Episode 12

USS Spector

Briefing Room

"The Markala VII Shipyards is one of the largest known, despite the relatively small size of the Zardanian Colonial Empire. They may be inferior in technology to the major races in the quadrant but they can generate a massive fleet within a short amount of time. Additionally, every ship they construct falls into their military jurisdiction, be it cruiser, transport or cargo carrier. It is heavily guarded with its own defence grid and entourage of patrol vessels."

"This is sounding more and more like a suicide mission," Chief Engineer Lambs said to Captain Dent.

"It is dangerous, Mr. Lambs, but it has the benefit of surprise."

"That's for sure. The Zardanians would not expect one Federation vessel to fly into the heart of their territory and attack their main dockyard."

"We won't be taking the Spector anywhere near Markala VII," Dent said smiling grimly, "I plan on hijacking a small cargo vessel passing nearby." Dent worked a console as the display next to him changed to a schematic of a Zardanian ship, along with its projected course. "As you can see the ZCS P118 will cross through here at 1800 hours tomorrow. At this time Lt. Commander Venax and I will pilot a shuttlecraft, match its warp signature and transport aboard after taking the crew out. Then we'll rendezvous at the mining facility, retrieve the shipment and proceed to the shipyard."

"Hell, that's simple!" Lambs shouted sarcastically, throwing up his arms. Dent continued.

"The Zardanians are highly regimented into a class structure. Their higher ranks never mingle with lower ones, so other than brief communications between ships and the mining facility, we should not meet face to face. It will be easy enough to mask our appearance with visual communications. The cargo ship has only a crew of five, the shipping procedure entirely automated."

"Zardanians abhor mundane physical activity," Venax reported, "they have perfected many such autonomous methods"

"You agree with all of this, Venax?" Lambs asked.

"I do. If we are truly to follow our orders of stymieing the Zardanian advance, then we must strike a critical blow."

"What we need from you, Lambs, is a means of masking our presence once we are off the ship and hiding the shuttlecraft from their sensors."

"All right, if you really plan on doing this, then I have a few ideas. But Captain, exactly how do you plan on taking out the shipyard?"

"What we also need from you and Mr. Haro is a container of Muon particles. Once we are on board the facility, I plan on injecting the particles directly into one of the nearly completed ships."

Science Officer Haro nodded in understanding, "Brilliant. From what I have read the Zardanians use the shipyard's power cores to feed warp power directly into their docked vessels as a means to 'jumpstart' them once they are finished. If we introduce enough Muon particles into that stream of energy, it will create a cascade effect within the shipyard power distribution system. After a short time, the resulting explosion will be enormous, and Muons are notoriously difficult to detect unless they are actively being scanned for. Starfleet lost a series of vessels due to Muon infestation, and our scanning regiments are more thorough then Zardanian."

"If everything goes as planned, this should go like clockwork. Mr. Lambs, you will be in command until we return. Once we depart hide the Spector within this system's eighth planet's ice ring. We'll meet with you there. You have your orders everyone, carry them out."

The officers rose from their chairs and filed out. As Venax passed the Captain he leaned over and said, "Tomorrow will be a busy day, Commander. Get some rest."

"Yes sir. However I should point out that as Captain, you should not be leading this mission."

"Captain's prerogative," he replied.

Shuttle Bay

Captain Dent entered the shuttle bay the next morning, walking towards the refitted shuttlecraft. A succession of cylindrical objects had been attached to the hull, the welds still cooling. Dent raised an eyebrow at the tired Chief Engineer.

"We've attached a series of sensor dampeners to the outer hull, Captain. They should hide you effectively enough. Its as close to a cloaking device as we could get on such short notice."

"Excellent work, Mr. Lambs."

"Venax is already aboard with the Muon container. She'll brief you on how to inject it as well."

"You look tired, Chief. Get some rest once the Spector is safely put away. You've done outstanding work the last few days and you deserve a break."

"Yes sir. Just be...just be careful out there, huh?"

"I will," the Captain said. He reached out a hand, looking the Chief in the eye. After a brief pause Lambs shrugged and took the Captain's hand, shaking it firmly.

"You are alright, Captain Dent. But bring my shuttle back in one piece, ok?"

Dent laughed mildly, "I'll try my best, Jeffery." He turned and entered the shuttle, closing the door behind him. "Venax, take us out."

The shuttlecraft lifted off the plated floor, sliding gracefully past the energy field that marked the perimeter into open space, then made a half circle and crossed over the saucer section. Dent looked down and observed the scar-like damage across the top of the saucer. He shook his head in wonder.

