Star Trek Online: Tales from the Fleet

by Wilson.Liam2

A collection of short stories from the combined alliance fleet (Star Trek Online's playable factions) detailing the lives, events, and adventures of various officers from their humble beginnings to their greatest achievements and beyond. (38 stories total with planned uploads/releases of new chapters/short stories as they are finished)

1. New opportunities

New Opportunities

Day 13

R'el Lerna Sirin awoke to the sound of heavy metal doors sliding open then closed as her bunk mate came in off duty. Sirin's back was facing the door. She stared at the wall for a moment allowing her solid black eyes to adjust to the lighting. The grey metallic wall facing her was bathed in red light from above giving the wall the appearance of being covered in rust. Sirin stretched out her arms and legs as she rolled onto her back.

"I'm awake, Linu," said Sirin as she turned over to face the door.

Linu, a skinny green skinned Orion woman, smiled at Sirin as she removed parts of her armor. Sirin hated seeing people smile at her that way, it was the type of smile people used when they saw something adorable. She knew why they did it; Sirin was small and unique compared to everyone else in the empire. For one thing she wasn't Klingon nor was she of the other membered species of the empire. Her father had found her on an alien world and taken her in, raising her to be his daughter as well as the child his wife could never have. As an alien Sirin knew nothing of her origins only what doctors could tell her about her physiology. Not that Klingon doctors could tell her much.

Sirin stood up on the bed, nothing more than a metal plate jutting from the wall, before hopping onto the deck. Linu moved to the bed to remove her boots as Sirin began slipping on her boots and armor. Even with Linu sitting on the bed Sirin's head reached only to Linu's knees. By the time Sirin was heading for the door Linu was lying on the bed to sleep. Sirin jumped up to toggle a control on the door to open it. The door responded in a lazy fashion. It slid open with the same loud metal on metal screech as before.

Since the mission began Sirin had managed to say only a few things to her bunkmate Linu. They mostly just exchanged greetings and small pleasantries between shifts. The relationship was better than the relationship she had with the rest of the crew, which seemed to enjoy exchanging barbs or just outright belittling or insulting her. Sirin occasionally managed to dole out insults back at her colleagues from time to time but it never garnered any reprieve. As a guard aboard a freighter and aspiring warrior of the empire Sirin couldn't just accept the teasing.

Sirin walked the main corridor that connected the freighter's berthing spaces, Command Bridge, engineering, and cargo containers. There was a passageway below her on deck 2 which served as access for maintenance, access to the escape pods, and operations of the various cargo containers. Fiery light danced around the corridor from holographic sconces lining the rust colored walls. Shadows played with the faces of passing crewmembers, exaggerating their features as they walked past. Sirin headed straight to a cargo container that had been converted into the freighter's galley. The original galley had been converted into captain Krav's personal chambers. The old Dahar Master served as the freighter's captain as a last ditch chance to earn his way into Sto'Vo'Kor.

Sirin entered the makeshift galley. She saw multiple members of the crew seated at the tables. They were eating the usual Klingon foods. A few of the Orions were turning their noses up at the sight of gagh wriggling on their plates. Sirin approached the serving area and grabbed a tray. The server, a frail looking Klingon woman, used her bare hands to grab at portions of food to place on Sirin's tray. Before Sirin could tell the server what she wanted the woman placed a handful each of gagh and racht on her tray before tearing a chunk out of a roasted targ's hind quarter with her bare hands and dropped it on the tray of worms Sirin held.

"Can't I pick what I want?" Sirin asked. It was the first time she tried asking. The food was often fresh but rarely differed from day to day. Wriggly gagh and Targ meat were served just about every day leaving Sirin with the idea that she should at least get to select the part of the Targ she wanted. The server looked at Sirin with a toothy grin and responded with, "but you're a growing girl".

One of the Nausicaans from a table nearby shouted to the server "she won't grow any bigger". An Orion male at the same table added, "Her ass will". The Orion pointed his finger at Sirin as he bellowed a hearty laugh. Many of the galley's occupants laughed with him. Sirin's height was not the only target of the crew's teasing. As far as she knew every one of her kind had sizeable rumps. Her hunched posture didn't help the appearance either. The posture was normal for her as she could stand upright like the rest of the crew for only a few minutes at a time.

Sirin walked over to a table which had two small Gorn and three Lethean males sitting at it. There were no unoccupied tables. Sirin couldn't reach her food if she sat on the empty stool in front of the table so she placed her tray on the stool then climbed it, careful not to knock the tray off the stool. She picked up her tray, while standing on the stool and launched herself along with her tray onto the table. The Gorn nearest to Sirin clapped his large hands watching her small feat. Sirin couldn't tell if he was mocking her or if he was actually congratulating her. It was also equal chance that he liked to watch someone resembling food hop around.

Sirin quickly ate the targ meat. It proved tasty; the worms on the other hand, were a challenge to say the least. Klingons seemed to value them the most and some of the other species aboard could manage to eat them too. Sirin's teeth were meant for tearing and cutting, not mashing. Her cheeks also weren't capable of stretching to allow for holding large quantities of food. The trick was to look up and dangle a few of the live worms over her mouth and hope they went straight down.

An Orion woman placed her hand on Sirin's back. She jumped slightly and turned to investigate. It was Linu, her roommate. Half of a gagh wriggled its way out of her mouth and on to her leather chest plate. Linu smiled and snickered before saying, "I couldn't sleep and was going to ask to join you but you look like your almost done".

Sirin brushed the stray gagh off her chest and stood up on the table. "I'm going on watch. Foods alright," Sirin handed Linu her tray. "You can have the rest of this." Sirin handed Linu her plate. Only the worms remained.

"Thanks," Linu said sarcastically.

Sirin jumped down to the stool then the deck and walked out. She walked down the passagewayto her guard post just outside the doors to the food provisions store room. The storerooms were actually large cargo containers connected to the ship's hull. Despite the dim lighting aboard Klingon ships Sirin's solid black eyes allowed her to see everything around her far better than most species. She often had to look down to avoid direct light as she walked. It was unacceptable behavior on a Klingon ship but Sirin's sensitivity to light made looking up a difficult challenge.

Waiting for Sirin was a dopey looking Klingon by the name of Moroth. He had an uneven look to him. One arm shorter than the other, eyes not quite even, and recessed cranial ridges. The Klingon was scrawny and short with a slight hunch indicative of a spinal problem present since birth. The Klingon man also had a strange tendency to repeatedly lick his front teeth.

