Rough Escort

Since he had become a hybrid, Sec had largely gotten used to the wide range of emotions his body came with. His many trials by fire with the Doctor had helped with that. But though he had acclimatised to them, it didn't mean he liked any of the less pleasant ones and one of the worst was fear, coupled with sense of anxiety and dread. That feeling surfaced again, when the marauders closed in on their vessels.

It was formidable, to say the least. Sec didn't recognise the make of vessel for the frigate, but there was no denying it was formidable in appearance. It was an oblong shape, with heavy armour plating on the hull and sizable gun emplacements on the top and bottom. Flanking it on either side were additional wings of fighters, just around a dozen. To their surprise, they didn't immediately open fire and they soon found out why.

"Sir, there is a transmission being sent, but the transmission is towards the Mysteria, not to us," reported one of the crewmen.

Marston looked at Sec. "Seems like they want to have a word with you."

"Then there might be a way we can resolve this, or at least delay them while more repairs are completed," said Sec.

"My thoughts exactly. Have we managed to repair the comms?" he asked.

"Only short-range, sir. We can route the transmission to the bridge," the crewman replied.

"Do it."

A monitor flashed in front of them. Stood in the centre was a being wearing battered and beaten blue armour, part of it having been blasted away around the neck. He was short, squat and had a rounded, brown-skinned head. But despite his diminutive appearance, his expression and his eyes showed nothing but fearless determination and a cunning intellect.

Sec frowned. As a pure Dalek, he had encountered the Sontarans on a number of occasions. The two space-faring empires had clashed in the past. The Daleks considered their species formidable, but irritating. Their lust for war and their desire to die in battle meant they were more than willing to sacrifice themselves for victory. In many ways, the two species shared many similarities, though Sec couldn't begin to debate as to which was more zealously devoted to their goals.

"I will address the commanding officer of the vessel that interfered with our assault. Send him forward!" the Sontaran barked.

Sec felt like every eye was trained on him. He stepped in front of the monitor, looking the Sontaran in the eye.

"I am Sec, of the starship Mysteria. We were the ones who drove off your fighters. To whom am I speaking?" he responded crisply, back straight and hands folded behind him.

The Sontaran didn't respond for a while. "So! You are the one. I've not seen your like before."

"You would not have. What is your name and rank, soldier?" Sec repeated.

His nostrils flared, but he drew himself up. "I am Creen, commander of this vessel. And who are you, Sec of the Mysteria, to have aided this ship?"

"Simply somebody who found out someone was in danger and wanted to help," he answered.

"Hmph. Altruism. It will cost you dearly," he said.

"To a Sontaran, perhaps," replied Sec. "And what is it that you want, Creen?"

"That is of no concern of yours," he said sharply. "I am contacting you to make this offer: you are permitted to leave, as long as you do so now. From the accounts of our surviving fighters, you fought well and this deserves merit."

"How very unlike a Sontaran," noted Sec. "First seeking parley, then offering amnesty? I didn't realise representatives of the Battle Fleets had adopted such merciful tactics. Though I suppose it would be inaccurate to refer to you as such, if you're allied with these brigands."

"Are you insulting me?" he hissed.

"Far from it. Merely making an observation. I've engaged with Sontaran Battle Fleets before and your approach is very… atypical," Sec replied carefully.

"Indeed?" Creen said, with interest. "Which engagements?"

"None that you would know of," said Sec, allowing a harder note to creep into his otherwise neutral statement.

He studied Creen's face carefully. He'd been clearly perturbed by Sec's remark, but he remained mostly stoic. It was the little things. A slightly more rigid stance. A narrowing of his gaze. He had picked up on Sec's meaning. When he answered, it was with a controlled professionalism.

"You are not part of my mission. I have no interest in your crew, or your vessel. You have five standard minutes to consider and withdraw. If you do not, there shall be no parley when we next engage."

With that, the monitor flickered off. The tension on the bridge had increased noticeably. Sec turned back to Marston, who was looking at him with renewed interest and a hint of suspicion.

"Engagements with Sontaran Battle Fleets," he echoed. "That story of yours is growing more interesting by the minute."

