Disclaimer: None of the principal characters belongs to me.
Note: This story is a companion piece to "Sailor Moon ST", in which Ranma's point of view is explored in the world of "Star Trek". Enjoy!
Part 4
After I recovered from my injuries, which took only a day, due to my experience as a martial artist, Captain Kirk came to me about a plan that Starfleet Command wanted him to initiate. Since my curse could prove to be of a great benefit, and because I was qualified in "Special Operations", the captain wanted to bring me in on the plan. To be honest, I was a bit nervous. If I screw up, the entire quadrant could be at risk.
Then again, I wouldn't be who I am if I avoid taking risks.
"Captain Kirk, you are in violation of the Romulan Neutral Zone," Spock declared, as he signal Security Chief Ranma Soatome to stand-by.
"I don't care!" Kirk said, as he faced his First Officer. "If the Federation doesn't show its teeth now and then, the Romulans will see this as a weakness."
"Nevertheless, I am authorized to place you under arrest. Mr. Saotome?"
Ranma was about to step forward, when Navigation Officer Pavel Chekov picked up some signals.
"Captain, I'm getting a distortion field!"
Kirk looks at Spock, who nodded in acknowledgement. Seeing the cue, Ranma returned to his post. So far, phase one is going off without a hitch.
"Sir, we are surrounded by…three Klingon ships?!?" Helm Officer Hikaru Sulu.
"Commander Tsukino, status?"
"All systems are nominal," Usagi said. "Apparently, they are using a 'cloaking' device to mask our sensors."
"Confirmed," Spock said.
"Sir, I recommend red alert," Ranma said.
"Noted. Have your teams on 'yellow alert' status."
"Aye, sir."
"Sir, we are being contacted," Communications Officer Uhura says.
"On screen," Kirk says.
The view screen lights up. A male Romulan can be seen. What struck Ranma as odd was that Romulans were an off-shoot race of the Vulcans. And that Romulans embrace passion, whereas Vulcans do not.
"This is Sub-Commander Tal of the Romulan Star Empire. You are surrounded. Surrender or be destroyed."
"Well, it looks like we are in a crisis," Spock quips.
Kirk nods, and requests that Uhura sends an encrypted message to Starfleet. He then turns to Ranma, who nods before leaving the bridge.
As part of the surrender, both Spock and Kirk beams over to the Romulan ship. They were surprised to see that commander of the lead Romulan was a beautiful woman.
"I am the Romulan Commander," the woman said. "I take it that you want to have a record of your confession?"
"In a manner of speaking," Kirk said. "We stumbled into the Neutral Zone due to a navigation error. My first officer Spock can confirm this-"
"I beg to differ," Spock said, as he avoided Kirk's gaze. "I want to say, on the record, that Captain Kirk intentionally steered the Enterprise into Romulan territory."
"What?!"
Meanwhile, in Sickbay, aboard the Enterprise…
"There, the modifications are done," Dr. McCoy smiled, as he stepped away from his handiwork.
"I must say, Doctor, you do good work," Nurse Christine Chapel said with a smile.
Lt. Commander Usagi Tsukino walks into Sickbay, and looks at McCoy's patient. She was placed in charge of the ship while Kirk and Spock were away, so Usagi wanted to be updated on current events.
"My, aren't you a cutie!" Usagi winked.
Ranma-CHAN blushed at the comment. Absently, she felt her new pointy ears, while looking at her dyed hair (colored "black") in a handheld mirror.
"In fact, Spock's has a cousin I can set you up with-"
"Knock it off…Ma'am!" Ranma-chan fumed. Bad enough she has to go under-cover as a female, but she has to go undercover as a Romulan female. From the most recent intelligence reports, Ranma-chan was to board one of the Romulan ships to steal the clocking device.
"Okay, okay. I'm just kidding. Anyway, the Quartermaster's ready to fit you with your new uniform for your mission."
"Alright."
"Now, remember, once the Captain and Spock have done their part, we will beam you over. Romulans are suspicious people, so you have to be very careful about your interaction with them. I cannot guarantee your safety, and I know that both Starfleet and the Federation will deny your existence. Is that clear?"
"Understood."
After Spock faked Kirk's death, using the laughable "Vulcan Death Grip", Kirk was beamed back to the Enterprise. At the same time, Ranma-chan was beamed over to the Romulan Commander's ship, near the least guarded section.
"This is Ranma, I'm in," Ranma-chan said quietly into her transponder. After putting it away, and straightening herself out, Ranma-chan proceeded to go to the main engineering bay. According to her files, the clocking device was in one of the auxiliary stations, and most likely heavily guarded.
As she went down the hall, Ranma-chan appeared demure, as she passed several crewmembers. What made the trip easy was that the Klingon had sold the Romulans the ships that the Enterprise was facing at the moment, and thus allowed Ranma to be familiar with her path.
