Chapter 3 Stranded
Two Weeks later
Acting Captain's personal log: Our initial shakedown cruise is complete. I am more than satisfied with the ship's and crew's performance. We're are now end route to Earth Spacedock from Risa for routine maintenance."
Maxwell was in his ready room attending to the bane of all officer…paperwork. "Bridge to Captain Maxwell" Elisa's voice came over the intercom.
"Go ahead."
"We're approaching the Sol system."
"Very well. Drop to impulse, I'll be there in a moment." He replied
An hour later the ship was in the middle of docking procedures when Admiral Quinn contacted him. "Lieutenant, report to my office on the double. Something's come up."
"Aye sir. Elisa you have the bridge. Continue docking, I'll find out what the Admiral wants."
Maxwell went to the transporter room and stood on the pad. "Destination sir?" the operator asked.
"Spacedock, Admiral Quinn's office."
"Coordinates input sir."
"Energize."
Maxwell appeared just outside Quinn's office. He quickly approached the office and stood before the Admiral's desk. "Lieutenant Maxwell reporting as ordered sir."
"Have a seat Lieutenant. I have a mission for you. I've received a report that there is a Bolian freighter that is overdue arriving at Earth Spacedock. It may need assistance. Talk to Malcom Sissel in the shipyard. He will have more information on the missing vessel than I do. Any questions?"
"Any idea what kind of assistance they require?" Maxwell asked
"Could be anything from simple engine trouble to Orion pirates." Quinn replied.
"I'll get on it right away." Maxwell stood at attention then executed an about face and headed for the shipyard. On his way he tapped his combadge. "Maxwell to Flores."
"Flores here."
"Get the ship ready to go. There's a vessel overdue to arrive at Earth Spacedock and we've been tasked to find the ship."
"Aye sir. She can be ready to go in fifteen minutes."
"Very well."
Maxwell found Sissel at the shipyard and approached him.
"Greetings, Lieutenant. So you're here to talk about the missing freighter? We haven't had a communique from the S.S. Azura in more than twenty hours. Danna Brott is an experienced captain and the daughter of a former Starfleet officer. It not like her to be out of contact. It would be a real help if you could go and find the Azura. I've already transmitted the last known location to your ship. Good luck!" he said
Maxwell beamed back to the ship and fifteen minutes later the Essex departed Spacedock. Once they were clear of the system they jumped to warp, it wasn't long before they picked up a distress call from the S.S. Azura
"This is Danna Brott of the S.S. Azura, warp core containment field is down…radiation flooding the ship…communications and life support failing, ejection systems offline, request immediate- "
"We're approaching the coordinates." Reported the helm.
"Drop to impulse. Go to yellow alert."
"To any ships in range…this is Danna Brott of the transport S.S. Azura. Please help, we're being pursued by Orion raiders…multiple crew injuries…heavy fire- "
"The Azura is dropping out of warp." Reported T'Vrell.
The transport ship dropped out of warp between two large asteroids. A pair of Orion corvettes dropped out of warp and opened fire. Another pair of corvettes appeared closer to the Essex.
"Sir, sensors are picking up several light attack craft on an intercept course. We will need to deal with them before we can help the transport."
"Red Alert. Arm all weapons. Helm, begin attack. Flores, give them a face full of torpedoes" Ordered Maxwell
"Aye sir." She replied with a grin.
A level one torpedo spread flashed out with two torpedoes for each corvette. They didn't' do much damage to the shields but a follow-up volley of phaser fire from the fore and aft arrays quickly wore both ship's shields. Another spread of torpedoes finished them off.
"Nice shooting Flores. Target the other pair and fire at will."
The Essex jumped to full impulse for 3 seconds then routed all power to weapons. A volley of phasers and torpedoes was sufficient to destroy the last two corvettes.
"T'Vrell, scan the Azura."
"Captain, I'm detecting elevated radiation levels on the Azura. I've alerted the transporter chief of the situation. She can brief you before you beam over."