"Unfortunately, it's not one I have the time to relay to you," said Sec.

Marston hummed and said nothing else on the matter. "Will you take up his offer? He is right. You don't have any business with us and we can't ask you to risk your lives over this."

"You already asked with your distress call. My answer remains unchanged," said Sec firmly. "We have less than three minutes before they re-engage us. I suggest we consider our options."

Sec saw the flicker of surprise on Marston's face, then a nod of gratitude. "They're still limited. Our ships won't stand up to an assault by that frigate, along with the remaining fighters. Our only hope is to flee until at the very least we can get close enough to those escort fighters in the Solar System."

"But if we attempt to flee, we will have the same issue," said Sec. "They'd catch up to us and blast us out of the sky. My ship would be able to handle the fighters, but against that frigate, we wouldn't stand a chance. We don't even have a full crew compliment to man the guns."

"I can spare a few hands for that last part, but I advise you bring on some more crew. If we get out of this," he added.

"We will. There's always a way out," said Sec. He pressed his hand to his chin. "Wait, you said you could spare a few hands for my ship? Would you be able to manage an additional officer for my bridge, two gunners and an engineer?"

"Yeah, we have enough reserves for that. Why? What about your crew?" he asked.

"Those two have special skills and I'm going to need to utilise them for this plan to work…"

By the time Sec had quickly explained what was needed from his crewmates and Marston had assembled his own crew with their orders, they nearly at the end of Creen's deadline. He returned to the bridge on the Mysteria with just enough time to send out a transmission to the enemy vessel. The woman who was his replacement on the bridge for Clare, a young woman named Lieutenant Potter, stood ready behind him. If she had any thoughts about the strangeness of the situation, she kept it to herself.

Not long after he sent the transmission and begun the process of disengaging from the Guiding Wind, Creen's voice barked through the audio receiver.

"Speak! My time is short and yours is very nearly run out."

"Very well. I wish to offer you my assistance," Sec said simply.

There was silence for a few seconds. "Indeed? After you have already attacked a number of my own ships and we have you outnumbered and outgunned. Why?"

"I wanted to assess the situation for myself, work out why you had attacked this vessel. Your own fighters would not have been forthcoming with that information, so I did what was necessary to ascertain it. Now I understand the scope of the operation, you may consider this as a form of compensation for your lost ships," he answered.

"Hmph," huffed Creen. "Your own vessel is practically antiquated. I would offer to destroy it simply to put you out of your misery of having to pilot such obsolete technology. What could you offer in terms of firepower that I do not already possess?"

"You forget that it was my vessel that drove away your fighters earlier," countered Sec. "Regardless, I offer not just fire support, but intelligence. My crew and I have already been aboard their vessel. My engineer even worked with their repair teams. They believed she was helping them, but in truth, she had laid down a number of small pulse bombs at key systems. All she needs to do is await my word and the ship will be dead in space. You would be able to take them with much less risk to yourselves. When you board the vessel, we will be able to guide you through and offer the most direct route to your prize: Ambassador Relgan."

Silence fell again, while Creen deliberated his offer. Sec glanced back at Potter, who shook her head briefly. Sec nodded quietly. Of course, this was a ruse. All they really needed to do was wait until Kathy got in touch with them, via Potter's communications terminal at the second bridge station. Until then, he needed to keep Creen occupied.

"A cunning stratagem indeed," said Creen, a hint of admiration creeping into his voice. "If you have engaged with Sontarans as you have said, I can see why you survived."

"When against the finest warriors in the galaxy, nothing less than the best will suit," said Sec.

He chuckled. "Quite so! Very well then, send word to your female. We will strike at once and coordinate our efforts!"

"Just a moment," said Sec quickly. "Before we do, there is a condition that must be met."

"Do not test my patience, Captain Sec. Do not think that our arrangement places you in a position to make demands. I could just as easily blow your pathetic little vessel to pieces and carry on as I had planned," he growled.

"I'm fully aware of that, which is why I only have one: I require a guarantee that you won't turn your weapons on me, or my ship. As a Sontaran, your word will suffice, Creen," said Sec.