"You're e-e-early," Moroth said, speaking with a stutter.

"Linu was off-duty and I don't really have anything else to do," said Sirin.

"You g-get chow yet," he asked.

Sirin smiled up at him. It looked more like the haunting smile of a predatory monster about to sink its teeth into its prey. "I just ate and would like to take my station," she said.

Sirin understood that he was just trying to avoid going back to the berthing. The males onboard were all assigned to sleep in the main berthing while the women were assigned to the officer staterooms in pairs. Chances were Moroth was being ridiculed mercilessly by the men in the berthing. The teasing Sirin endured seemed more endearing rather than straight mockery. No one had yet to physically attack her like she had seen done to Moroth.

Moroth pulled the disruptor pistol from his holster. His grip on the weapon was awkward upon draw but he handled the weapon with practiced ease. He flipped the pistol around offering the pistol to Sirin handle first. The freighter had few weapons on board requiring the crew to share. If boarded the crew that didn't have any weapons were expected to fight hand-to-hand, but for normal operations the watch standers had to share their weapons with the oncoming watch.

Sirin grabbed the disruptor pistol from Moroth, it was a normal sized pistol but to Sirin it might as well have been a rifle. She placed the pistol in the holster on her armor's chest plate. The armor was standard issue for freighter crews operating for the Klingon Defense Force. It was mostly comprised of leather with chainmail underneath. The armor wasn't much good against Bat'leths or disrupters but the crew wasn't expected to fight either. They were mostly non-Klingon Bekk and common laborers tasked with resupplying ships along the Klingon-Romulan border. Moroth started to head off down the corridor when he stopped and suddenly turned around.

"Is something wrong," Sirin asked. She leaned against the bulkhead shifting weight to her left leg.

Moroth ran a hand through his long bushy hair. "Do y-you think I g-g-got a shot with Linu?" He asked.

"A shot, sure. She enjoys sex." Sirin pushed off from the bulkhead to avoid the appearance that she was mocking him. "If you're looking for marriage then you are better off looking elsewhere," said Sirin. She returned to leaning up against the bulkhead.

Moroth seemed to ponder what Sirin told him. Klingons traditionally sought marriage first over sex but there were exceptions. Sirin suspected that Moroth was looking for a wife when he asked about Linu. Given his deformities Moroth would likely never find a wife among Klingons. His only hope was among the alien races that served the Empire. She watched him walk down the passageway looking down both figuratively and literally.

Sirin continued to lean against the bulkhead. Her duty here was easy enough and would end around lunch. Sirin's mind began to wonder as she stood watch. She found herself daydreaming of a glorious battle. She wanted more than anything to be a Dehar Master some day and make her parents proud. Even just getting the chance to win a glorious battle would've made them proud. Sirin's parents were far more loving than they let on publically. Sirin knew that she would have their love and support even if she never got further than guarding cargo.

Sirin's thoughts were interrupted by the ship's intercom system. A distinctive click in the ship's intercom system could be heard anytime someone from the bridge was about to speak. The captain's voice filled the passageway. "We have just entered the Pheben system and will be awaiting the patrol fleet. All hands prepare the stores for transport."

The supply mission they were assigned, required the freighter spend several days transferring stores to ships patrolling the old Romulan Neutral Zone. The patrol flotilla consisted of ten ships that operated independently within communication range of each other. The ships would report to the freighter as they each reached the Pheben system leg of their patrol route. The crew was expected to remain in the system until completion of their mission. The mission was tedious for many of the crew but necessary.

The noise on the ship increased as the laborers and guards poured into the passageway. Eight laborers walked past Sirin on their way into the food provisions storeroom. Only the last man seemed to notice Sirin on guard. He smiled at her and attempted to place a hand on her head. Sirin pushed off the bulkhead with her back dodging the man's hand in the process. She couldn't stand the way the crew treated her. The teasing was bad enough but the attempts at affection were worse. She wanted to be a warrior not a pet.

The laborers assigned to her storeroom had been organizing the cargo for the last several hours when a Gorn male approached her. He was the next watch stander and like her had arrived early. "I am here as your relief," he said. He seemed irritated by something as he stood in front of Sirin. "Alright, I have nothing to report," Sirin said as she drew the disruptor pistol and handed it to him.

The Gorn took the weapon, no bigger than a toy in his hand, and moved over to the bulkhead leaning against it. Sirin was still standing near the bulkhead and was now right below his crotch. She tried not to let the insult get the better of her as she walked away. If the Gorn attempted something more insulting Sirin made a note to find what he had between his legs and remove it. Sirin's thoughts were interrupted by another announcement played over the ship's intercom, it was the captain.

"The B'Rolg is moving into transporter range. Have the stores tagged and ready." Captain Krav shouted as though to be heard without the aid of the intercom. His voice was emotionless despite its volume. The speakers on the ship raddled with every word as though they might blow at any moment.

Sirin headed back to her quarters. She had to dodge several laborers along the way. They either didn't see her or didn't think they needed to give her any courtesy. Sirin stepped into her shared quarters and began stripping off her armor. Linu was asleep on the only furniture in the room, the one metal slab of a bed. Sirin climbed up the slab and found an area by Linu's feet. She took a seat on the bed and folded her legs in. She would meditate until lunch. With the 1st ship of the patrol in the process of receiving stores, Sirin felt that the mission was already on its way to completion.

Day 14

With little to do but wait, daily life on the freighter had changed. Sirin had spent most of the day running drills with the rest of the crew. Dehar Master Krav had put the crew through hell with several battle and damage control drills along with four boarding drills. He seemed to ride the laborers the hardest. The crew had still managed to make an enjoyable day of it. Sirin had heard quite a bit of laughter throughout the ship. Even Moroth seemed to be in higher spirits after sparring with Krav. Sirin had wanted to join in the sparring matches as well but Krav had simply said that she was too small for him to teach. Instead, he had instructed that Sirin be permitted to carry a disrupter pistol at all times. Krav was babying her the way the rest of the crew was.

Sirin was in her quarters when Krav made the announcement that the whole crew except watch standers meet in Krav's quarters for a drink. Sirin exited her quarters to find the bulk of the crew all heading forward to the front of the ship. Sirin quickly wormed her way into the crowd and followed. A Nausicaan male walking behind her jumped and his buddies laughed. "I thought it was a vole," he exclaimed.

Sirin didn't dignify the remark with a response and the men behind her continued their conversation. "She isn't that small," said a Lethean.

