Chapter Two
[Deck One - C&C]
The C&C shook for a couple of seconds before stopping. Immediately, the station went on Red Alert and began an automatic lock-down sequence. The PADDs on the first officer's swivel console clattered onto the floor and Commander Franklin Holt swore. "Status report! What the hell just happened?"
The C&C by now was a buzz with activity and a young Andorian security officer seated in the pit below tapped rapidly on his console. One of his antennae twitched as he turned to shout over the din at the captain, "There was an explosion detected on Deck Three in the captain's office, sir. Massive damage to the office causing the emergency forcefields to activate. Severe damage to the captain's quarters and to an empty suite. Moderate to minor damage to outlying suites on Deck Three and on Decks Two and Four. Captain Dewey is alive other than that I do not know of her condition but she has been beamed to sickbay. Unfortunately sir, I have not been able to locate Lieutenant Jensen Pohl. His last reported location was in the captain's office."
Swinging the console away from himself, Franklin stood up and gripped the railing in from of him. Damn, I hope she's fine. Who the hell would do something like this? He said in his mind before speaking up, "Thank you Lieutenant. Dispatch a security team to Deck Three and secure the whole deck until there is a formal investigation done. Then have all available security personnel do a complete sweep of the station in case there is any more bomb or bombs on-board.
Furthermore, have every piece of debris blown out into space be beamed to Cargo Hold sixteen-oh-eff-seven. Maybe we will be able to locate our missing lieutenant and see if we can find any clues as to what set off the explosion.
Once that is done, shut down all transporters and keep them offline until the culprit or culprits are found. In addition, jam any transporter activity to and from the station but give out a warning beforehand, I do not want to have any accidental deaths here. Those wishing to leave or enter the station must do so through shuttles."
"Aye sir."
Franklin nodded and then turned his attention to the female communications officer, "Has the U.S.S. Integrity contacted us?"
The ensign swung around in her chair and looked up, "Yes sir. They have asked if we needed any assistance."
"Tell them to maintain course, but if they detect any suspicious activities along the way then they are to deal with them."
"Aye, aye sir. Relaying the message."
I told her that one of these days her antics will come to bite her in the ass. Now she's got not only herself hurt but Pohl's probably destroyed! Having pushed himself away from the railing, the commander turned around and walked over to the desk of the station's third in command. Franklin stooped over and gripped the sides of the second officer's desk.
"Sobol, get Yocoisap to tell everyone in security to be on the lookout for Lieutenant Pohl. He's not on sensors nor on our surveillance cameras. Either he has been destroyed, damaged in a way that we cannot detect him or he's been kidnapped. Nevertheless, he's a high priority and we need him back in order to figure out what happened.
Also, besides having temporary control over the station while I deal with the Integrity, head up the investigation and coordinate with the CSeO and the CME in order to get to the bottom of this. Any questions?"
The Vulcan second officer raised an eyebrow and replied, "I do not have any questions at the moment. If in the event I do have questions, I will no doubt contact you."
"Good, you have control. The Integrity should docking soon and I do not want to be late. Afterward, I'm going to head over to sickbay and check up on the captain. Keep me posted."
"Yes commander."
The commander stood up and walked over to the nearest turbolift which by coincidence opened up its doors to let out an ensign. Got to keep cool. Can not look too upset in front of everyone.
The trip lasted about three minutes from the C&C to Docking Pod Four. The turbo-lift doors slid open and the commander stumbled out.
Never again am I going to ask the computer to increase the velocity of the turbo-lift to its safe maximum speed. Franklin thought while keeping himself propped up by leaning against the bulkhead with one arm. Two hundred kilometers per hour?
Composing himself, he straightened out his uniform and walked over to the Docking Pod's control room. Upon entering, the commander noticed there was only two people manning the control room instead of four.
"Aren't there supposed to be four of you? Where are the other two?" Franklin asked a junior Bajoran crewman.
The crewman, a Bajoran, turned away from her station and looked at the Commander nervously.
"Umm, Petty Officer Szinko felt it was necessary to let the contract workers go home early. She felt it was necessary as a security precaution since the U.S.S. Integrity will be docking here instead of the upper docking bays."
