Authors Note: This is the third story in what will hopefully be a long line of stories. This story continues the adventures of the Lieutenant Simon Hartstone. While not necessary to read the two stories "Punishment" and "Captured!" it would be advisable to set up why this new character is aboard Voyager. If you read "Training" I should let you know I have decided to take that down considering I don't know where to take the story as well as the fact of the matter is I wasn't too happy with the first chapter I wrote and the second chapter wasn't going so well either. I wanted to write a story that included the whole Hazard Team and not just about Lieutenant Hartstone and I obviously wanted to write a kick ass story as well. Also I don't know how to work out stardates, I have looked on the star trek website to try and discern a pattern for them but their doesn't seem to be one they just seem to be a load of random numbers, I have set this in season 6 after the episode "One Small Step." I wanted log entries to feature more as I think they were a primary way of story setting on most of the Star Trek episodes.
Happiness
Read Chapter 1 for disclaimers and some other junk.
Chapter 6: Option A and Option BThe man who was obviously the announcer walked off the stage, and a large man in a cloak with a hood covering his face. The man was huge at least 7 foot, and probably weighed at least 300 pounds.
"Wow he's a big dude," Biessman said
"Yeah, this next few minutes should be interesting" Hartstone said
"Lieutenant" Seven attracted his attention with a hand on his shoulder as well which made him jump slightly, although he wouldn't like to admit it.
"I have noticed something"
"What is it Seven"
"Have you noticed the device on the back of most of these peoples heads, all of the Voyager crew have them, small devices on the back of their necks" Lieutenant Hartstone looked he was so concentrated on the man on the stage, he did not see something that simple
"My brethren" the large man started "today is another …" he stopped and he looked right up at the Hazard Team "who are you?" he pointed directly at the Hazard Team. "Who dares to not bow before me" the crowd looked round at the Hazard Team completely shocked at their defiance.
"Hey" Simon shouted and waved at the man "I'm Lieutenant Simon Hartstone acting Captain USS Voyager and Hazard Team Leader, this" Simon turned and gestured towards Seven "is Seven of Nine Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01, USS Voyager Astrometrics Officer." Simon turned and gestured towards Rick and Jurot "and these people are Crewman Rick Biessman and Crewman Jurot of the USS Voyager Hazard Team, and I wouldn't mind knowing who the hell you are." The crowd absolutely gasped like how could he not know whom this person is.
"How could you not know me? I am the great Lord Serbist, the leader of this fine community" he threw his arms up in the air. Everyone clapped, Lieutenant Hartstone looked around.
"WOW, someone has delusions of grandeur," Simon smiled and clapped mockingly with the crowd.
The large man stood in somewhat slight shock of the defiance and the sheer audacity of this Lieutenant Hartstone. "The ship Voyager was found and cleansed you cannot be from Voyager"
"Well you missed a few people out and if your claiming responsibility for the attack on Voyager, then its my duty to kick your ass into next week." The Lieutenant took his compression rifle off his shoulder and powered it. He started to move round the crowd with his compression rifle pointed squarely at the chest of the large man on the stage. Seven and the two Hazard team members moved with him with their compression rifles raised. "But" Simon stopped short of the stairs that led onto the stage "I am a fair man, I'm going to make you a deal"
"Go on"
"Right, I notice that you have a lot of the Voyager crew in the midst of this little religious gathering so Option A is release them, and we will be on our merry way, no harm, no foul, no one gets hurt" Lieutenant Hartstone and the Hazard Team made their way onto the stage.
"And the second option"
"Wow I was really hoping that I wouldn't have to go into the second option but since you asked," Lieutenant Hartstone drew a deep breath "Right here is the second option, Option B is, me and the Hazard Team, we make you release them, now with this way, there will be casualties, there will be deaths and one of them will definitely be you" he puts his compression rifle right in the chest of Lord Serbist.
"Well while the first one seems like a good deal I don't think your crew want to leave" he gestured towards the crowd "Lets ask your Captain shall we, Kathryn could you come up here please" Kathryn jumped up looking pleased as punch as she made her way up to the stage and stood next to the large Lord Serbist. "Now Kathryn do you want to leave this nice community, this nice world that I have built for you and these people."
"Of course not Lord, I love it here" Kathryn shook her head and looked at the Lord, almost like a child looking at her father.
"I'm sorry Captain, but with all due respect, you're not in control at the moment, and you don't know what you're talking about, so please Captain stay out of this"
"You know I teach love for all beings, but sometimes I must use force to get my message across" at which point the large Lord Serbist punched the Lieutenant directly in the chest which sent him flying off the stage and landing hard on the ground at least 20 feet away. The Lieutenant rose up choking and wheezing and holding his chest, he pulled his phaser rifle up and he pulled the trigger firing the weapon sending a compressed phaser bolt zooming out of the weapon and hitting the Lord directly in the chest but it seemed to have no effect.
