ACT I

"The Raincoat Incident"

Guest Starring...

Nicholai Daniels

Jennifer O'Riley

Xindi Captain

Negarani Sect Leader

Written by

Man of Trek Lore

Captain's Personal Log, Stardate 60316.2

I think my crew is getting a bit on the agitated side as of lately. Either it's because of me (probably they think I haven't showered or something). Or, because Captain McGawan has kept us stranded out here, in the middle of a danger zone, for the last two weeks straight. I'm starting to want to light my hair on fire...

Captain Nicholai Daniels took a ship of his cold oolong tea, and straightened his uniform tunic. He eyeballed his crew, deadpan-looking, as though they were automated single-movement manichans in a departement store window. "On a closing note," Daniels said, "remind me to take a sledge hammer to that damned water mellon in ten-forward. You know... the one with that stupid ugly-assed smiley face that Crewman Bartholomew painted last Christmas..."

Suddenly, a proximity alarm sounded. Lieutenant Bikkers swung into action, the new tactical officer of the Gulfstream. He took to the tactical console, readying all systems. "Three Negarani warships dropping out of warp, closing on our position, FAST!"

"Red alert!" Daniels called. "Helm, bring us about, keeping shields aft. Full impulse out of this system!"

The young female crewman obeyed Daniels to the letter, and brought the Gulfstream about, full circle. "Firing impulse engines," she reported.

The three Negarani warships closed on the Gulfstream, and opened their whole case of whoopass real fast on the aft section of the Gulfstream's shields. After the last violent rumbling, Bikkers called: "Shields holding at sixty-seven percent."

"Helm, get those goddamned ships off our tail! Bikkers, get me SB248 on ESC, NOW!" Daniels ordered.

Bikkers tried, first the ESC (Emergency Starfleet Channel). Then, on normal open frequencies. But, "I can't sir! They're jamming the signal!"

"Those bastards," Daniels said. "Do we have warp drive, AT LEAST?"

"Aye, Sir," helm said.

"Then what the hell are you waiting for," Daniels demanded. "Screw impulse, get us the hell out of here, NOW!"

Within seconds, the Gulfstream jumped to warp, not bothering with the discidence of whatever remote patch of deep space nothing they were patroling.

Three hours later, aboard Starbase 248...

"Why did you abandon your position?"

"What the hell kind of question is that!" Daniels demanded to know of McGawan. "We were under attack, outnumbered and outgunned! What the hell did you want me to do, get destroyed?"

"I want my strategically placed experienced starship captains to obey my orders," McGawan barked back, "and to NOT abandon post."

"I went, BY the BOOK!" Daniels shouted back. "How the hell can you repremand me for that?"

The shouting was muted from the outside. Nakajima and Dallas waited outside, with Commander Jennifer O'Riley, the Gulfstream's new first officer. O'Riley was a red-head human, about mid-30's. Tall, and very slender build. Her freckles (how anyone can have freckles in SPACE is anyone's guess... but hell, she's Irish!) made her deep baby blue eyes stand out. That, and so did her chest, as Dallas had already noted.

"It can't be pretty," O'Riley surmised. Her accent was heavy Irish. It was really getting to Dallas.

Nakajima just shrugged. "I think Captain Daniels picked a BAD day to save his crew."

"Probably you're right."

"Excuse me, Commanders," Dallas said, stepping up to O'Riley. "But, if I may ask a question of Commander O'Riley?"

O'Riley and Nakajima both nodded.

Dallas smiled his ever warm charming smile, as he gazed into O'Riley's deep blue eyes. "Commander, permission to speak freely?"

"Go ahead."

"What would it take for me to get you to take off your uniform for me?"

"CREWMAN!" Nakajima barked.

"What's wrong, Kaori," Dallas said. "Jealous?"

"That's NOT what I mean!"

O'Riley just smiled, and giggled. "You're cute. Excuse me, Commander, Crewman. I need to return to my ship."

As O'Riley stepped into a turbolift, Daniels and McGawan emerged from the office. Daniels was furious. "That's pure BULLSHIT! We'll see what Starfleet Command has to say about that!"

"While you're at it, fill out your resignation!" McGawan barked. "I'm sure your hefty incompitence will really win Admiral Janeway over, you screw up!"

Just before the turbolift doors sealed themselves, Daniels gave McGawan the finger, making one final stab at the Sector Commander.

Just as Dallas began to slowly depart, McGawan screamed, "CREWMAN DALLAS! Get your fat ass into this office, NOW!"

Nakajima put a hand on Dallas's shoulder. "Be strong, Mikey."

"You're NOT funny."