"Very well. Flores, you have the bridge, T'Vrell, Zarva, Kolez, you're with me." Ordered Maxwell.
As the team walked into the transporter room, the chief was working on the panel. "Captain, I'm concerned about the radiation on the Azura. She might have some damage to the warp core, but our sensors can't pick up enough to determine exactly what you'll find over there. I can get you there, sir but bringing you back won't be easy until the critical damage is repaired."
"Understood." Replied Maxwell
The team stepped onto the pad and activated their phaser rifles. "Energize."
Maxwell, T'Vrell, Zarva and Kolez appeared on the Azura and quickly turned about to look for hostiles. There were none so T'Vrell pulled out her tricorder and scanned the area. "Sir, I'm picking up multiple life signs. Some of them are the Azura's captain and crew, but the rest are Orion. Plasma leaks are blocking our path to the survivors. We will need to use the consoles to safely vent the plasma."
"Very well. Move out. Tactical formation Alpha." Ordered Maxwell.
Tactical formation Alpha was a simple column formation, useful for close quarters fighting. They proceeded down a hallway and turned left, through another door they saw the corridor turn left again but it was blocked by a plasma conduit. Further down a door opened and the team rushed in. "Clear." Said Maxwell. Then he heard a moan and spotted a wounded crewmember. "T'Vrell."
She knelt by the crewmen and scanned her with a medical tricorder. "Severe radiation poisoning sir. I can stabilize her for now but she will need to wait on the transporter pad until the plasma leaks are contained."
"Very well. Maxwell to Essex, we're sending wounded crewmembers to the transporter. Beam them up as soon as you can."
"Aye sir. There's too much radiation right now though you'll need to fix the plasma leaks before I can safely transport."
"Understood. Maxwell out."
T'Vrell administered a hypospray and helped the crewmen to her feet. "Thank you. Where should I go now?" she asked
"Wait on the transporter pad. Our ship is attempting to get a positive lock but there's too much radiation – "
"The plasma leaks, yes I know. You'll have to close the conduits to stop the venting. Good luck."
"Move out." Ordered Maxwell
The team resumed formation and proceeded back to the corridor. They were stopped by the plasma leak they saw earlier but Zarva quickly closed the venting plasma. Going around the corner they spotted three Orions, armed with simple disruptor pistols. The Orions immediately opened fire but their weapons fire only hit the personal shields of the team. The Starfleet crew returned fire and quickly put all three pirates down. "Maxwell to Essex, be advised the Azura has been boarded by Orion pirates."
"Understood. Be careful Max." replied Flores, the concern readily evident in her voice. The two had grown close since being posted to the Essex.
As the Starfleet team proceeded down the hallway they could see two plasma leaks, one at the far end and one closer. There was a door right before the next leak so the team rushed in. Maxwell took down one on his left immediately and took fire from the right. He was turning to engage when he saw T'Vrell put a pair of Orions down with her split beam rifle. The room was clear so Maxwell pointed Zarva to the console that would shut down the plasma leak, while T'Vrell treated another crewmember. "Go to the transporter room. My ship will beam you aboard as soon as they can." She told the crewmen. "Yes Ma'am. Thank you."
"Let's go, we've got one more plasma leak to deal with." Ordered Maxwell.
The away team resumed formation and proceeded down the corridor to another room on the left. This one had four Orions in it but after a swift firefight the Orions went down. "Over here T'Vrell." Said Maxwell pointing to another casualty.
"Captain I'm having trouble closing this last leak. I could use your help on the other console." Said Zarva.
Maxwell went to a nearby console and worked with Zarva to stop the leak. "Conduit closed. The leak is sealed. Let's get to engineering." She said
Engineering was not much further down the corridor. They found Captain Brott and a few crewmembers frantically trying to control the warp core. Zarva rushed to a console and assessed the situation. "Catastrophic failure of antimatter containment. Warp core breach imminent. Unless we contain the breach the ship will be destroyed."