"I didn't think voles could frighten you especially in a crowd of warriors like this," said another Nausicaan as he gestured at the crew in front of them. The first Nausicaan grabbed the other two men by their groins and squeezed causing the two to double over as they continued their walk. The three men laughed as they exchanged some quick strikes to each other's bodies. The Lethean caught a chop to his neck by one of the Nausicaans ending the jocular brawling with the sound of hoarse coughing. The Nausicaan responsible for the assault managed to restrain his laughter only slightly, clearly satisfied with his work.

Sirin had wanted to talk back to the crew for most of the journey. She just couldn't think of anything good to say for many of the situations she was in. She figured that for most of the situations she would simply be seen as a whining child if she spoke up. Sirin couldn't help but say something now. "Are the three of you so desperate for a conquest that you must seek it from each other?"

The three men stopped dead in their tracks, as did several of the men in front of Sirin. The men on either side of her also halted and stared. All eyes were on her. Some seemed angry but most were staring in indifference or smiling at her. The lead Nausicaan finally spoke. "Are you jealous?" he asked.

Some of the crowd seemed puzzled by his comment. The Lethean added, "Are you willing to service us and relieve our frustrations?"

"What's a matter Sav, you haven't been getting any this trip," bellowed a Gorn. The passageway filled with the hearty laughter of a dozen men.

Sav, the Lethean, looked around the group before playfully shouting, "she is the perfect size for what I have in mind. Just flip her upside down and pow!" Sav made a vulgar motion of holding a little person's legs up at shoulder level while thrusting his hips into the air. He finished the gesture by getting closer to Sirin. Sav was shorter than most of the crew but still Sirin's head only reached just above his knees.

"There is a problem with your idea Sav," Sirin said as she opened her mouth in a large grin. The group moved in to see what Sirin was showing them as she moved her head around for all to see. In her small mouth were rows of razor sharp teeth. The group began laughing again with some cringing at the thought of their members being sawed off by her teeth. Moroth broke up the group. "We better get up there, Krav is growing impatient," Moroth said with a bit of worry in his voice. The group quickly made their way up to Krav's quarters.

Inside Krav's quarters was the original galley for their freighter. It still had the benches and tables in place for the crew to sit and eat. Krav motioned the stragglers to take their seats from his perch at a throne in the center of the room. Dehar Master Krav was an elderly fat Klingon with long white hair. He had wrinkles that blended with old battle scars further aging his face. Despite his age he still carried himself as a deadly warrior full of confidence.

The frail looking Klingon cook passed out mugs of blood wine to each of the seated crew members. She moved quick and quietly so as not to disturb the crew or distract the captain. Once everyone had a mug Krav stood from his throne placed in the center of the room. He looked at Sirin, perched on a table next to Linu. A look of confusion seemed to wash over him for a quick moment before he returned to his usual stern expression.

Krav raised his mug, "you may not consider yourselves as warriors or even as soldiers but here you all sit."- Krav widened his smile to a large grin- "You may all be from different planets yet here you all sit." Krav's voice grew louder as he continued, "while you are here you are all brothers and sisters in the empire. If battle finds us we will all earn our way into Sto'Vo'Kor!" Krav raised his mug higher, as did everyone else in a toast. Krav then threw his head back with the mug downing the contents within one large gulp.

Sirin had raised her mug like the others using both her arms to lift it. Krav belched loudly as some of the other members of the crew finished off their mugs or set them down to sip from later. Sirin drank from her mug as the rest of the crew did. Some of her blood wine ran from her mouth, down her neck and into her armor. She was unable to swallow the whole mug full before nearly pitching backward.

Krav began singing of a past battle as the cook replaced his empty mug. Some of the Klingons in the room joined in while several of the non-Klingons did their best to sing along. Most of the crew simply hummed the tune. Sirin watched the spectacle with a sense of pride as the Dehar Master re-enacted certain parts of the battle as he sang. She finished her first mug as Krav finished the song.

The evening's event continued for several hours. Krav continued to sing and tell stories of his past deeds. The crew sat in awe over many of the stories he told. It was natural for Klingon warriors to be boastful and exaggerate the truth a little while telling their stories and Krav had been drinking heavily throughout, as had many of the crew. Still the stories stayed grounded to reality for the most part.

Krav Began reenacting a personal battle from the dominion war between himself and a Jem'Hadar soldier. He had enlisted the help of a highly intoxicated Lethean as he pulled his Mek'Leth from his belt. "I ripped his rifle from his hands and pulled my Mek'Leth from my belt!" Krav Roared. "The soldier wrapped his hands around my neck…" Krav motioned for the Lethean to place his hands on his neck, "and forced me against a tree." Krav paused for a second as though confused before continuing the tale. "I raised my weapon and used it to wrench myself free from his grasp…" Krav made a slow careful gesture with his weapon signaling the Lethean to let him go, "before bringing my weapon down on his head," Krav Bellowed.

"Killed him instantly," Krav said. He stared at the Lethean until the man realized that Krav wanted him to fall. The Lethean gripped his head and fell to the ground screaming and flailing his legs. "Ah, well, something like that," Krav said. He took a long bow as the Lethean shot up to his feet, bowed, and then promptly lost consciousness. The Lethean collapsed onto the deck hard.

Sirin watched Krav recover from his bow dizzily while the crowd laughed and cheered over the spectacle. Krav stumbled over to Sirin's table and grabbed another mug of blood wine. It had belonged to a Nausicaan man that was now slumped over the table. Krav looked at Sirin as he chugged the mug's contents. "What are you doing here little one?" He asked. Krav seemed confused again and the question caught the attention of several crewmembers that were still conscious.

"What do you mean Dehar Master Krav?" Sirin stiffened defensively. "I'm a member of the crew," she said.

Krav stared at her for a second before looking around. He seemed more confused than a moment before. "How old are you child?" He asked.

Sirin now looked at the rest of the crew. She wasn't sure if Krav was testing her or if he had suddenly turned senile. The concerned looks from the crew offered no help. "I'm the standard Klingon age for my posting and physically mature as cleared by a doctor by four years," Sirin said. Sirin was the proper age for a young Klingon warrior to serve aboard ships but due to her size a Klingon doctor had to run tests to determine her physical maturity. The doctor ultimately determined that Sirin was physically over the required age by four years.