"I always wondered why they put the bridges right on top of the ship like that. You might as well mark it with a bullseye. If I ever get a job at Utopia Planitia I'm going to put the bridge right in the middle of the ship."

"That would be the most logical place, Captain."

The shuttlecraft sped off as the Spector made its way to the nearby ice rings of the eight planet. Dent settled back into his chair as Venax piloted the craft.

"You get any rest Venax?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now all we have to do is plan on how we can get aboard the shipyard without arousing suspicion."

"Mr. Lambs came up with a novel solution, Captain," Venax said. She switched the shuttlecraft to autopilot after activating the sensor dampeners. She moved to the back of the small ship and removed a vest from one of the containers located there. Scattered throughout the vest was a series of small devices.

"Those look like holo-emitters."

"Correct. Mr. Lambs and his staff created this device. They call it the holo-jacket. These emitters are programmed to create the image of a Zardanian crewman. Observe." Venax strapped the vest on and activated the devices; the image of a lizard-like Zardanian crewman overlapped her body. She moved about the cabin, the illusion flawless to Dent's eyes.

"Amazing!" he proclaimed.

"Indeed," Venax said. Her voice came out guttural and hissing, obviously augmented by the device she wore, "the suit alters my speech patterns and emits life signs similar to that of a Zardanian female."

Dent shook his head in wonder, "He thought of everything."

"The suit only has enough power for forty-five minutes and has not been adequately tested, of course. There is another problem as well. The engineers were only able to develop the one suit in time, and because of my smaller frame it will envelop me with the hologram with less difficulty."

Dent frowned, "I guess you are elected then. I'll monitor your status from the ship and transport you out at the first sign of trouble."

Venax switched off the holo-emitters and removed the vest, "It should be a simple matter. The Zardanians are not known for their security."

Dent swung his chair around and checked the helm readouts, "We should intercept the cargo ship on two hours. Let's go over the plan again."

Shuttlecraft

Two Hours Later

"We are approaching the cargo vessel, Captain. No sign of detection."

"I'm matching our warp signature to theirs, Venax. That should allow us to pass through their navigational deflectors. Ready the concussive charges."

"Aye sir. Concussive charges ready for transport." The shuttle gave a brief shake as it passed through the cargo ship's shields. "Sensors detect five crewman located on the bridge. Transporting charges."

"Won't they be surprised," Dent said, a small smile on his face.

"Charges activated. They are unconscious, sir."

"Good. Set the autopilot to shut down the shuttlecraft once we transport. If we are lucky it won't be detected until we return."

"Already plotted into the computer, Captain."

"Care to join me on the Zardanian ship, Commander?"

The two officers stepped to the back of the shuttlecraft and gathered their gear. Dent activated the transporter after putting on his protective goggles, their environment changing from the familiar Federation to blue energy to the preferred brown interior of the Zardanian military. Bright light and intense heat was the first thing Dent noticed.

"Gah – I had forgotten how hot the Zardanians ships are."

"I find it rather comfortable," Venax replied.

"Lucky for you your Vulcan eyes protect you from this light."

"Indeed. We should make no adjustments to the environmental settings. That may show up on sensors."

"I'll manage," Dent said, removing his uniform jacket, "check our heading Venax. These consoles are the same as what was depicted in the database we retrieved. We should have no trouble flying this ship."

"One moment, Captain." Venax leaned over one of the Zardanians, her hand outstretched.

"Are you sure about this, Commander? I realize Vulcans dislike such contact with other races."

"Zardanians have little resistance to telepathic probes. That could be another reason for their heightened aggression against other races in the Federation. The passcodes we require should be on the surface of his memories." Her fingers barely touched the brow of the lizard, "Yes...yes...I see them. Floating in his mind, just out of reach. I...have...them." Venax stood up and walked over to the helm, adjusting the heading slightly. "I have the required security clearance codes for the mining facility and shipyards."

"Are you all right?"

Venax turned and nodded firmly, "Yes, Captain. Thank you for your concern. It was not difficult to retrieve the information from his mind."

"You're...ok with this?"

"Yes sir. It was...distasteful but I cannot forget the crimes these people committed against the Federation envoy. I fear some rules must be bent if we are to achieve our mission."

"Very well. I apologize for what you had to go through but I'm afraid desperate times call for desperate measures. I'll input the programs into their communication array and stow our gear. We'll place these crewmen in the transporter buffer for now."

"Once we reach the mining facility the onboard apparatus will assume control of the cargo retrieval. There will be little we have to do but wait. Our escort will escort us to the Zardanian core but will communicate with us only as necessary. They have little patience for cargo runners. They think themselves superior to such mundane duties."

"Here is to hoping you are correct, Venax."