Franklin nodded to the crewman in approval. "Excellent thinking. So what is our status, crewman...?"
"Jemma. Jemma Nyra sir."
"Thank you. What is our status Crewman Jemma?"
Nyra turned to her console and began typing. "Security here has been doubled and we're locked down until the Integrity docks. Also, all unauthorized ships have been relocated to other docking pods as a security precaution."
Commander Holt nodded again and then pointed past the control room viewscreen towards a five hundred meter long freighter that looked like a long string of beads. "What hasn't this one been moved?"
"That one belongs to Captain Dewey. It is a Rigellan Noctura Class medium freighter. A three hundred year old warp four ship that was bequeathed to the captain about three years ago after the passing of a friend of hers.
The captain had the ship's propulsion and power generation disabled and the ship is pretty much clamped to the docking port until such time the captain decides what to do with it."
"Is it secure?"
"Yes sir. I have scanned the ship myself several times over. In addition, a security team has also made a detailed sweep and then sealed the ship."
"Good work crewman. How long before the U.S.S. Integrity arrives?"
The Bajoran looked at her console and then to the Commander, "They are here now, sir."
"Well? Let them in."
"A-Aye, Aye sir." Nyra stammered in reply.
Nodding to her fellow crewman, the both of them worked to bring in the heavy cruiser.
"U.S.S. Integrity, this is Docking Pod Four Control. Sorry for the delay, but you are cleared to dock. Please use the upper right docking port. Your designated lane will be illuminated, so please remain within it.
Please note that we are under lock down, therefore all transporter use has been shut down except for emergency use only. Transportation to and from the starbase can be made by either through the docking corridors, shuttles or you can request the use of our transport lifts. Thank you and welcome to Starbase Venture."
Franklin grinned at Crewman Jemma, "Good work, crewman."
Nyra just nodded as she paid more attention to the incoming starship than to her superior.
The translucent viewscreen zoomed to the docking pod doors as the upper door began to open, revealing the Nebula Type II Class heavy cruiser. Once fully opened, two rows of lights were projected from the designated lane.
The Integrity, using only its thrusters, shifted its position to between the two rows of holographic white lights and entered the docking pod causing to the force field to shimmer as it went along. The moment the ship reached the halfway mark, it cut power to the thrusters as the docking pod took hold of it with it's tractor beams, moving it gracefully to it's berth.
Once the Integrity stopped, the upper pod door closed and a multitude of large cables with magnetic clamps, shot down from the ceiling, grabbing hold on top of the ship. At the same time, several docking arms came out and took hold of Integrity on it's starboard side, stabilizing it. Finally, several collapsible tubes were extended towards every access hatch on the ship's starboard side.
When the Integrity got the go ahead for disembarkation, the ship was a beehive of activity. A dozen shuttles flew out and unloaded the ship's security personnel, then returning for another round. With the assistance of the starbase's security, a perimeter was set up on the platform, securing all access to the ship.
Meanwhile, Commander Holt left the control room and made his way to the ship. At the perimeter checkpoint, Franklin was saluted by the security stationed there. He nodded to them and smiled before a crewman in the security detail directed him the way to the access tube that the admiral was going to use.
Franklin waited patiently for twenty minutes and was beginning to wonder if he was directed to the wrong tube when at that moment the admiral arrived along with the Integrity's Captain Edwolden Vorshempski and first officer Commander Vazel Vorshempski.
Franklin saluted the trio. "Greetings, Admiral Laumer." He noded to the other two before returning his attention to the admiral. " Welcome aboard Starbase Venture, the first and so far the only jointly owned and operated starbase between Starfleet and the private sector. I sincerely apologize but the captain could not be here due to an unfortunate incident."
"I understand, commander and thank you." The admiral replied. "We would have been here sooner but I needed to take care of a private matter first before coming here." May she torment the Q. He thought.
"As you may or may not know, this lovely couple here is the Integrity's captain and first officer, Captain Edwolden and Commander Vazel Vorshempski."