Krav seemed to mull over what she had said. He reached out to her with his right hand, running it over her short black hair. He folded her triangular left ear in his hand before dropping his arm. Sirin could see tears welling up in his eyes before he looked up toward the rest of the crew. "I'm getting too old. Memories play tricks on you…" Krav looked back at Sirin, "Yes, little warrior, you are a member of this crew. I just saw someone else for a moment."

Krav walked over toward what had been the freighter's original kitchen, now Krav's bedchamber. He pulled the door to the chamber open and half turned toward the crew. "We have another ship coming in four hours. Feel free to finish my wine and enjoy each other's company. This old fool is turning in for the night," Krav said as he entered his bedchamber and shut the door behind him.

The room quickly grew loud again with stories and laughter from the crew. Sirin's table remained quiet. Several of the table's occupants were passed out from drink but three of them including Sirin sat quietly. They were all likely thinking the same thing. Klingon's didn't easily succumb to inebriation despite how strong blood wine tended to be and they all saw Krav's lapse of memory and sudden confusion. Sirin finished off her mug while entertaining the idea that Krav may not be mentally competent to lead the mission.

Day 17

Over the last two days half of the patrol ships the freighter was to replenish had been served bringing the mission closer to completion. The holds where emptied of their contents freeing up more space for sparring sessions among the crew. Krav had maintained the training regimen for the crew ever since they arrived in system. No one spoke of Krav's behavior at the end of the party. Nobody aboard the freighter had seen any confusion or lapse of memory from Krav since the party two nights before but they did notice that Krav took to drinking while on duty.

Sirin, Moroth, Linu, and Sav all stood at attention in the back of the bridge waiting to be addressed by their commander. The bridge was an old warbird style that had been sliced out of an old B'rel class Bird-of-Prey. The bridge had the standard configuration for the B'rel. The captain's chair was raised up in the center of the room with most of the stations in the pit facing the front and sides. Two additional stations were level with the captain's chair and were positioned just past the chair's sides near the entry to the bridge.

Cheg'u, the first officer, rose from his chair and looked the four Bekk up and down for a moment. Cheg'u had grudgingly accepted the temporary reduction of rank to 1st officer as part of an arrangement made for Krav to command a final mission. He was a veteran freighter captain with no military experience. There was little honor in his profession but his occupation still did service to his house. Cheg'u finally spoke.

"Krav would like the four of you to get time working on the bridge. Personally I don't see the point. The four of you are signed on as guards. What need do any of you have with operating a freighter? " Cheg'u spat the question out with clear agitation in his voice.

Sirin and the other three stood silent for a full minute before Moroth spoke up. "We are w-warriors for the e-em-empire. We may n-need to take c-control if the b-b-bridge crew is hurt," Moroth said. He managed to look his 1st officer in the eyes as he spoke but Moroth's stutter had increased. It was a clear sign he was nervous.

Cheg'u moved closer to Moroth and asked, "What good are you if you can't speak?" Cheg'u wore an expression of amused fury. The older Klingon was daring Moroth to challenge him. He looked as though he would strike the younger Klingon at the first sign of trouble. It was an odd display from a civilian captain.

Moroth stood silent. His eyes never wavered as he stared at the older Klingon. His hands were balled into fists ready to strike. His whole body shook and shivered with barely contained rage. His emotions in check, Moroth continued to stare daggers at the man.

A minute of silence was broken by Cheg'u. "It's what I thought. You're useless on my bridge. Better you die protecting the bridge than trying to fly the ship," he spat. The sound of boots clopping onto the deck in an uneven rhythm caught Cheg'u's gaze. His eyes drifted upwards to the doors leading off the bridge.

Krav entered the bridge with a half empty bottle of blood wine and looked at the five crewmembers standing on the bridge. He took a swig of reddish liquid before speaking. "Is there a problem with our warriors?" He asked. He managed to suppress a hiccup after the question only to belch loud enough to carry the sound across the bridge.

Cheg'u looked at Krav as though he wished to challenge the elder Klingon but only let out a sigh. "One of these warriors can barely speak," Cheg'u pointed to Moroth- "and this one can barely reach the controls," he pointed at Sirin. "I will run the drill captain, but I still think we are wasting our time," Cheg'u said. Cheg'u wore an expression of utter defeat.

"Our time to waste," Krav said as he slapped Cheg'u on his right shoulder and let out a snort. Krav stepped up to the captain's chair but didn't sit down. Instead, he stood behind and to the right of the chair. "Cheg'u, you're in command of this group," Krav said. Cheg'u moved to the chair and sat down. "Bridge crew you stand relieved. Drill crew, take your stations," Krav bellowed.

The bridge crew quietly stood and left the bridge in a well-practiced and professional manner. Sirin moved quickly over to the tactical station behind and to the right of the command chair. The console sat lower than the others. It was the only station she could reach when standing on the chair. Moroth headed to the front of the bridge with Linu. They took the Helm and the Ops stations respectfully. Sav moved to the engineering station to the left of the command chair.

Krav pushed a button on the captain's chair triggering the ship's intercom. "We are going to commence the battle drill now. All non-participating personnel stay clear of the bridge," Krav said. He looked up at the ceiling and called out to the freighter's computer, "computer start battle scenario one, four, two, alpha." The computer acknowledged his commands with a series of dull chirps.

Cheg'u punched in a few commands into the controls on his chair. The commands were a message to the helm ordering a set course for Moroth to execute. Moroth was a bit slow with the controls. He struggled to remove the message that was taking up a quarter of the screen. After eliminating the message screen Moroth managed to execute the course without further trouble. The freighter didn't actually move from its position but the viewscreen reflected their change in course and heading.

Sirin watched the sensors on her station. She was eager to see what the computer was going to throw at them. The sound of someone drinking liquid brought Sirin's attention to Krav. He had finished the blood wine in one last gulp. Krav looked at Sirin while throwing the empty bottle over his shoulder. The bottled shattered on the bulkhead near the door startling Sirin.

Sirin was suddenly alerted by an alarm at her station to something on sensors. She checked the alarm and called up the data. The sensors showed a wide array of information on the ship quickly approaching at full impulse. Sirin spoke from her console, "captain, there is a ship on an intercept course. Readings identify the ship as a Cardassian Galor class type III."

"Helm, slow us to one quarter impulse. Ops, engage the cloak," Cheg'u said. He turned to Sav. "Monitor our engine emissions." Cheg'u spoke with a loud, clear, and calm voice despite the fact that a Galor class vessel of any type could easily gut their freighter.

