Chapter 21

Bridger and Sabra exited from the turbo lift hastily as the other officers assumed their posts on the Bridge in rapid succession. Rolet was standing in the center calling out orders in a neutral tone despite the frenzy of activity about the area. Bridger and Sabra stepped down to Rolet who turned sharply towards them as them approached.

"Commander?" Bridger posed curious and firm. "What exactly is going on here?"

"Captain, the Federation colony Altus has been attacked and reports are coming in that nearby colony of Scipiro is as well. The Expedition and the Roosevelt are the only ships within relative range to respond."

"Understood… so why have I been called here? I'm relieved of command, after all.-"

"Commander!" Jacobs called out strongly before Rolet could reply, "Incoming signal from the Expedition."

Rolet called for it on screen as the image of Vice-Admiral Silverton appeared, standing on the Bridge of the Galaxy class ship. "Cmdr. Rolet, the Expedition will respond to Altus colony, you are to take the Roosevelt and-" Silverton stopped short. "Capt. Bridger! You are still relieved of your command. Why are you on the Bridge?!?"

Bridger fell into a casual stance and readied a reply as Rolet stepped forward and cut him off. "Capt. Bridger is here under my order, Admiral."

"Your order? Explain yourself; quickly!" Silverton snarled.

"Admiral, given the current situation and the purview of my current status, I am permitted assignment of personnel. Capt. Bridger is here as a secondary tactical advisor only. He is not here under his official capacity." Rolet answered point-blank.

Silverton's brow furrowed, "Is this true, Capt. Bridger?"

Bridger shrugged, "That was is what I was being told as you called, Admiral."

"Capt. Bridger has the most experience and is best suited. I take full responsibility of this measure, Admiral." Rolet added curtly.

Silverton snorted and scoffed adamantly, "Bold move, Commander. Let us hope it is not a fatally foolish one." Silverton turned away for half a second and then back to the screen with more fire in her eyes and a stern, lecturing finger pointed at the screen. "This will be noted as protested under duress. If I find out otherwise… so help me…"

"Understood, Admiral." Rolet replied mono-toned. Bridger watched as Rolet stood firm, knowing full well that the Admiral's words were more directed at him rather than Rolet and remained quiet.

Silverton withdrew her hand and let out a heated sighed, "Commander…. Take the Roosevelt and post your ship in Recon range of planet 4712. Maintain stand-by readiness on Alert One status as a possible armed response. If the reports are correct, these suspected fighters and warships will no doubt use it as a rally point."

"Understood, Admiral." Rolet replied.

"Expedition, Out."

Rolet eased slightly and turned to Bridger to which he shook his head and raised a pausing hand. "Explain later… we got work to do so. I suggest we get to it."

Rolet nodded and turned back to the Conn. "Lt. V'Ren, status."

"Docking clamps have released and retracted. We are free to maneuver."

"Lt. Ramirez, move us away and once cleared of the station, bring us about with all haste; set course for planet 4712, Warp 9." Rolet followed in short order.

"Aye, Commander." Ramirez replied sharply.

Rolet fell back to the Captain chair as Bridger fell in line to her right and Sabra took to her left as the view screen showed the slip of the Star Base drifting away from the ship and rolled over to open stars. The Expedition faded into view as the Galaxy class vessel banked and accelerated away into a distant flash point. Within seconds, the open stars before them dashed, a quick flash occurred and the stars raced towards and around them.

Bridger swept the service console in front of him and brought up a display of 4712 and the surrounding system. Rolet glanced over, "Suggestions, Captain?"

Bridger probed the chart with his left index finger as he stroked his goatee with his free hand. "Forty-seven-twelve is rather void of cover and too small to hide our signature. Mass-wise, Forty-seven-fourteen would be the better option for that, but it leaves a wide track of a threat range for us to cover. That is, if you wish to go with conventional tactics..."

Rolet turned in towards Bridger, "Do you have an unconventional alternative?"

Bridger linked the interfaces between his console and the display at the Captain's chair, "Well, sometimes to best way to deal with a variable is to take it out of the equation. There is a distant cluster of orbital masses between twelve and thirteen. If we nestle in between them, blackout the ship, and only 'ping' long range sensors in timed bursts and random intervals. We can certainly mask our signature and maintain a level of stealth surveillance."

Rolet scanned her display as she contemplated for a minute, "I concur. Set a sequence, ready it, and relay your plan to Chief Shingure for proper execution of the shutdown of non-critical systems."

"Yes, Ma'am." Rolet shot a rigid glance to Bridger, "Yes, Commander…. My apologies."

Rolet slowly turned her attentions forward, "It is understandable, Captain. It is uncommon and unfamiliar for you and I to shift roles."

"Have you considered what you will say or do should Clarin make his presence known?" Sabra interjected.