The moment he said that, Potter was at his side. She gave him a single nod. Sec returned it and turned his attention to the enemy vessel.

"Understandable," Creen was saying. "Very well, you have my word that neither you, nor your ship, shall come to any harm. Now, enough of this!"

"I quite agree. I'm sending her the order now." At this, Sec sent out a ship-wide communication but continued transmitting to Creen. "Once I have, we'll begin with a strafing run alongside their left flank. We'll hold their attention out here, while you and your crew do what you need to. Contact me when you're ready to board."

"Very well. We will-" He was cut off when an explosion rocked the rear of his ship, close to the engines. "By Sontar! What the devil was that?! I was told the enemy weapons had been disabled!"

"They have, sir!" another voice crackled on Creen's end. "We haven't picked up any weapons fire, but the engines have been damaged!"

"But how did-?" Creen's voice came bellowing through the receiver a moment later, directed at Sec. "You! You had something to do with-!"

Sec cut the transmission and set the Mysteria flying, full throttle along the left flank of the frigate. The heavy pulsing of their own guns sounded off, but Sec didn't have time to examine what damage they may or may not have done. He eased the ship off when they reached the rear, holding it in place.

"We've got them, sir," reported Potter. "They're aboard and moving to the airlock."

"Excellent. Have them report to their usual stations aboard. What's the status of the Guiding Wind?" he asked.

"She already started moving away when we started our attack run, just like we planned. Some of the fighters are breaking off to pursue," she replied.

"Then let's catch up and give them some cover," said Sec. The doors opened and Clare glided inside, her face flush with triumph. "Potter, take the helm." Sec moved away and went to meet her. "That was excellent work."

'We did what you asked. We did as much damage to the engines from the outside as we could. I hope it's enough,' she signed.

"It'll buy us some time, which is what we need. Now, comes the hard part." He returned the helm. "Can you cope there, lieutenant?"

"Just about, sir," she replied. "Speaking candidly, the Sontaran was right: this ship is about ready for either a scrapyard or a museum."

"Well, we did find her in one of those two. I'll take over," he said, activating internal comms. "Clare, you remain on standby. Kathy, are you back in engineering?"

"Damn right I am and if I ever have to go flying through space again while being carried by Clare, you're going first," she responded tersely.

"Noted, now give me power to the engines. We need as much as we can get. Andrews, Lassak, keep those fighters off us," he ordered the gunners. "I'd rather not find out exactly how durable this ship is."

With the affirmative received, Sec sent the Mysteria hurtling through space, the Guiding Wind soon back in their view. Moments later, he felt the ship shudder from multiple impacts.

"We're taking fire from the fighters, sir," reported Potter from behind him. "Shields are holding. They're taking a few shots at the Wind, too."

"Then we need to get them off her, she can't get them herself." He angled the ship for an approach, but a fighter zoomed in front of the viewing window in a strafing run. "Dammit, he cut me off!"

"Andrews reports he's damaged one of them, but they're fast," said Potter. "With the number of them out there and their speed, they're going to be running circles around us."

Sec kept the ship weaving and dodging around, but he knew the lieutenant was correct. They were lucky to have driven them off the first time. They needed a way to either match the fighters or slow them down, at the very least reduce their numbers.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Clare.

'Sec, try and bring us close to one of their fighters or wait for one to pass us. I'll take care of it,' she said quickly.

"What are you planning?" asked Sec.

'I'm going to do what an Angel does best: fly.' With that, she left the bridge with a whisper of the wind.

Potter gave him a questioning look, but didn't say anything. She stayed at the co-pilot station, while Sec continued at the helm. He winced every time the Mysteria took a hit. The shields were holding, but they wouldn't for much longer.

He saw red flares of their own laser fire streak from both sides of the ship. He glimpsed a fighter take a hit, but it was able to fly away. There was a flare of light, a different fighter going up in flames. But they were being savvier than before, coming in at angles that avoided the worst of their weapon's fire and still allowed them to make hit-and-run moves.

Another hit made the Mysteria judder violently. Part of the wall let off a shower of sparks and an alert was sounding.