The tension in the bridge started to climb as Sirin watched the Cardassian ship on sensors. Its shields and weapons were powered and the ship was using its active targeting sensors looking for the smallest discrepancy in the star field. The ship was heading toward their last known position at one quarter impulse power. It was unknowingly on a direct collision course for the freighter. Sirin punched in a few commands into her console. She was programming courses of fire to be carried out once the order was given. Targeting the enemy with the sensors now would likely alert them to the freighter's location.

"Helm, use maneuvering thrusters to nudge us down 20 degrees just below the Cardassians," Cheg'u said. He leaned forward awaiting the course correction. Moroth turned to Cheg'u at the captain's chair and asked, "What do you mean"? Cheg'u stood in panic and shouted, "Fire the dorsal thrusters until we're clear of the ship"! Moroth quickly fired the thrusters at full power. Sirin watched as the freighter barely cleared the enemy vessel on her console's sensors.

"Captain, the thruster emissions have destabilized the cloaking field," Sav shouted. His fingers danced over the controls at his station. "Confirmed, they've seen us," Linu shouted from ops. Her eyes widened at something on her console. "Sir, they are hailing us. Should I answer it," Linu asked.

Cheg'u seemed furious but managed to keep his rage in check. "No, that will give away our position. Helm, change course to zero, four, five, mark, five, five and keep the thrusters below sixty percent output," Cheg'u said. He opened a panel on the starboard side armrest of the command chair to monitor the helm. He shut it once he saw that Moroth was carrying out the instructions without issue.

Sirin watched her sensors as Moroth worked his controls, changing their course. The passive sensors picked up an increase in energy to the enemy disrupters, a clear sign the ship was about to fire. "They're firing," Sirin shouted. The Cardassian vessel had opened fire where they had been previously. "The shot missed by 40 kellicams," Sirin said.

"Helm, change course by 12 degress," Cheg'u said nervously. He was once again leaning forward. Moroth seemed to understand what Cheg'u meant this time and put in the proper course correction.

"They're firing again. Two banks and one torpedo," Sirin shouted again. It was another miss. Sirin watched the torpedo come within 8 kellicams of the ship before it detonated over 50 kellicams from their new heading. The torpedo's detonation produced a shockwave that lightly rocked the freighter fore and aft.

Cheg'u continued the cat and mouse game with the Cardassian vessel for a full hour. The freighter had no chance in a direct fight with a military vessel as powerful as the Galor class type 3. It was clear to Sirin that Cheg'u wasn't interested in attacking a vessel he couldn't beat. She looked up from her console at Krav. He was standing near a console usually relegated to cargo loading operations. He had been inching toward it in the last half hour. Krav seem to punch in a list of commands that Sirin couldn't quite see.

Linu suddenly shouted from her console, "Sir! The cloak has fallen." She spun around to look at Cheg'u. She was clearly confused by the sudden failure. "Confirmed, the power suddenly fluctuated causing an overload," Sav said. He feverishly worked his controls in an effort to restore the cloak.

Cheg'u's anger seemed to flare up. He spun his chair around to look at Krav. The older Klingon said nothing as a grin formed over his face. Cheg'u spun the chair back around and shouted to the crew. "Forget the cloak. Charge all weapons. Moroth, bring us about two, zero, zero, mark, one, nine, three."

Sirin struggled to charge the disruptor cannons to full power. The cannons were old and required time to charge. The one torpedo launcher two decks below the bridge, powered on immediately. Sirin used the targeting sensors to identify weak points on the Cardassian vessel. She expected a command to target a specific system but Cheg'u had something else in mind. "Sirin, don't wait for my order, fire at will. Moroth, set a collision course for the ship, full impulse."

Sirin targeted the enemy ship's main engine room and fired the cannons. She followed it up with a torpedo. Both did no damage. The freighter rocked violently. Linu started to give a damage report before a chime marked the end of the simulation. Krav stood tall behind the captain's chair. He chuckled at their misfortune.

"Congratulations, you all died with honor," Krav said in a mocking tone. "If you had allowed the simulation to continue we would have escaped, the simulation would have been beaten." Cheg'u said with barely contained fury. "If I had allowed the simulation to continue I would have died of boredom, Captain." Krav smiled at the man staring into his face. It was a challenge. The drill crew watched the exchange between their superiors.

"Klingons fight to the death, Cheg'u. They don't run from battle. Yes, you would have got the ship to safety but it's good to remember that even you can gain honor in battle." Cheg'u relaxed a bit shifting his gaze away from the elder Klingon. It was an act of submission. "I had that simulation defeated. Changing the parameters doesn't change it," Cheg'u said.

"Your right Cheg'u, you defeated the simulation, with the four of them," Said Krav pointing at the crew. "The vary warriors you called useless helped you avoid the enemy. Not so useless now are they?" Krav was smiling as he toggled the freighters intercom calling the bridge crew to have them return to duty. Krav looked around wearing a grin as he looked into the eyes of each of the warriors on the bridge.

Cheg'u left the bridge as Krav moved to the command chair. Sirin watched as Linu, Sav, and Moroth left their stations. They were replaced by the oncoming bridge crew. Sirin got up to leave when she realized that the weapon station officer was standing behind her. Sirin's solid jet black eyes met Krav's gaze for a moment. The older Klingon appeared to have tears in his eyes as he looked at her. Krav quickly looked away. Sirin left the bridge wondering if Krav was having another episode like what had happened at the evening party a few nights ago but it wasn't her place to say anything regarding the issue.

Day 22

Sirin stood up against the bulkhead near the live food supply container module. She was tapping her foot to the melody of an old Klingon opera she was singing in her head when six of the freighter's laborers walked toward her. The process had been the same each time a patrol ship approached. The module was opened and the laborers divided up the cargo for the arriving ship. This particular container module was divided into two sections with barrels loaded on the top deck and targ loaded on the bottom deck. The barrels were filled with the various worm creatures the Klingon's loved to eat. Keeping the targ housed below kept the animals from contaminating the barrels with their leavings.

When the door opened Sirin grew queasy from the smell of ammonia and fresh feces. The air recycler had started to fail in the container and the laborers, despite their best efforts, couldn't clean the stench out of the module. The decision had been made to ignore the air problem given that the last two patrol ships were due to arrive in just a few hours. The problem wasn't deadly. Oxygen still pumped into the cargo module, it just didn't get cycled and cleaned. Sirin made an effort to ignore the stench and act as though nothing was wrong, but the faces on the laborers told her that they envied her job.