"I'm not trying to be."

With that, Dallas disappeared into the Captain's Office...

Daniels slammed the padd onto his ready room desk, shattering it, as O'Riley flinched. "I can't believe the NERVE of that guy! Who the hell does he think he is, releaving me of duty when I adherd to regulations!"

"He is the commander of this sector," O'Riley said, trying to be the voice or reason here. "We're all behind you, Sir. You did the right thing."

"This terrorist situation has really gotten this sector so tensed up that if ONE LITTLE THING goes by the book, then it screws over the ENTIRE operation that Starfleet Command is trying to establish here." Daniels sighed, and sat. "I'm not giving up my post. I don't give a crap if he IS the sector commander."

"I'm with you, Sir," O'Riley said. "Should I get Admiral Janeway on the comm?"

"You bet your ass," Daniels said. "I'm gonna see what she has to say about this."

"Captain to ops!"

A few moments later, McGawan stepped out of his office, with Crewman Dallas falling behind closely. "Report," McGawan demanded.

Kim read off the sensors. "Sir, three alien vessels have just dropped from warp." And that followed by a Comm Signal. "They're hailing."

McGawan nodded. "Put them up." Once the alien appeared, McGawan knew he was in for quite a headache, as the Xindi Insectoid appeared. "This is Captain Bruce McGawan of Starbase 248. What can we do for you?"

"I am Captain--," the name could not be translated by the universal translator, nor could it be written in Romanized characters, "of the Alep Freight Corporation. We have a slight emergency, and we were told that you could help."

"You've come to the right place, Captain... Whatever-your-name-is," McGawan said. "We have an open berth in a drydock, if you would like to have your main ship dock with the station. We're quite busy at the moment, licking the wounds of a few stray haulers."

"That is acceptable," The Xindi Captain said. "I look forward to meeting with you, Captain." The Xindi ended the communication.

"That was freaky," Dallas commented.

"Shove it, Crewman. Take a hauler to their main ship and escort them to dock."

Dallas slowly went to the turbolift, on purpose. He took one step at a time, every 5 seconds, taking another.

Finally, McGawan shouted "NOW, GODDAMMIT!"

"Okay, Okay, Lardass, I'm going."

"That's CAPTAIN Lardass to you!" McGawan said, just as Dallas disappeared into a turbolift. "And that little bastard's gonna get his real fast."

"Sir?" Nakajima wondered.

McGawan shook his head. "Nevermind."

"Hauler Kitty, departing the hauler bay," Dallas announced.

"Kitty?" Nakajima echoed on the comm.

"Well, a ship's gotta have a name, other than 'Hauler Nine'. It makes it sound like a Borg vessel."

"Whatever," Nakajima said. "Just be careful, Crewman."

"Understood," Dallas said, accellerating the hauler to meet with the Xindi freighter. He hailed the freighter. "Xindi Freighter, this is the Hauler Kitty, coming to escort."

The Xindi Captain appeared on the screen. "We appreciate your assistance, Kitty." The Xindi didn't find anything funny about it. He seemed pretty serious. That made Dallas a little happy.

"Coming about for escort," Dallas said. "Xindi Freighter, please approach on my vector."

"Understood."

As Dallas came about, he started to feel a slight chill. "Computer, temperature reading."

"Twenty degrees," the computer read in the cockpit.

"That's funny. I thought I programmed this thing for twenty-five. Computer, increase temperature to twenty-five."

The computer buzzed. "Unable to comply. Command level three required to access atmospheric subsystems."

"What the hell?!" It started to get REALLY cold. "Computer, temperature."

"Sixteen degrees," the computer reported.

"This is bullshit!" Suddenly, Dallas could feel a sharp pain in his chest. The air began to thin a little. "Computer..." a cough, "atmospheric status."

"Life support has been reduced by seventy-five point six percent, due to power regulation from central operations."

"Reinitialize life support," Dallas commanded.

Another buzz. "Unable to comply. Command level three required to access atmospheric subsystems."

Another cough. Dallas, feeling a bit weak, ran his fingers along the comm. "SB...248...emergency..."

There was nothing, except: "Unable to comply. Command level three required to access communications subsystems."

Finally, Dallas HAD to survive. He, as best he could, made his way to the transporter device, and initialized the transporter. Once he found himself on the bridge of the Xindi ship, he started to feel the rush of air come into his lungs. He fell to his knees, as guards came rushing over, pointing rifles at him...

"What were you thinking, beaming onto the Xindi vessel like that?" McGawan reamed. "That is a SERIOUS breach of Starfleet Protocol. I can't ignore that."

