Chapter Title: Finding Providence
Chapter Synapses: The Hyperion runabout Providence (carrying West, Starwind, and Ivano) falls under attack and crashes on a remote planet, where her passengers must flee their pursuers.
Written by: Seraph Koji
A runabout darted through space. West sat at the operations station, laughing. Ivano piloted, and Starwind took tactical. Instead of standard uniforms, the three wore black, with long black jackets that bore their rank insignia and comm. badges on the lapel. This uniform was consistent with the new look of Starfleet's special security details.
"No, I really get it." West laughed in the runabout, "You and Talara are totally war buddies. Since the Lexington."
"I'm just saying!" Starwind defended, "I can't believe Captain Ramsey would offer a position to one of my senior officers. Especially one who has followed me to hell and back like Talara has."
"He should take VonBach off our hands." Ivano smirked.
"Did she turn it down?" West asked, curious.
Starwind nodded, "I advised her to take it, though. Unless Dorian gets a command, she has very little room to move up on Hyperion. She's my Second Officer, after all."
There was a momentary silence in the runabout.
"What does Starfleet want with us, anyway? Calling us a special security detail and sending us off to the middle of nowhere like this?" West asked.
"We're meeting with an informant." Starwind replied simply.
An alert sounded softly from Ivano's controls, "Would the informant happen to be a Klingon mercenary?"
Starwind's quizzical expression flew across the runabout to meet Ivano.
"We have a small Klingon ship, civilian but armed, off the port bow." Ivano explained.
Weapons' fire shook the craft.
"Not the informant." West guessed.
Starwind examined the tactical console, "We're outgunned." He stated, looking from Ivano to West, "Options?"
"We're just outside a star system. Five planets." West read the information on her console, "One is M-class."
"I have an ingenious plan to try, sir." Ivano spun to face the Captain, "We set course opposite the system, and give a thirty-second hard burn, everything we got, then rapidly decelerate, spin about, and warp to the system. Hide out."
"Do it." Starwind replied, trying to maximize shield efficiency.
The runabout, Providence, drastically altered course and increased speed. The Klingon craft matched course and speed, firing again. A few seconds later, Providence was flying the opposite direction.
"That's entertainment!" Ivano cheered.
Starwind prepared weapons, but did have to hand it to the fancy flying, "Ingenious plan, indeed."
Providence shook with fire again.
"Okay, not so ingenious." Ivano shrugged, "I'll settle for clever."
"Firing photon torpedoes." Starwind said, unloading torpedoes on their followers.
"You've only upset them, Captain." West ovserved, as the ship rocked again.
"Ivano, how far out?" Starwind thought.
"If we can stay alive for five minutes, we can land, sir." Ivano reported.
West shook her head, "I think we have three."
Starwind analyzed the situation, "How far to transporter range?"
West almost dismissed this notion as well, "Two minutes, but our sensors are down. We'd be beaming blind."
"I have a plan, but we have to get to the planet." Starwind said, directing the statement to Ivano.
"Working on it, sir." He glared at his control, "Computer, vent warp plasma."
"Distract them with plasma?" West shot a glance his way.
He nodded, "And I plan to ignite it. See if I can't boost us into the system."
"Igniting plasma." Starwind responded. "Boosting aft shields to compensate."
"Get your plan ready, Captain." Ivano hollered as the runabout exited warp and bolted toward the second planet.
"I think the planet's coming up a little too fast." West observed.
Ivano glanced at her, "Maybe that's because we're coming in fast?"
"Launching escape pods into planet's atmosphere." Starwind called, "The hotter you can take us in, the better, Ensign."
"How's a crash landing?" Ivano asked.
"Hotter than I'd like." Starwind replied, bracing himself.
Ivano braced himself as well, "You want something done right, sir…"
"Try not to get us killed." West winced as she held on tightly.
"I'll see what I can do about that, Commander." Ivano responded as Providence began skimming treetops. Soon after, the shuttle was skimming the ground. It was in no way as pleasant as this makes it sound. The runabout slowly screeched to a halt.
Starwind threw debris from off West, freeing her. She was bleeding and in pain. "Seems we've stopped."
Ivano sat up. He had been slumped over the controls. "Sensors are down. No telling where the ship is."
"I think that ship nixed our informant." Starwind grumbled, brushing debris off the operations console, "Comm. is dead."
"Hyperion will come for us." West said, assuring her fellow officers through her own pain, "Commander Collins can't leave the Captain stranded."
"Hardly the time, Counselor." Starwind rummaged through the craft. He picked up a medical kit and scanned her, "It isn't that bad, Amy." He ran the dermal regenerator over multiple cuts, "Ivano, grab a phaser and secure the area. They'll come this way when they find the escape pod empty."
"We need a distress beacon." West muttered as Starwind applied a hypospray.