"Captain Brott?" asked Maxwell
"We hit an Orion ambush on our way to K-7 and immediately lost weapons and took a hit near engineering. We had to drop shields for extra power to containment but as soon as we dropped them the Orions boarded us. I'll never let those green pirates have my ship. Get my crew to safety, I'll try to keep the core stable long enough for you to get out."
"There's not much I can do here Captain." Said Zarva.
"Alright, we'd better go. Stay behind us. Team, formation Delta." Said Maxwell.
Formation Delta was an arrow shape with Maxwell at the apex, T'Vrell and Zarva to either side and Kolez to the left. The Azura crew was behind them for their own protection. They approached the corridor but before they got very far a half-dozen Orions appeared in the hallway. Maxwell saw a console to his right and a plan began forming in his head.
When he was at the Academy, he studied mission reports from the U.S.S. Archer. In one report the crew reconfigured the plasma conduits to disable a Klingon boarding party. The console controlled the plasma conduits so he worked it again. His gambit worked. The plasma flashed-fried three Orions. "Nicely done sir." Said Kolez.
"Move up." Said Maxwell.
The away team moved up the corridor and came within range of the last three Orions and opened fire. One of the Orions had a personal shield of his own so once the other two went down the team concentrated their fire on the last one. His shield didn't last long under the onslaught. "Alright double-time it to the transporter room." Ordered Maxwell.
The team maintained their formation but moved at a faster pace. It wasn't long before they reached the transporter room and found the other three survivors waiting there. "Maxwell to Essex, we're ready for transport. Anytime you're ready chief." He said
"The Azura's radiation levels are returning to normal…signals clearing…got it! Initiating transport!"
Five Azura crewmen and four Starfleet officers appeared on the transporter pad. A medical team met the Azura's crew and began treating them further. "Maxwell to bridge. Report."
"Good to have you back sir. More Orions on the way. We need you up here sir."
"On my way." Maxwell stepped into a turbolift. "Bridge."
A moment later Maxwell stepped onto the bridge. "Report."
"Another pair of corvettes and something bigger coming out of warp." Reported Flores as she returned to her tactical chair.
"Red alert." He ordered.
"We're being hailed by the Orions sir."
"On screen."
"Leave now Starfleet, we're taking the ship, her crew and her cargo."
"The Azura is under Starfleet protection."
The channel closed and a pair of corvettes dropped out of warp and opened fire. The Essex returned fire to port and dropped its shields with a few phaser shots. A pair of high yield torpedoes finished off the first corvette. Wheeling around in a tight turn, the Essex caught the second corvette lining up for a torpedo shot on the Azura. The Essex maneuvered to present both the forward and aft phaser arrays and opened up a full broadside. The corvette's shields dropped under the weight and was quickly destroyed.
"Sir, another ship dropping out of warp…it's a Slavemaster-class battleship.
"Reset aft phaser banks for point defense. We'll have fighters to deal with. Ensign, line us up for an Alpha Strike. T'Vrell I need a level one tachyon beam. I want us to drain their shields and then hit them with everything we've got." Ordered Maxwell.
The Essex came about and put distance between them and the battleship. Interceptors were harassing the ship the whole way until they entered the aft arc. The aft phaser banks, set for point defense, fired in rapid bursts to clear the fighters. Once there was about six hundred kilometers between the Essex and the battleship, the Essex came about again and projected a tachyon beam at the Orion battleship. The tachyon beam drained the shields rapidly, leaving it exposed. The killer blow came when an overloaded phaser bank fired at the same time a pair of high yield torpedoes left the tubes. The phaser shot destroyed the bridge and left a gaping hole for the torpedoes which entered said whole and exploded inside. The damage was done, the Orion's warp core lost containment and exploded.
"Transporter room, can you get a lock on Captain Brott?" asked Maxwell.
"Trying to now sir. Boosting containment…"
On the viewscreen the Azura exploded.
"Transporter room?"
"We have her sir."