Sirin heard Krav's voice over the freighter's intercom announce that the next patrol ship was coming in. Sirin moved to the door panel near her and punched in a command to access the ship's chronometer. She had an hour left before the end of her watch. Half the Targs in the module suddenly dematerialized along with four barrels of Gagh. The replenishment process was usually a quick one with the transporter operator on the patrol ship beaming off the supplies marked for transport by the laborers. Sirin continued to stand in silence when Krav made the announcement that the patrol vessel was departing.

A few minutes later all six of the laborers left the module. There really wasn't anything left for them to do with the last patrol vessel set to take the remaining cargo. One of them stopped and looked at Sirin. He was a scrawny Klingon male that Sirin had met when she had first come aboard. He had helped her get situated onboard. Sirin was a bit embarrassed as she couldn't recall his name. The Klingon's family no doubt all served as common laborers for one of the houses.

"Sirin, can I ask you something?" Sirin nodded at the man. "Sure, what is it," she asked. Sirin left a bit of anger in her voice expecting the man to crack a joke at her expense. The Klingon stood with no semblance of confidence, his shoulders sagged and his head held down with his eyes averted. "After this job is done I'm getting posted to my uncle's freighter. We are moving supplies to the Klingon Federation Front. I was wondering if you would like to join me."

The Klingon looked up at her with a friendly yet nervous grin. Sirin didn't know what to say. She wasn't expecting to get a job offer from a laborer. Given his demeanor Sirin figured he was also asking because he wanted to pursue a relationship with her. Sirin pretended to mull it over before declining his offer.

The job could have been a benefit to her career but she didn't want to deal with the drama that would come from rejecting a man that got her a job. If she were to have any chance at being an honored warrior, Sirin needed to walk her own path. She needed to blaze a trail so bright that the empire would ignore the fact she wasn't Klingon. Rejected, the laborer walked down the passageway to join his co-workers. He seemed unfazed by her rejection.

Sirin was 30 minutes away from the end of her watch when the Freighter's tactical alarm sounded. Seven laborers ran past her heading for the berthing. It was unclear to Sirin if they were going to hide or grab weapons they had in the berthing. Sirin continued to wait at her post. According to the freighter's watch stander's guide, she wasn't to move from her station unless relieved by a superior. In her case the superiors permitted to relieve her were all on the bridge. She almost thought they were in the middle of a ship wide drill until the entire freighter shuttered violently. Sirin had never been on a ship under attack before. She couldn't help but wonder if the power conduits behind the bulkheads and under the deck might explode in the next shot.

A second shutter went through the ship followed by another. Sirin felt the gravity fluctuate for an instant. She watched as another group of laborers ran past. No doubt it was the laborers in the container nearest to the bridge. Sirin attempted to call out to them but they had no hope of hearing her as the ship shuttered violently a fourth time. A section of the bulkhead several meters forward of her position erupted with lightning and the smell of burning wires. Lighting from the holographic wall scones flickered and died. Sirin noticed the ship's red emergency lighting for the first time since the battle began.

"Warriors and crew, prepare for combat! Our shields are down and the enemy is closing to transporter range." Cheg'u announced over the intercom.

Sirin drew her disrupter pistol from its holster and powered it on. The distinctive sound of matter and molecules coalescing in the passageway gave Sirin all the warning she needed. She began firing as an environmental suited figure materialized right in front of her. The figure's back was turned toward her. The individual had no time to react as three disrupter charges tore through its belly and chest. The figure sank to the deck as two more figures turned with weapons drawn to fire. Sirin ran to the door control for the live food supply container and quickly jumped and pressed the control to open it. Three shots of energy tore into the bulkhead and deck around her. As Sirin dove into the supply room the ship shuttered again. The shuttering this time accompanied the emergency lighting and the freighter's gravity plating shutting down. Sirin, no longer tied to the force of gravity, flew far into the container. As she hit the far bulkhead at the end of the container module, Sirin kicked up toward the second level and grabbed onto a barrel of gagh.

The sounds of frightened targ were the only sounds Sirin could hear. She realized that the ship was now completely without power. Given her attackers choice in attire, taking out the ship's life support systems was clearly planned from the beginning. Klingon warriors had many advantages over most other species. Killing the power and life support systems would no doubt tip the scale.

Sirin was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of disrupters and feral screams filling the compartment. The compartment finally went silent after the boarders had killed the remaining targ, their bodies tumbled aimlessly about the compartment. Sirin had done her best to shield her eyes from the blinding light of the disruptors. Her eyes were already adjusted to the absence of light but she didn't doubt that the environmental suits worn by her enemy granted the same ability. She listened to the footsteps of her enemy as they moved to either side of the cargo area. The enemy was splitting up to flank Sirin from two sides. They were intending to trap her.

Sirin pushed herself out from cover in a sort of lunge toward the direction of the enemy on her right and fired several shots. She squeezed the trigger several times as fast as she could then she pulled her body back behind the barrel of gagh. Her aim was shaky but two shots found their mark. One shot struck the enemy's rifle and another struck the faceplate shattering the transparent material and flash boiling her victim's head. The body crashed to the deck before bouncing and hitting the nearby bulkhead.

Sirin didn't wait for her other opponent to fire before kicking off the supply barrel with all her strength. A disrupter bolt flew past her head as she flew up to the ceiling contorting her body to allow herself the ability to kick off in the direction of the remaining enemy. A second shot struck the ceiling near her feet as she kicked off. Sirin aimed her disrupter and began firing at her opponent. As one of her four shots struck her enemy in the neck a third disrupter bolt rushed past her face momentarily blinding her. The boarder struck the deck in two pieces the head shooting off toward the far bulkhead and the body bouncing off the deck. Sirin, still blinded by the disrupter bolt, collided with her attacker's body in a grim yet comical display of clumsiness. She had to reach out with her long fingers to grab the deck's grating so she could bring herself to a stop on the deck.

Sirin stripped the boots off her attacker and pulled them over her own booted feet. The boots were far too large for her feet even with her boots on but they would keep her grounded to the deck while she searched the dead body floating next to her. Sirin took hard clumsy steps over to the body's chest. Each step nearly had her pull each of her feet out of the mag boots. Sirin bent over to get closer to the exposed neck.