"That last one made it through!" Kathy yelled from engineering. "The shields are pretty much fucked! They can't take any more of this!"

"Working on it! You just keep at it down there!" he responded.

"That's reassuring!" she shot back, but nothing else was said.

It was that moment, when Sec turned his attention back to the view window that he noticed something moving from the Mysteria towards one of the fighters coming in for another attack. It was small and fast. The fighter didn't move out of the way in time and the object crashed right into the centre. The fighter moved out of view, so Sec didn't see what happened next. Even so, he had a feeling…

Potter then confirmed it. "Captain, Lassak and Andrews report that three of the fighters have gone down. Something is moving between them, so fast they can barely make it out. That's your first officer, isn't it? What is she?"

"It is," he replied proudly. "And I don't think you would believe me if I told you."

"Well, whatever she is, she seems to have panicked the fighters. A few are breaking off their attack to try and work out what's going on. Seems like it doesn't take much to shake these guys," she remarked.

Sec allowed himself a moment to grin, then returned his attention to piloting the ship. He checked his personal scanner for the waypoint they had to reach for the Mysteria to make their transmission. Not far now, it was mere seconds away. It seemed incredible, but it looked like they might make it. Then Captain Marston came through on the comm.

"Sec, our scanners are picking up that frigate ship. She's moving again and she's coming up fast," reported Marston. "She'll be here in less than twenty seconds."

"We're about thirty seconds from transmission range," said Sec. "If that frigate catches up…"

"I know, we're cooked. Ten more seconds, just something to slow them down…" he muttered.

"Hey! Captain Tightass!" Kathy snapped over the speaker. "Solar Alliance still uses the same engines for travel, right? Standard propulsion and FTL drives?"

To his credit, Marston barely missed a beat. "That's how it has been since I graduated."

"Stellar. Dump the fuel canisters out the back. We blast it with the ship's guns just as it reaches the frigate, blow it right up in their faces," she said.

"Do it," he ordered.

Potter relayed the order to the gunners to stand ready. Moments later, half a dozen canisters flew out of the side of the ship, hurtling back the way they had just come. Sec gripped the steering controls tightly, concentrating on pushing the ship forward…

"Frigate closing in," reported Potter. "Within firing range in five… four… three… two…"

The combined volley of both the Mysteria's guns firing at the same time hit Sec's senses. Though the Mysteria was facing the other way, he could still just see the fringes of something bright flaring up behind them.

"That did it!" reported Marston. "They weren't expecting that, they've stalled! Excellent suggestion, Miss Peddler."

"That's Kathy to you, Tightass."

"And that's Captain Marston to you," he returned.

She only responded with a huff.

"We'll be entering transmission range shortly," reported Potter. "Three more seconds… there! Captain Sec, now!"

Sec slammed the transmission control, allowing Marston to transmit from his ship using the Mysteria. "Mayday, mayday! This is Captain Marston, contacting Solar Alliance escort for the Guiding Wind! We are under attack from enemy raiders, attempting to kidnap Ambassador Relgan! Immediate assistance, I repeat, immediate assistance!"

The response was immediate. "This is escort leader Alpha, we are receiving you, Captain. Moving to intercept. ETA: twenty seconds."

"Sir, the frigate is picking up speed again and the fighters have started to rally again!" reported Potter urgently. "It's going to be close!"

"Any status on Clare?" asked Sec.

Potter contacted the gunners. "Negative on that, sir. They can't see any obvious sign of her."

Sec grimaced. He hoped she hadn't worn herself out too much. Everything she'd been doing had to be expending a lot of energy. But she would be alright, he told himself. Right now, they had bigger problems.

All he could do was will the ship onwards. Though his rational mind knew it was pointless, his irrational part was urging the ship to go faster. He gripped the steering control tightly, his eye darting around at the window, looking for any sign of approaching friendly ships. Was that them, or was it a reflection from the stars? How long had passed?

"Frigate in range!" A note of panic crept into Potter's voice. "They're targeting us!"

Sec tensed. This was it. Any second now…

A blast of energy flared across his window. But it didn't come from behind them. Silver streaks shot past, followed by something larger. Even Sec couldn't fight off the grin that spread on his face.