"Take us back to Earth Spacedock Ensign. Flores you have the bridge. I have a report to write to Starfleet Command." Said Maxwell
Maxwell was headed towards the turbolift when Captain Brott stepped off. "Captain Maxwell I was just coming to see you. I wanted to thank you again for saving my crew." She said
"Not a problem Captain, it's what we do. We'll drop you off at Earth Spacedock if you like." Replied Maxwell
"That'll be fine Captain. I can catch a transport back to Bolarus from there. I have some latinum put back I can buy another freighter and get back to work." She replied
"Glad to hear it. I look forward to seeing your new ship plying the space lanes. If you will excuse me." Said Maxwell
"Of course and thank you Captain." She said.
A few hours later the Essex dropped the Azura's crew off at Earth Spacedock and headed back out on a standard patrol. Captain Sulu contacted them from Spacedock and asked Maxwell to go to the Beytan System. Apparently the miners are having issues with their work environment. Maxwell and T'Vrell beamed down to the planet and spoke with Brian Vanderberg, Chief of the mining operation there.
"You don't know anything about us Captain. Talk to my people, learn about their problems. When you know what you're dealing with here then we'll be ready to negotiate." He said
The first three people they met were two men and a woman. The first man was named Parry Schmitter. "We need protection! This is a prime target for the Orions or Nausicaans. They'll take the pergium and kill us all, and where will Starfleet be? Off exploring the galaxy! It took a work stoppage to get Starfleet to notice us. How are you going to protect us if you're not here?" He asked
"Perhaps Starfleet can route more regular patrols or even station a few ships here to ward off pirates." Suggested T'Vrell.
"I'll put it in the report to Starfleet." Said Maxwell.
Next was a woman named Samantha Lewis. "These tools are antiques! We need upgraded computers, new drills and new safety equipment. It makes me mad that the Federation spends all its resources building fancy starships and fighting wars. What about the people who do real work?" she asked
"We can provide improved safety equipment right away with our industrial replicators. Drills and computers are a bigger order and may take some time. Transmit a list of safety equipment to my ship and we'll see what we can do." Said Maxwell.
"Thank you."
The last person in the group was an alien Maxwell couldn't identify. His name was Prohaska. "I'm worried about my job! Holograms can do everything I can do, and they don't need to eat or sleep. I want assurances that we're not going to be replaced by a bunch of photons." He said
"That's true but keep in mind that this mining facility isn't set up to support photonic life. It's actually cheaper to use biological labor. Holoemitters require high levels of maintenance and skilled engineers. That's why they're mostly used on starships."
"I heard about a dilithium mining operation that exclusively employed Mark I Emergency Medical Holograms."
"I know of it. But that facility was specifically set up for holograms. I don't think you'll lose your job anytime soon."
Maxwell and T'Vrell walked about the camp and found another group of miners and introduced themselves. The first person to speak up was a man named Joe Hadley.
"It gets boring out here. We have a holodeck, but it's been broken for weeks. We need someone to fix the holodeck and upgrade the replicators. More books and data programs for our library would be good too. Maybe if there was more entertainment for our off-duty hours, people wouldn't be so eager to get off this ball of rock."
"I'll send down my engineer to take a look at your holodeck and replicators. We'll also link our computer with yours so you can download whatever you'd like but we'll only be in orbit a few more hours." Replied Maxwell.
The last person was a woman named Leslie Vinci. "If we had more workers, we could have eight-hour shifts again. Working in the mines for 10 or 12 hours is dangerous. When people get tired they make mistakes. Someone could get hurt."
"That certainly is a concern. I'll make sure Starfleet understands the situation." Replied Maxwell.
He and T'Vrell returned to Vanderberg and negotiated for a few minutes. Zarva and an engineering team beamed down a moment later and was able to repair the holodeck fairly easily. Upgraded replicators were also distributed as well as updated safety equipment. Starfleet command said it would increase regular patrols for better security. The system was close to Earth so it was a strategic concern as well as for the safety of the miners.
Three hours later Maxwell and T'Vrell beamed up to the Essex and the ship resumed its regular duties.