Smiling at the couple, Franklin commented, "I've only known of them through their personnel files." He paused for a second before saying, "Interesting reading by the way."
Edwolden's eyes widened while Vazel blushed.
Chuckling, the admiral spoke, "Interesting indeed, but let us be serious. How is Captain Dewey? We understood that there was an explosion in her office? Did she survive?"
Barely. Franklin stopped smiling and his face took on a stern look. "She's alive and that is all I know about her condition. She was in her quarters next to the office when the explosion occurred. Unfortunately, there is a good chance that her personal assistant, Lieutenant Jensen Pohl, may have been in the office at the time. Our internal sensor logs placed him at the office at the time of the blast but lost his signal afterward. But we have all available debris beamed to a cargo bay in hopes that maybe Lieutenant Pohl survived in some form and to see if there are any evidence of the bomber or what type of bomb used. But based on the blast, I'd guess that it was anti-matter based."
"Good to hear that she's alive, commander and sorry for the loss of Lieutenant Pohl. Is it possible to see her in sickbay?"
"It is possible, I suppose. I was planning to head over there after I took the three of you to your quarters, but if you'd like, we could head there first."
Smiling, the admiral gave Franklin a hard pat on the back. "That would be great!" Turning to the Vorshempskis, "You two, get some rest and enjoy whatever this station has to offer. Tomorrow I want the both of you to be at the conference room by oh-nine-hundred."
Suddenly the admiral realized that he did not know the location of the conference room. He was about to ask the commander but Franklin was one step ahead of him.
"It'll be on Deck Two, room two dash four bee."
"Right, two dash four bee it is. Thank you Commander Holt. So be there by then and bring along both your security and engineering chiefs because they'll be needed. Dismissed."
Franklin looked over at the nearest group of security personnel and motioned two of them over. Without wasting any time, the two Lore class androids marched over to the senior officers. Both of them saluted in unison and one asked, "How may we be of assistance?"
Returning the salute, Franklin answered, "At ease men. I want the two of you to escort Captain and Commander Vorshempski to there quarters and stay by them wherever they want to go in the starbase. For the duration of their stay, the both of you will in essence be their bodyguards. You'll be rotating shifts with two other of your fellow men. Contact Lieutenant Commander Sobol for the location of the quarters. Any questions?"
The same security crewman replied, "Yes sir, I have a question. Will the admiral and yourself also need escorts?"
"No need. I'll take care of Admiral Laumer and there is a security detail in place once I take the admiral to his quarters. Anything else?"
In unison, both men shook their heads.
"Good. You're dismissed."
"Aye, Aye sir." They replied as one before taking on their new duties.
As if on cue, one of the starbase's air-shuttles landed next to the four senior officers and its pilot exited the shuttle. The androids and the Vorshempskis boarded and the shuttle lifted off, flew into the docking arm and into the main body.
Moments after the first shuttle left, another one landed on the same spot as it's predecessor, except this time the shuttle's pilot stayed onboard as the two men took their seats. Once they were seated comfortably, the shuttle took off.
As they flew through the docking arm, the admiral spoke up while staring out the front.
"Tell me commander, may I call you Frank?"
"You may."
"Good, good. You can call me Greg if you wish. As I was going to say, this starbase is a lot different than any other starbase or space station in the Federation that I've been to. Isn't this starbase supposed to be a Research and Development facility?"
The shuttle began to slow down as they reached the starbase's cylindrical hub. What the admiral saw made his jaw drop. The hub was teeming with life. Countless shuttles, carriers, personal hover vehicles and tiny starships flew everywhere in an orderly fashion while countless more beings of all kinds, walk the pedestrian pathways along the side of the inner and outer walls of the hub. Power conduits, support beams, corridors and commercial walkways connected to and from the inner and outer sections of the hub in a seemingly random fashion.
Franklin gave the admiral an amused look. "This starbase was constructed about a half century ago as a pure R&D facility. The largest in fact, but it was supposed to be constructed in a fairly isolated region, away from most warp traffic. But as the Federation expanded over the years, more and more ship traffic came closer to the starbase until it became necessary to relocate most personnel and their top secret R&D projects to more secure locations.