Sirin noticed the sound of disrupter fire in the distance had died out as she peered at the neck of one of her attackers. The wound caused by the disrupter was only partially cauterized. Sirin could see green blood bubbling out of the back of the neck despite the total darkness. "No doubt the attackers where Romulan," she thought. Sirin backed away from the Romulan corpse.

The Romulans hadn't been much of a threat since the Hobus supernova. The Romulan Star Empire had fractured in chaos. They divided into multiple factions with infighting being frequent. Which faction attacked them didn't matter to Sirin. She hopped out of the boots and kicked off them to exit the cargo storeroom.

Sirin drifted into the passageway. She curled into a ball pulling her arms and legs in to her chest. "With any luck I should hit the far bulkhead without anyone noticing I am a threat," she thought. Sirin collided with the bulkhead using her arms to absorb the impact. She quickly scanned the main passageway before kicking off in a new direction. Her new priority was to reach the bridge and determine if the captain was still alive.

Sirin shot out like a bullet between the opposite sides of the passageway. Her small light body allowed her to bounce around toward the bridge as though she were a piece of debris someone haphazardly bounced off the walls. She made good progress reaching the forward section of the freighter without anyone seeing her. Sirin aimed for a ladderwell near the access to the bridge. As she entered the vestibule near the ladderwell she slammed into the chest of a Romulan.

Sirin immediately grabbed for her disrupter pistol. The Romulan grabbed her arms trapping them against her body and keeping her from drawing her pistol. Sirin had no leverage. She couldn't touch the ground and the lack of gravity kept her weightless and easy to manage. She could see the Romulan man through the faceplate. He was saying something, likely alerting the rest of his team that she was found.

The Romulan started walking toward the bridge with Sirin still in his hands. Sirin attempted to kick out toward his chest but the kicking from her legs wasn't hitting with enough force to dislodge her from his grip. The Romulan spun her around to face the door to the bridge. Sirin used the opportunity of the Romulan's shifting hands to get an arm free. She drew the pistol holstered at her chest only for the man to pull it out of her grip using both hands. With no height to brace, gravity to weigh her down, or momentum to carry her away, Sirin was helpless. To her surprise once he snatched her pistol, he simply rotated her back to face the door and secured her with both hands before walking toward the bridge.

The door parted as though the ship's power systems were working but as Sirin and her captor entered the bridge she saw that the door had been opened by hand from the inside by another Romulan. Once inside Sirin looked around the bridge. Romulans had taken the bridge and were working at the consoles attempting to restore power. As dark as the ship was Sirin was surprised that the emergency power was still working on the bridge. The bridge crew lay dead near their stations, all except Dahar Master Krav who appeared to be missing. A Romulan stood at the command chair staring at the viewscreen. The screen was dark.

The Romulan at the command chair turned toward Sirin. He spun the chair to face her. In the chair sat Cheg'u. He was slumped over with a burn spot at the center of his chest. Sirin understood he was dead, likely from a Romulan disruptor. The Romulan adjusted a control on his suit's left arm control then looked at Sirin. "We are taking command of this vessel. What I need is your cooperation in order to restore power to the ship. In exchange for your life, will you help?" The Romulan's voice poured from his environment suit's external speakers with the well-crafted false sincerity worthy of a Romulan interrogator.

Sirin was left floating in the air at chest level of the Romulan that was now moving over to join a technician messing with the engineering console. "I can't help you restore power. I'm a guard not an engineer," Sirin said. "You can still help us another way," the Romulan commander said. The commander switched off his external speakers and started talking to someone on the suit's internal communications system. He switched his external speakers back on, "you're going for a little trip to the back," as he finished talking a Romulan standing near the door grabbed Sirin and turned for the door.

Sirin found that as she was carried through the passageway other Romulans came up through the vestibules and fell in line ahead of her and the Romulan carrying her. Their bodies pushed metal, dirt, and other debris further down the passageway as they moved. Sirin could hear more boots coming up behind her from the cargo storage modules as they neared the berthing. Lights on the rifles of the new group wobbled and danced doing nothing to hide their numbers. Sirin counted a total of seven Romulans around her as she was escorted to the berthing.

In the berthing several members of the crew lay dead or floated limp about the berthing space. Sirin could see Sav floating limp in the back corner with the bodies of a few others. The laborer Sirin spoke to before the freighter was attacked had been shot and was lodged head first among some racks. Sirin was shocked to see that several members of the crew were still alive. They had been put in the center of the berthing. They were all on their knees doing their best not to float around. They were guarded by three armed Romulans.

Sirin didn't see Linu until the Romulan team that had brought her in fanned out around the room. One of the guards had stripped off Linu's armor and uniform top. They had chained Linu's wrists to an overhead support bar and her ankles were chained to table legs bolted to the deck. Sirin could see they had been interrogating her for something. Blood floated about her body and she was covered in bruises and cuts.

The Romulan holding Sirin switched on his external speakers, "I need the locking code for the engineering section and I need it now!" The Romulan held Sirin up to allow everyone to see her. "If no one speaks I will gut this little thing in front of all of you," he exclaimed. The Romulan shifted his body at the waist to wave Sirin back and forth for all to see as though he was presenting a trophy. He then lowered her to waist level and watched to see who would speak first.

Moroth looked up at Sirin. He seemed horrified at the notion of the little alien being gutted. Linu also had a similar expression. No one spoke. The Romulan carrying Sirin walked over to the table Linu's feet were chained to and placed Sirin above the table. Sirin attempted to move away but without any momentum or the ability to kick off from anything she was trapped. Another Romulan stepped over and handed his colleague a d'k'tahg. Sirin's captor raised the weapon with the intent to plunge the blade into Sirin's belly.

"W-Wait, I don't know the c-code, but h-he does!" Moroth was frantic and pointed at a well-built Nausicaan. The Nausicaan stared daggers at Moroth. "I'm sorry but she's the only person on this ship that never criticized me," Moroth whimpered. He looked down at the deck, ready to accept any punishment the nausicaan could manage to dole out.

The Romulan with the d'k tahg motioned for two soldiers from his team to grab the Nausicaan that Moroth had pointed out. The Nausicaan was quickly carried away by the two heavily armed soldiers. "Moroth, is it? I appreciate your help in fixing our problem but I'm afraid I need to set an example for the rest of the crew." The Romulan spoke in a calm and emotionless demeanor.

Sirin watched the Romulan lift the Klingon dagger. He thrusted toward her with the blade leveled at Sirin's belly. She immediately shifted her body aiming her legs at the incoming attack. Sirin kicked her legs out as hard as she could connecting with the Romulan's wrist with one foot and his fingers with the other. The motioned crunched the man's hand causing him to let go of the blade.

