Chapter 6

Our departure from Defera was a rather speedy one. We ran away from a world that we had not yet come across in imperial space only because I made one mistake in the dealings with their chief diplomatic representative. But then, it was a mistake that was intentional. I wanted to attract attention, for a very good reason.

I could only hope I wouldn't bring down half the of the opposing star fleet onto our heads in the process.

Sil, the head of my special ops team entered my ready room not half a minute later. He came to attention picture perfect and saluted. "Mission successful, admiral. The cyberwarfare team found it."

The big and muscular Trill male stepped up to the desk and handed me a padd. I skimmed through it, looking for that one little particular detail. When I found it, Sil would surely notice that I would be smiling like a predator.

"She's here! she's in the sector with her ship!" I nearly shouted it. Sil said nothing. He just stood at attention, waiting for orders. Myself, I could barely contain my excitement and looked further. The stopovers, resupply points and needed evasive coordinates. It was all there, and it made the list for a cat and mouse game more then complete.

"Orders, sir?" I had briefly forgotten Sil was still in the ready room.

"For the moment, nothing. Keep to your scheduled drills and you may want to include boarding into that. Now get out of here."

In mere moments the big trill was gone, leaving me to my thoughts.

The orders the Cyberwarfare team had extracted out of the Deferi datbase had been pretty clear and yet so diplomatically vague worded as to leave me retching. Why for once could counterparts simply not park a couple of starships somewhere without resorting to...games to clear up problems in sectors? Still, considering their success in this manner of working, and the size of their own empire they had to have done something right somewhere, just like we had. Still, we were out here for another reason all together.

I tapped my own combadge "This is the admiral. Senior officers to conference room 2 in 45 minutes." I had someone else to see before that.

The elevator let me out at deck 3 not much later. I was just in time to see the ships doctor leave the quarters that were my destination on the deck. I saw her eyes, and the sadness they contained. "Doctor?"

"Admiral...he has about a week left." The message hit me like a Mek'leth. "I might be able to prolong it but in the end he will only suffer more."

I sighed "Thank you doctor. Keep me appraised of the situation." I entered the quarters without chiming. He would know I was coming, just as I had promised.

He was sitting on a recliner, reading an ancient book and seemingly unaware of my presence. His body looked rather frail, his hair or what was left of it was a shade of silver that made him appear dignified enough to be a former leader of a nation. His brown eyes still had that curious look upon them, but a lot of the light that had one time been there had gone. A bottle of what I assumed to be synthehol and a nearly empty glass standing on the table nearby. He slowly and gently turned the page. "I take it there is news?" he then asked without looking up.

"That little op at Defera was successful. Her ship is in the sector and has orders to patrol a number of systems here." He gently put the book down on the table. "So now the plan is to find her and follow her until the opportunity for a meeting presents itself."

"And then what?"

I could give no answer.

"Sit with me." Obediently I walked over to the recliner and sat down beside the man. A brief glance in my direction, and a smile followed. "You remind me of your mother, you seem to have here eyes."

A small chuckle escaped my lips "From what you told me of her, I sometimes think I inherited some of her passions instead of her looks." I got a small smile as reward.

"I suppose you have, Evris." He drew me close. "That it has taken me all those years.." I could almost feel the regret in this man's voice. "I should have taken more time." For a brief moment I thought I noticed a tear forming in the mans eye. It seemed somewhat uncharacteristic of him.

"You had bigger things to contend with." It was a little to matter of fact to my liking, but it was the truth. It was the one thing that he had always inspired into me. 'You've always told me that duty comes first."

"Ah, but it does." he paused as a brief contraction of pain suddenly emanated across his features. "I take it you saw the doctor when she went out?"

I sighed and nodded rather reluctantly. "I did, and she told me."

"Will it effect your plans?" I briefly shuddered as he stared at me. It was that famous stare that was supposed to make enemies and those of his subordinates that weren't quite up to it yet, cower before him.

"The only thing it will effect is the timetable. If her patrol route hasn't been changed in any way or form, and it might have been, the only thing we ll need is an empty system, as to avoid any kind of interference. And despite any kind of efforts we took when coming here there is still a chance we might have been spotted when we departed the Badlands."

"Do you understand your duty?" I had not expected that question to be asked of me.

"I do. And I will carry it out to the fullest."

"Then go, and leave me. I require rest." It required me to leave without saying goodbye but, I would check up on the old man again after finishing paperwork. Perhaps after he had rest we would be able to talk on a more familiar level. But I doubted it, the sickness had such a hold of him that I even began to doubt he would return to our home universe with us.