A large squadron of fighters came tearing past them, flanked by a larger vessel of their own. Their weapons were already flaring as they swarmed their pursuers. The frigate attempted to return fire, but it was clear they knew they'd had their chance and lost it. They turned about face, fleeing out of the system.

Sec was still processing that they had actually made it, when he realised they were receiving a transmission from the fighters. They were requesting identification.

"This is Sec, of the vessel Mysteria. We are providing escort for the Guiding Wind, requested by Captain Roger Marston. We mean no harm, I repeat, we mean no harm."

"Received, Mysteria," came the voice of Alpha leader. "We have verified with Marston. Please, stay with the escort until we reach Earth. Sending you the flight path, do not deviate from your present course."

Sec acknowledged the order and signed off. He turned to Potter, who looked relieved herself.

"You performed wonderfully, lieutenant," he said, shaking her hand.

"Thank you, captain," she replied. "I just gave the order for the gunners to stand down. Well done getting us through that, sir."

"It was a group effort and I'll be sure to thank the gunners too. Any word from Clare?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing, sir. But she's not exactly one for talking anyway and whatever she is, she's tough if she can survive in space."

No sooner had the words left her mouth, the bridge door opened. It was Andrews, one of the gunners. He'd left his station, when he heard a knocking at the airlock and Clare had practically collapsed inside when he completed decompression.

When Sec hurried to the airlock, he found Andrews was correct. She was flickering between stone and flesh, so he closed his eye when he reached her and allowed her to support herself on his shoulder. He briefly noted how even when she was flesh, she was still oddly cold. He waited until she had an even footing, then opened his eye to let her speak.

'Tired,' she signed, still flickering on occasion. 'Need… rest…'

"Then you go and rest. You performed magnificently," he said.

She managed a tired smile. 'You too.' She then turned and made her way to the space she'd claimed as her quarters.

"So, that was a barrel of laughs, huh?" He turned to see Kathy, her arms folded.

"Not the words I would have chosen. You did brilliantly as well," he said.

"I know," she scoffed. "But I don't think you realise how close we came there. If we're going to be doing shit like this on a regular basis, this ship is going to need a much bigger overhaul than the tune-up job the Doc gave. And some more crew. We were lucky Tightass spared a few of his stooges."

"Are you saying that you couldn't have managed without the help?" Sec teased.

"Shut up, you know what I mean. We can't run this ship with just the three of us, not if we're going to be doing this hero stuff," she argued. "This better have been worth it."

"It will be," said Sec.

Kathy only scoffed again and stomped back into engineering, yelling at the poor soul with her as the door closed. Sec allowed himself a chuckle and carried on. She did have a point though. It wouldn't hurt to have at least one more extra hand. Perhaps that was something to consider on their way to Earth…

When he returned to the bridge, Potter informed him that Ambassador Relgan wished to speak to Sec personally and she routed his transmission through.

"At last, I have the chance to thank the man responsible for saving my life personally," he said warmly. "Your first mate is a charming creature, I must say."

"Thank you, Ambassador," said Sec humbly. "We were happy to help."

"That's a rare thing in the universe. To show my thanks, I would like to invite you and your crew to my home. You may rest and recuperate for as long as you need. I shall see to it your vessel is repaired as well. It's the least I can do," he offered.

"We would be delighted," said Sec. "I look forward to meeting you in person, Ambassador."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Here we have an excellent chapter by Alpha! Both of us were a bit cautious approaching this one with so much space combat going on, but he did a great job at making sense of it all! I know some of you may have been expecting the 3 year anniversary bonus chapter to be the next one we uploaded, but after some discussion we wanted this one out first. We also do have a couple more chapters on the way, but will be spreading them out a little bit while times are busy to make sure they don't run out too quickly.

Times are weird as hell at the moment and this whole year of 2020 so far has been a big ball of stress for us, but your kind reviews and other interactions with us as fans are a big part of what keeps us going with this fic and loving it! So we will continue to appreciate feedback from you guys, and hope that everyone is staying as safe and sane as possible!

-HH