Fifteen years ago, Starfleet had decided to remove the mid-section and leave the upper and lower sections connected to each other as a cost cutting measure. Someone suggested that Starfleet could make money by selling a fifty-one percent stake in the mid-section to the public. It took some intense negotiations but in the end Starfleet Command relented. Not long after, many corporations and private citizens bought a stake in the starbase and moved in. Captain Dewey, myself and a few other officers have bought some shares but the captain somehow managed to purchase a two percent stake. Scuttlebutt has it that Starfleet Command lent her the funds in order for them to maintain a controlling interest.
Five years ago, around the time the captain was transferred here, the Venture consortium that oversaw the day to day duties of the mid-section, petitioned Starfleet Command for approval to expand the mid-section, doubling its size and adding a docking ring for small ships. Command was at first hesitant to approve such a lofty project but in the end would only agree to the expansion if Starfleet were to do the expansion, which the consortium readily agreed.
It took two years of non-stop construction, but in the end the mid-section had doubled in width and several docking pods were attached so that the civilians ships could dock at the starbase without needing to use the upper or lower sections."
While the commander spoke, the shuttle flew slowly into the traffic and slowed down even further as it became heavy.
The admiral was looking at everything and was feeling awestruck like a child entering a candy store for the very first time. Then something piqued his curiosity. "Was there any left behind of those top secret projects, either by necessity or by choice?"
The commander paused for a moment to think. "There have been a few of them left in storage. Mostly large, bulky prototypes and research while top secret, wasn't important enough to take with them."
"Any of them useful?"
"I don't understand, sir. What do you mean, useful?"
"Can any of the projects be used in an offensive or defensive capability?"
"It is possible but I do not see how. The most recent project stored here is at least twenty years old. But if you want, I can have someone compile a list for you to look over."
"It would be great if I can have it by tonight." The admiral paused as something caught his eye, "Frank, is it just me or did I just see an old Miranda class starship docked in here?"
Moving over to where Admiral Laumer was seated, Franklin saw what the admiral was staring at. Roughly thirty decks below them, attached to the pedestrian walkway on the outer hub was indeed the antiquated, egg shelled colored starship.
"That ship used to be the U.S.S. Insatiable. She was mothballed for sixty years before being bought out. It is now a five star hotel. The Insatiable isn't the only mothballed starship here. There's an Oberth class that is now a restaurant and recreation center, a Defiant that now serves as a free clinic and we even have the saucer section from a Galaxy class starship that currently houses a holo-suite rental company."
Greg let out a long whistle. "My god man! This place looks almost like Tokyo, back on Earth."
"I'll take you word for it, sir."
The air-shuttle then began to climb up above the traffic and through an access point that led to the starbase's upper section's massive docking bays.
In contrast to the bustling hub of the mid section, the upper section was deathly quiet. The bays were empty save for one, in which that ship was half way through its refit.
Puzzled at the multitude of available docking bays, the admiral turned to Franklin and asked, "If you do not mind me asking, but why wasn't the Integrity docked here instead of being where it is now?"
"It is because we are waiting for the materials and equipment to do the overhaul and retrofit of the Integrity. The upper section can dock at least fifty starships but we haven't had to do anything greater than minor repairs since the starbase came online. The equipment we do have is badly outdated.
We were supposed to have the materials and equipment on hand by last week but the freighter that has it has yet to undock from Earth Spacedock. The last thing I heard was that the freighter captain did not have all of the necessary paperwork needed to pass customs even though the paperwork should have been ready the moment the freighter arrived to pick it up."
The admiral's mood suddenly soured and the commander noticed it. Damned Vulcans! You won't get the best of me!
"Something wrong, sir?"
"You could say that."
Franklin decided not to push further and instead to let the topic drop.
Both men remained quiet for the rest of the trip until they landed. Once out, the commander let Admiral Laumer to the nearest turbolift. By the time they entered the turbolift the admiral's mood brightened.
"Main sickbay." Franklin ordered and the turbolift began it's ascent.