"Yes, Counselor." Rolet looked to Sabra, then Bridger, and back to Sabra. "That was the opposing view of the situation I was unable to forward to Admiral Silverton."

"Meaning?" Sabra prodded curiously.

"Should Clarin make any attempt to contact us, I intend to keep the appearance that nothing has changed in our command structure. Capt. Bridger will act as a diversion."

Sabra nodded curtly, "Let us hope the Admiral shares your opinion. I feel that you will likely be brought to the same status as Capt. Bridger is in currently, in the end."

"It is a possible outcome, Counselor. One, I will take under advisement. Capt. Bridger is only relieved of his command authority. It is not to say he can not be utilized for other positions or roles as needed." Rolet replied as Bridger snorted with a slight grin.

The Roosevelt came out of warp and coasted through the small system to its rally point. The cluster of asteroids gently hovered and spun ever-so methodically in free floating suspension. As the ship nestled into a break formidable break in the chain of hulking rocks, the lights about the ship and its deck dimmed out to total darkness

With the ship harbored in utter stillness amongst natural concealment, the bow faced onto planet 4712 from afar. The sunlight from the distant star glinted off the pitted rocky terrain pot marked patches of crystal like ranges. The brilliance of its radiance shone off the surface as if it had been reflected off a mirrored finish. For the moment, there was no activity in or around the planet and the empty shells of pressure domes of the abandoned facilities stood silent as sentinels on watch.

The Bridge darkened to emergency lighting casting a creeping void throughout the compartment. The room was equally still and quiet as each of the officers and crew were making next no movement aside from shifting stances and standard operations. Nearly an hour passed as the silence etched against the nerve of the crew till a warning signal came across the Conn station.

"Commander…" V'Ren calmly announced, "Sensors are detecting a faint ion anomaly emanating from the surface of the planet."

Rolet rose to her feet, "Analysis, Lieutenant."

"The pattern is in flux with minimal distinction. However, there is a defined source value bearing. It is isolated at 213 by 76 degrees on the planet surface. It appears to be approximately five hundred meters from the dismantled facility."

Rolet looked over her shoulder at the Ops station. "Lt. Jacobs?"

"Scanning Commander…" Jacobs blurted as he skimmed him console, "The facility looks powered down and doesn't appear to have any life signs inside. There's no shield generator or any signs of automated systems, defensive or otherwise."

Rolet turned to the screen before her and snorted sharply in contemplation as Bridger slowly rose to join Rolet. "Your thinking it's a lure?" he inquired curiously.

"It is possible, Captain. There is also the fact that anxiety is affecting the situation."

Bridger stifled a chuckle, "No argument here. Mr. V'Ren, are sure the sensitivity of the pulsed scans are not too high?"

"Negative, sir." V'Ren replied in a monotone tenor, "The sensors registered this under the previous allotment for signature resonance of the previously engaged Klingon vessels."

"Any correlation between the two, Lieutenant?" Rolet implied firmly.

"There are similarities, yet the random pattern suggests otherwise."

"It could be the one with the busted wing or the gnarled bow." Bridger added.

V'Ren turned his head back to Rolet and Bridger, "It is plausible. The erratic pattern would suggest adaptation to irregular angles and surfaces."

Rolet nodded, "Maintain a triangulation on those coordinates. Lt. Jacobs, keep monitoring for any signs of activity in or around the facility, specifically life forms. Lt. Ramirez, hold our position as rigid as possible to avoid counter scanning detection." The trio of officers acknowledged.

Rolet maintained her stance in the midway and stared out through the view screen as if scanning for herself as Bridger quietly slipped back to his place. The Bridge settled back into a dulling lull over the course of the next 10 minutes before the silence was broken again by a passive after at V'Ren's console.

"Commander, multiple vessels coming out of warp in quadrant two-one-two. It appears to be the Turis and two other freighters." V'Ren stated definitely.

"What is their heading?" Rolet probed.

"The vessels are travelling to the planet and full impulse."

Jacobs chuckled mutedly from behind his station "I wonder why they are in such a hurry?"

Jacobs' humor was short lived as V'Ren's console indicated another passive alert. "Commander, the anomaly is on the move."

Bridger shifted in his seat and swung his display before him. "It has got to be one of them. This does not bode-"

"Helm, move us out on an intercept course. Full Impulse; Ops, yellow alert and restore primary functions; Conn, allow for full sensor sweep and isolate the anomaly for one or multiple threats." Rolet snapped out quickly.

V'Ren tapped away at his console as the information quickly relayed back a warning to him and to the Ops station. "Commander! The anom-"

"I see them…" Rolet cut V'Ren off adamantly. "Red Alert! Arm all weapons and prepare repel the aggressors. Target the Klingon ships and protect the freighters."