"I was LOCKED OUT FROM LIFE SUPPORT!" Dallas screamed back. "I can't BELIEVE this! Check my logs, damn you!"

"I did," McGawan said. "They recorded that the life support system was operating within specified limits."

"'Specified?' Then who the hell SPECIFIED for life support to be REDUCED during a routine ESCORT assignment?" Dallas demanded to know.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," McGawan said. "But if I were you, I would not only prepare a letter of apology, but I would also write your parents and tell them to expect you home sometime soon. Because you're outta here, Mister."

"WHAT? THAT'S INCREDIBLE BULLSHIT!"

"It's your own fault," McGawan said. He stepped around the desk, and got square in McGawan's face. "If you ever, EVER cross my path again, you had better run. Cos I will make sure that not even the TRANSPORTER can save your worthless ass. Now get the hell out of my office, voluntally before I have Lieutenant Wing escort you out, himself."

"Good," Dallas said. "I DEMAND that you do, you overgorwn psychological waste of flesh. I could be BREATHING that oxygen."

"That's enough out of you." McGawan stripped Daniels of his combadge, and hit his own. "Lieutenant Wing to my ready room, on the double."

With that, Wing came right in. "Yes, Captain?"

"Escort Mister Dallas to his quarters, and watch him pack. Then, take him to the BRIG, as the entire station is off limits, until the transport makes its daily stop here."

Wing nodded. "Aye, Sir. Mister Dallas, this way please."

"We," Dallas said, waving a finger between him and McGawan, "are NOT through."

"Oh yes we are. Get out, loser."

As Dallas emerged from the office, Nakajima, concerned, made her way to Dallas. "What happened, Mike?"

"I got screwed by that fat ass bastard!" he shouted, waving a fist at the office door. "He locked out my life suport and comms, forcing me to beam off the ship to get air. Since I only have a short-range transporter, the station was still out of range, so I beamed onto the Xindi ship, to save my life. So the Captain FIRED ME from Starfleet! I'm going to appeal, when I get back to Earth."

"Wait a minute," Nakajima said. "He WHAT?"

"Yeah, that bastard FIRED me," Dallas said, as McGawan stepped out of his office.

"What the hell is he still doing here? Get him out of here!"

"Wait, he's not going ANYHWERE," Nakajima said. "I've had enough of this. Captain, you and me, office, NOW. Mister Kim, get Starfleet Command on the comm, ESC."

"ESC?" Kim echoed.

"You heard me, Lieutenant Commander."

Kim nodded slowly. "Aye, Commander." He then went right to work.

"Get out!" McGawan screamed at Dallas.

"Hold it, Crewman."

"He is no longer a member of Starfleet, and is trespassing in a restricted area," McGawan said. "Either he gets off this station, NOW, or he will find himself in the VACUUM of space!"

"Do NOT move, Crewman," Nakajima said, pointing right at Dallas. "I will talk with you when I'm done settling this. Bruce, your office, NOW!"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" McGawan said. "I am the sector commander!"

"Yes, you are. And I am the STATION Commander," Nakajima said. "And I do NOT believe that Starfleet Command gave YOU the authority to make personell changes on MY station. That INCLUDES the firing of my officers and crew."

"I have Admiral Paris, Commander," Kim reported.

"Good," Nakajima said. "Put him through to the Captain's office. We're going to have a little chitchat with Starfleet Command."

"You are out of line, Commander," McGawan said.

"And you have a rod stuck straight up your ass, and it has spikes on it," Dallas barked.

"The kid's right, Sir," Nakajima said. "And no one else here has the gull to stand up to you. So let's have our talk."

"Fine!" McGawan said. "But I still want that kid off my station by 0900 tomorrow."

"He goes nowhere!" Nakajima said. "This is MY Station. Don't let me repeat myself in front of the crew again."

Ending it, Nakajima pushed McGawan into the captain's office, sealing the door behind them.

Three crewmen, working on the consoles below, stopped to watched the situation unfold. Kim grimaced, and leaned over the rail. "You down there! Forget what you just saw and go back to work."

Without hesitation, they did so.

"That was sure ugly," Kim noted to Wing, as Wing sat Dallas down next to him. "It went all wrong."

"It sure did," Wing said. "I feel bad for the Captain, though."

"So do I," Kim said. "I know that everyone here doesn't trust the Captain. He's a bit... on edge."

Wing nodded, in agreement. "I will obey the orders of my superior officers, as long as the order is of a sane mind and body, and logical. Commander Nakajima did the right thing."

"She's a strong woman," Kim said. "I pitty any foe of her's."

"Me too," Wing said. "Damn those Vulcans."

END OF ACT I