As she passed the auxiliary stations, Ranma-chan saw that a squad of guards was hanging about. She estimated that by the time she takes care of them, the bridge of the ship will know what's up. So, there was another option…
The Romulan squad commander noticed smoke coming from the utility station. He signaled a few of his men, as he went to get something to douse the small fire out. While the rest of the squad paid attention to the fire, SOMETHING went past the guards. The guard closest to the auxiliary room did not see Ranma-chan, as she came into normal view, though behind the guard. Using her recent knowledge of Romulan physiology, Ranma-chan applied a "sleeper-hold" unto the guard. She then took his identity key from his person, while still holding the guard, swiped the card key into the lock. Quickly, Ranma-chan takes the guard into the auxiliary room, and shuts the door behind them.
"Sorry buddy, but I got a job to do." Ranma-chan said, as she sets the guard down. She was certainly glad to use her "Umi-senken" technique, that virtually renders her invisible.
Ranma-chan turns to see a white sphere. It was connected to a dial in the center of the room.
"Hmmm," Ranma-chan thought, as she examined the object. Something like this would have a back-up security system. It is either has a death trap…
…or there's a signal switching system that would inform the command crew of the missing of a vital unit. Whatever the case, Ranma-chan had to be sure what type of set-up she was facing. And fast. So, she took out her transponder, and began to use "Morse Code" to get Commander Spock's attention.
Spock, who was in the company of the Romulan Commander, who was flirting with him. Set on vibrate, the transponder gave Spock a message. Spock then turned the questioning to his host, and obliquely asked questions about the clocking device. Once satisfied, Spock relayed a return message…
Back at the auxiliary room, Ranma-chan frowned. If she removed the device prematurely, then the command crew will know what was going on.
I guess I'll improvise, Ranma-chan smirked.
Using one of the port slots, Ranma-chan delivered a concentrated dose of chi, causing the entire system to short.
As soon as the power went down, Ranma-chan removed the clocking device. Once removed, the emergency power kicked in.
Stealing the fallen guard's helmet, Ranma-chan ran out of the auxiliary room.
"Halt!" said the squad leader, who was checking on the clocking device.
Ranma-chan immediately ran down the corridor, and turned the corner. She was tempted to use the Umi-senken again, but that would cause the Enterprise scans to loose track of her. So, Ranma-chan opted for another way out of her predicament. Once she saw an access vent, Ranma-chan placed the device into it. She then placed the helmet on head, pulled out a flask of hot water, and poured it over herself…
"Centurion!"
Ranma turned to see the squad leader and his men.
"Yes?"
"Did you see any suspicious persons coming this way?"
Ranma cocked his left brow.
"A girl went by a few minutes ago. I assumed that she was on an important assignment for the Commander, based upon the urgency of her movements."
The squad leader nodded. No one questions the orders of the Commander.
"Very well, as you were. Squad, come!"
Once the squad left, Ranma took out his transponder. He pressed it once to let Spock know that he was done, and twice to let the Enterprise know that both he and Spock were ready for transport…
Ten minutes later, Captain Kirk had the Romulan Commander in Ranma's custody, who still wore his Romulan features. The commander grabbed Spock as he was transported back to the Enterprise. Now, Captain Kirk was holding the commander hostage, in order to buy them some time to make the Enterprise's escape from the Neutral Zone.
"My subordinate Tal will destroy your ship!" the Commander exclaims.
"Scotty? Progress?" Kirk asked.
Down in engineering, Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott was desperately trying to hook up the clocking device to the ship.
"I need more time!" Scotty exclaims.
"Scotty, I feeding you new schematics for ship integration," Usagi said, as she relayed the information to Scotty's Tricorder from her bridge station.
"I got it!" Scotty said, as he made the adjustments. "You're all set, Captain!"
"Spock, activate the clocking device!" Kirk ordered.
Spock activates the clocking device, and renders the ship invisible to the Romulans. Thus, the Enterprise made its escape.
A few days later…
"Come," Ranma said, upon hearing his door bell ring, while he was preoccupied with something.
When Usagi steps into Ranma's quarters, she noticed that Ranma was writing a letter.
"I got the duty roster for you to look at before I submit it for the next staff meeting," Usagi said.
"Just put it there. I'll take a look at it in a bit."
Usagi sat the data pad on Ranma's desk.
"What are you doing?"
"Writing a letter."
"To whom?"
"Well, I'm writing a letter to my…fiancé Akane," Ranma replied, as he pointed to a sketch of a teenaged girl. "I…know that it's impossible to have it delivered to her, but it helps me, you know?"
"I guess so," Usagi replied. Then, she noticed a stake of letters next to a hand-drawn picture. "Is that Akane?"
"Yeah. I had an artist do a rendering when we were docked at Alpha Centauri Prime."
Usagi looks at the picture.
"Cute girl."
"Yeah..."
"Speaking of cute and pictures, you better watch out."
Ranma turned to Usagi.
"Watch out for what?"
"Well, some pictures of your girl self found itself out of Sickbay. So don't be surprised to see some posters up and about during the next Ship's Inspection."
"Great, just great!"
"But don't worry. I asked the captain to have the posters be taken down, but these things kinda take time."
"Understood."
"Well, happy writing!"
And with that, Usagi left.
Ranma looked at Akane Tendo's picture, and then at his first Starfleet citation for excellence. He hoped that she would be proud of him for what he has done so far.
Tbc.
Author's note: More to come, as Ranma's journey continues. See you then!