Still, I had my orders, and had more then one reason to see this mission through in one piece.

Later that night, USS Huallaga.

To say that I was exhausted would be an understatement. I spent half the day with the tactical departement taking part in drills. Drills that mostly consisted of reacting to new situations, fighting ships of the Empire and their crews on the holodeck and a few rather basic drills with slugthrowers, and more then a few bits and pieces of equipment that came with it.

I had a solitary and simple dinner in my quarters and decided on an early night. I was asleep even before my head hit the pillows.

The lightning overhead was like on any starship I had ever been on. Regular patterns and set distances as to illuminate any obstacles and ample room to provide visual aids that would help give a sense of direction. So why were those lights passing above me as if was being carried by someone that was running?

It was then that I began to hear the footsteps, panting and more importantly, nearly all the other sounds of a ship that was on Red Alert but in serious trouble. For a brief moment I thought I heard phasers being discharged in the distance, but that sound was soon replaced by people panting. From the edge of my at times rather blurred vision I noticed someone standing next to me, and leaning somewhat in my direction. It was a male.

I could see his face was haggard as well from the effort and that he appeared to have suffered some sort injury but from what I couldn't tell. I then noticed his lips beginning to move.

"We're almost to the shuttle. Can you hold on for just a bit longer?"

A second voice, this one a female, answered while gasping for breath. "I can. Lead on."

Again there were footsteps as two people were running for their lives or so I assumed again. They stumbled at least twice as the ship shook rather violently due to what I assumed again was weapons fire. From my point of view I was exchanged hands a couple of times before the duo reached a shuttle bay that reminded me of the one on a Galaxy class starship. There was one runabout in the bay, and the male immediately went for it.

The woman hesitated. "Isn't that the..prototype?"

"Do you see anything else?"

No reply came, and I was carried in via the main hatch.

I felt the engines start up and launch of the runabout more then I saw it. But since I seemed to be carried, I supposed that was to be expected. I also felt that the Runabout wasn't quite flown as usual. There seemed to be no steady hand at the controls. I could almost feel the jerky maneuvers, as if the pilot had no recent experience in flying runabout type vessels.

"Keep an eye on that screen over there. Just warn me if anything gets to close." The male spoke, his voice having a rather harried edge to it. The jerky movements, which I now took for a semblance of evasive action, continued, until an incoming transmission filled the air

"Runabout Octavian, halt your flight and prepare to be boarded." Again, I could see nothing, but the tone of the voice directing the two occupants to halt the vessel indicated to me that things would definitely not go well if those two complied with that order.

Apparently the male voice agreed with me. "That 'll be the day!"I heard a series of rapid keystrokes commencing. And not much later the female voice piped in again.

"What are you doing?"I could hear a hint of panic in her voice.

"Do you really want to be boarded?" A hint of desperation was now also audible in the male's voice. The female voice indicated that she did not want that to happen. The keystrokes resumed again, as the runabout was rattled by a weapons hit.

The transmission was repeated again and this time the intend was clear. The occupants of the Octavian needed to stop their craft. But, they had no intention of doing so, that much was clear. Even to me, an observer that was present in one form or another.

The keystroke rhythm that had been audible for a little while now stopped.

The female voice spoke again, sounding even more panicky now. "What are you doing?"

"This is the only out that I can see." And with that I heard one more keystroke, followed by a humming sound that reminded me of a device that was powering up. "I'm sorry I got you into this." the male concluded as something that looked like a transporter effect but was different in a way I did not recognize overtook the entire interior.

It seemed like an eternity until something happened again.

We rematerialized in space, adrift, and with the interior a total mess. From my vantage point I could see two shapes slumped over the controls up front, where a couple of lights indicating failures of some sort were pulsating their steady warnings.

I was stunned to see the familiar sights and sounds of a regular Federation transporter fill my vantage point. Three Starfleet officers materialized, and immediately two of them rushed forward to the controls. The other one, a lieutenant that was wearing a late 2370ish era uniform that identified her as either an engineering or an operations specialist came towards me.

I frowned as I noticed her shape evolve into a female one as she bend down towards me. "There's a baby here!" my frown turned into something else entirely as I recognized the voice. It was my mother!

But that was impossible!

Then I heard a voice come through a combadge "Away team, prepare for emergency beam out!"This time I did feel the transporter effect wash over me.

The rest of what happened was lost as the intercom woke me. "Doctor Ozloe to Admiral Torvann. Are you alright?"

I groaned. It looked as if I was going to have to talk with the doctor or one of the counselors. I wasn't looking forward to it, at all.