"You know maybe you and your friends would like to join our community, please put down your weapons and no grudges would be held." Lord Serbist opened his arms in a mock loving gesture.
Lieutenant Hartstone got to his feet, and the Lord moved forward towards Seven and the two members of the Hazard Team, "Drop your weapons" he looked directly at Seven, Crewman Biessman and Jurot. While Seven kept her rifle raised the two crewmembers, lowered their weapons, got on their knees and bowed their heads.
Suddenly loud shots filled the air as the Lord was reeling back from shots; Lieutenant Hartstone had one of his Desert Eagles in his hand pulling the trigger hard. He emptied the clip into Lord Serbist. He tapped his combadge and started shouted as he reloaded his weapon "This is Lieutenant Hartstone to Voyager beam up the away team NOW!" The away team dematerialised leaving the Lord still standing from the barrage of bullets. Everyone looking at him as he swooped off the stage and into a back room, as the crowd dispersed again going about their business.
When the crew materialised again on the transporter pad, the Lieutenant dropped to his knees, coughing as he re-holstered the Desert Eagle, he got up and he confronted his two-team members. "What the hell happened there, why the hell did you drop to your knees?"
The two crewmen looked at each other before Jurot spoke up "I'm sorry sir, I don't think myself or Mr Biessman could say no, we just felt like we needed to do what he said"
"This may be something to do with the bio neural electrical field that I detected sir" Seven interjected "he may be able to control our minds with that field. He may gain a stronger control through the devices in the back of the crew's necks."
"Well why were we not affected?" Lieutenant Hartstone asked
"The only thing I can speculate at this time is the fact that we both have Borg physiology, that could be a reason" Seven remarked as the Lieutenant nodded in understanding
"Well get all tricorder data on the crew down to the Doctor I want this bio neural electrical field countermanded by either medical or technological terms I don't care which it is. Rick, Jurot get down to sickbay as well I want the Doctor to examine you, find out how he does it"
"Yes Sir," then both left the area, as the Lieutenant finally caught his breath and got to his feet. "Seven did you notice who wasn't there at that little gathering"
"Lieutenant Commander Tuvok was not at the 'gathering,'" she noted
"Exactly, I want you to pinpoint his location, find him, he maybe a key to all this" the Lieutenant noted as they made their way out of the transporter room. Suddenly the ship rocked quite heavily.
"Lieutenant Hartstone to the bridge" a call came over the comm system. The lights dropped and the red alert claxon sounded
"Get down to Astrometrics" Lieutenant Hartstone ran towards the turbolift as the ship rocked again.
Lieutenant Hartstone stepped off the turbolift on the bridge "Report!" Ensign Munro vacated the Captains chair as Lieutenant Hartstone went to sit down in the chair but the ship rocked again and he had to hang on to the railing.
"A warship came out of nowhere sir, we believe they have a cloaking device," Ensign Munro reported
"Tactical report!" Lieutenant Hartstone shouted, Crewman Biessman had reported to the bridge after red alert and was standing at tactical station.
"30 phaser cannons, 10 torpedo launchers, and like previously reporting it is capable of cloaking!" Biessman shouted over the claxons as a vent broke and steam was being vented onto the bridge
"Return fire, options" Hartstone shouted back sir
"I believe retreat sir" Chang shouted, "Sensor's indicate with all its weapons powered its only capable of Warp 4" the ship was rocked again
"Shields down to 20 percent one more hit and were finished" Biessman reported
"Bridge to Engineering what is the status of our Warp engines?"
"I finished the Warp engines while you were on the moon, sir" Chell reported over the comm system "We have full warp, but we wont if we stick around here much longer" Chell noted.
"Fair enough lay in a retreat course and engage at maximum warp" Crewman Murphy tapped the controls with almost a feline grace, as the ship jolted one hundred and eighty degrees and lurched forward going into Warp.
"Well done Ms Murphy" Hartstone noted as he got out of the Captains chair, "Someone close that steam off" Chang tapped some controls and steam stopped, floating around the bridge for a second before Chang tapped some more controls to have the environmental system remove the steam.
"No sign of pursuit" Chang noted
"I want a list of all the damaged systems in half and hour, Crewman Biessman I can appreciate it was a red alert situation and you were needed on the bridge but I want you to report back to sickbay for those scans"
"Yes Sir" he simply noted as he left his station and went into the turbolift, another crewman replaced him.
"I want to keep us at red alert now all the time in case they come looking for us, is their a place where we can hide out"
"Another moon sir at the edge of this sector much like Earth's moon but with a strong EM field, it should be enough to hide our energy signatures" Chang reported from ops, Lieutenant Hartstone nodded
"Transfer the coordinates to the helm and lay in a course" Chang nodded "I'll be in the Captains ready room if I am needed." Lieutenant Hartstone stepped off the bridge moving into the Captains ready room with everyone watching as the doors slid shut.