Ivano tossed a hand phaser to Starwind, "With that ship in orbit?"
"It may be worth it." Starwind responded, "I'll work on the comm. relay, see if I can fix it. I'll send a transmission, but then we have to run."
"Who gets to carry me?" West asked, half-conscious.
"The honor is all mine." Ivano exited the craft.
"First Officer's Log, stardate 57608.2. The Captain is three hours overdue at our rendezvous point. Long-range scans show no sign of the Providence. We hailed Starfleet Command for details on the mission, but they refused to comment. With no idea as to where to find the runabout, we are preparing a standard search pattern."
"Commander, receiving a distress call from somewhere in the Omicron Minor system." An ensign reported from Operations, "Audio only."
"Play it." Collins ordered.
There was a crackling sound over the comm. Faintly in the static, Starwind's voice could be heard. "Mayday! Runabout Providence has fallen under attack. We are stranded on Omicron Minor II. Please assist."
Without hesitation, Collins rose to her feet, "Talara, set course for Omicron Minor, maximum warp. Sarah, yellow alert."
Winters nodded from Tactical, "Aye, ma'am." Lights around the bridge glistened yellow.
West dangled, arms around the men on either side of her. She was still only half-aware. The trio moved steadily but slowly through the dense jungle.
"There!" Ivano shot his phaser, striking a Klingon male. The Klingon did not wear garbs of the Empire.
"Damned mercenaries." Starwind grumbled.
West rose her head slightly, "We should find a place."
"She's right, sir." Ivano turned to a large rock face, "Here."
"That's solid rock, Ensign." Starwind set West down.
"Small… cave." West pointed, struggling against the painkillers to move.
"Nice." Ivano looked about, "Not deep, but well-covered."
Starwind lifted West again and dragged her into the cave. He dropped the medkit next to her and took Ivano's hand phaser, "I'll go cause a distraction. You tend to Amy."
"Sir?" Ivano hesitated.
Starwind smiled, "Quatre, this is hardly the place or time to hold on to formalities."
"Captain." He corrected. This correction made Starwind laugh, "Be careful."
"If Hyperion comes…" West mumbled, "Save us."
"Aye, ma'am." Starwind smiled at her, and ran off into the foliage. Moments later, combat boots rushed past the cave and phaser fire was heard.
Starwind dove to dodge the fire. He shot back, lethally striking one warrior. Another sliced the brushes with a Bat'Leth. He promptly shot this warrior and took the Bat'Leth, swinging it at other warriors. But dispute his valiant effort, a disrupter blast met his back and he fell to the ground. All he heard before losing consciousness was an order to transport.
"You think he's gonna be okay?" West asked Ivano, as he applied another hypospray.
Ivano smiled, "He's the Captain. Of course he will."
Starwind awoke in a small dark room aboard the Klingon transport when a strong Klingon hand crashed into his face.
"Who was the informant?" The Klingon asked.
Starwind glared into the eyes of his captor, "You are in violation of about thirteen Klingon-Federation treaties."
The Klingon man laughed, "I do not serve the Empire. I serve who decides to pay me."
"Okay." Starwind nodded, "I didn't expect that one to work anyway."
"Who are you here to meet?"
"You." There was an awkward silence, "You cute little Klingon, you. Want to go out for a drink?" Starwind laughed, then felt the Klingon's fist again, "Fine, if flattery can get me nowhere, I could just give you my name, rank, and serial number. But we were having so much fun."
"Hyperion to Providence." Collins called the moment they entered transporter range.
"Yes!" Ivano's voice whispered across the comm. gleeful, "Hyperion, two to beam up."
"One human, one half-Trill." The ensign at Ops reported.
"Where's the Captain?" Collins asked.
There was a long pause, "He sin't on the surface."
The ensign shook his head.
VonBach walked onto the bridge and relieved Winters, "Red alert, ma'am?"
Collins shot VonBach a puzzled glance, and nodded, "Lock on to the transport ship in orbit. Ensign, open hailing frequencies."
"Open." The ensign reported.
Collins walked toward the viewscreen, "Klingon transport, I am Commander Dorain Collins of the Federation starship Hyperion, stand down and return the Starfleet operative you have hostage or be blown out of the sky."
The Klingon hit Starwind again as sirens began blaring.
Starwind grinned, though blood streaked his face. "That's my ship, mercenary friend, coming to kick your little ship's ass."
The Klingon pulled a disrupter and pointed it at Starwind. The constant shaking of the transport vessel made it hard to aim the weapon.
"By now your shields are down." He looked at the ceiling, "And now they have a transporter lock on me." As the disrupter discharged, a broad smile formed, "Energize." The disrupter blast crashed into the wall. Starwind was gone.
"We have him." Talara smiled.
Collins glared at the ship, "VonBach, blow them to hell."
A series of torpedoes crashed into the transport, destroying it.
