no trace as to its origin was something that never happened. The captain had his reservations with the crew and their ability to perform their duties. This, however, was a simple task with literally no chance for error. The ship was not trying to resist their scans; they were in the black of space. He had to trust what his instruments were telling him.
"Prepare a boarding party," the captain shouted to his tactical officer. "Prepare for anything. I want to be sure that no one comes looking for it." The ship they piloted was a small vessel with no defensive capabilities. They had to be cautious about what they decided to tow home. No one would be able to pass up a big fish such as this if the opportunity arose. "Do not disappoint me."
•••••
The away team, in full EVA suits, beamed aboard the derelict vessel. The search began slowly and then proceeded more quickly as the away team became more familiar with their surroundings and less concerned with the presence of any enemy. No bodies were found. Some escape pods were missing, but they presumably perished as their orbits decayed toward a planet that was incapable of sustaining life. There was the possibility that some could have survived the re-entry and still be alive in their pods right now. The thought of being trapped in a tiny escape pod on a hostile planet with no chance of rescue gave the away team pause momentarily, but the search resumed.
The search continued for some time with the captain demanding frequent updates. The search team began to push towards Medical. On vessels such as this one, if they had taken something that was considered infectious or hazardous, they would store it in the Medical Containment Locker with its heavy shielding and its design to keep inside what it contained. With the power being offline, the shielding was no longer active. The heavy gauge container took some work, but the team got it open. Inside, they found a smaller container with similar construction to the Locker. Their interest piqued; they opened the container and found an item whose origin was as equally a mystery as the ship itself.
It was obvious that the device was not the same technology as the ship. There was a faint, green glow of energy coming from the object which puzzled the team as it never registered on any scans. There were documents with the device that had Romulan and Klingon on them. The away team did not understand what the documents said even though some of the pages were in their own language. They closed the container and removed it from the Containment Locker and placed it in another capsule designed to protect and mask what was inside. The away team collected what they could and beamed back to the Jev.
Upon beaming back, the team leader immediately met with the captain and tried to explain what they found, even though he himself did not fully understand what it was. The captain, however, had a better grasp of what they found and quickly sent word to his first officer to take another away team to the ship and continue the search for more information. He ordered the new away team to report in every 5 minutes due to the unsettling nature of the situation.
After the first officer and his team beamed over to continue the search of this ship, the captain waited several minutes and then spoke with his tactical officer and issued him very specific instructions. The tactical team made their way to the transporter room and awaited the order to beam over.
The captain addressed the crew over the loudspeakers. "When we left Qo'noS , we were merely a salvage team with little honor. We accepted our path and did what was right for the Empire. What we do today will ensure we return as Warriors and Heroes of the Empire." Opening a channel to the transporter room directly, the captain spoke to the transporter officer, "Beam them over, now!"
The crew's confusion was apparent. None of them understood what the Captain was up to. The audio from the salvaged ship was directed to the Jev's loudspeakers. At once they heard weapons fire and fighting. After a matter of minutes, all they could hear was the unmistakable thud of the tactical team dropping their weapons and guttural shouts as the tactical team ushered the first officer and the rest of the fallen to Sto-vo-kor.
"This will be the first great battle of our new empire. Beam back the tactical officer and his team and commence firing on the ship. Do NOT destroy it. We need to bring it back to prove our victory in glorious battle." The captain cracked a smile as he finished.
The Jev, with its bounty in tow, continued to journey back to Qo'nos.