The kick shot Sirin past the rows of racks to the back wall. She twisted her body around hitting the wall with her feet. Sirin used her legs to push off the wall and take up position behind one of the racks. She looked around the berthing for a weapon but the place had been policed well. She didn't hear the order given but could hear the boots of four Romulans advancing on her position. Sirin didn't know what to do, she was unarmed and outgunned.

"Listen to me carefully little one. If you don't surrender I will order the rest of my men to kill your friends." The voice of the Romulan sounded only slightly pained as he spoke through clenched teeth. The anger in his voice was enough for Sirin to consider that he would kill them all regardless. She heard the other Romulans approach the group. As the four pairs of boots advanced on her position Sirin scrunched down as low as she could and waited.

Something suddenly panicked the lead Romulan. He had forgotten to shut off his external speakers as he screamed. "What is going on! Answer me!" The lead Romulan turned to his team at the back, "I need two of you to check on engineering, hurry". The two Romulans at the door to the berthing turned and ran toward engineering.

Sirin saw the Romulan nearest to her before he saw her. She pushed off as hard as she could from the floor and slammed into the man pinning his disrupter rifle to his chest before grabbing it and kicking off with her legs. Her species had reinforced leg muscles with dense bones. She heard the scream as she tore the rifle from the man's grip, no doubt breaking a few of his fingers. Sirin flipped the rifle in flight and fired a shot center mass. The Romulan died instantly as the energy bolt pierced his suit and entered his body disrupting the molecular bonds of his vital organs. The body fell backwards bending at the knees, the mag boots still stuck to the floor kept the man from flying off.

Sirin flew toward a second attacker on the opposite side of the room. He quickly fired two shots which missed by only centimeters as Sirin flipped the rifle up and fired again. She hit her second target in the chest before colliding with his body. The Romulan corpse folded at the knees. Sirin held onto the man's environment suit riding the body until the helmet struck the deck. Sirin turned and grabbed the nearest rack sandwiching herself between the rack and the Romulan corpse.

Sirin quickly surveyed the space around her. She never saw the shots fired by the two Romulans advancing up the middle of the room but Sirin did see the charred marks on the wall level with where she had just flown by. She had nearly been killed from two angles. Sirin felt a wave of excitement and adrenaline wash over her at the sight of the charred bulkhead. She found herself fortunate that the Romulans were poor shots.

"I killed two of your men pataq," Sirin shouted from cover.

"For that, the whole crew will die." The Romulan seemed to be overcome with rage. "Centurion," The leader signaled the man behind him, "Kill them." He raised his own weapon and turned to fire.

"Today is a g-good day to d-die," Moroth shouted as he sprang up toward the centurion. The centurion fired two shots, both struck Moroth center mass. Moroth's dead body still managed to collide with the centurion giving the other members of the crew time to scatter. A Gorn warrior managed to bite down on the Romulan leader's left shoulder as the man fired his rifle several times into the Gorn's belly. The Gorn went limp with the Romulan's shoulder still in his teeth. The two drifted toward the nearby bulkhead as the Romulan leader struggled to get free of the Gorn's death grip.

The scattering crew started taking fire from the two remaining Romulans that had been hunting for Sirin. Sirin darted out from behind cover and fired her rifle at the two closest Romulans. She got off five shots before taking cover again. The sound of an exploding tank confirmed that Sirin had hit one of the Romulans. His air tank and power pack had been struck causing the explosion. The Romulan quickly removed his helmet and stepped quickly into cover. The berthing erupted into further chaos with the sounds of multiple shots from several rifles, various individuals screaming, and the shouting of several members of the freighter crew. The sounds of battle filling the room quickly grew quiet.

"Sirin, are you still alive?" The voice was raspy but familiar. Sirin dove through the racks using just enough force to glide through to where Linu was chained up. She lightly collided with Linu's right hip. "Hold me, I'll get the chains off," Sirin said. Linu quickly bent her knees raising her knees as high as the chains allowed and grabbed Sirin with her thighs. Sirin raised the rifle and shot the chains off Linu's wrists. As the two drifted backward Sirin aimed for the chains around Linu's ankles and fired. The cuffs would remain until they could properly remove them. A klingon laborer handed Linu a pullover shirt from one of the foot lockers to wear.

Sirin took a look around the room, there were more dead bodies floating around then before. Only a handful of the crew seemed to remain. The remaining crew deactivated the lights on their newly obtained disrupter rifles to conceal themselves. Sirin made her way over to the group. "We need to find Krav," Sirin said.

"What about engineering?" One of the Lethean engineers had poked his face out between two Nausicaans to ask the question. A Gorn moved closer to Sirin and the others. "We can't fight effectively without gravity or lighting," he hissed. "I can see in the dark and I'm small enough to move about effectively in the passageways," said Sirin. Her home planet according to her father was a rogue planet freely traveling outside a star system. Light on the planet was generated by distant celestial phenomena. As a result most animal species on her planet had developed eyes capable of thermal imaging in the absence of light yet still possessed the ability to see in the same way most species serving the Empire did, with low tolerance of bright light of course.

"I'll head out to find Krav and get life support back online. You guys stay hidden until I restore power," Sirin said. She handed the Romulan rifle she had to Linu and took a Klingon disruptor pistol from the Lethean engineer. Sirin exited the berthing with her weapon holstered. A Nausicaan took a rifle and got into a position by the doorway.

Day 23

A new day was dawning on board the freighter but only the lights attached to Romulan rifles lit the passageways. Most of the light was being generated around the entry point to engineering. Debris and bodies floated about the passageway reducing visibility for anybody traveling through. The temperature had dropped enough that anyone without an environment suit would see their breath and the air was going from stale to thin. Frost was beginning to coat the bulkheads.

Sirin kicked off from the deck aiming toward the bulkhead. She quickly pushed off the bulkhead in the direction of engineering. Sirin guided her hand along the port side bulkhead ready to push off at a moment's notice. She could see that the door to the engineering compartment was already open. As Sirin made her way toward engineering she noticed the Nausicaan they had pulled from the berthing. He was left lying in the right hand corner of the passageway by the door. His face was gone, the result of a disruptor blast at point blank range.

Sirin closed in on a pair of ladderwells. Like the two near the bridge they were contained within vestibules on either side of the passageway. Sirin could see lights coming up from the port side vestibule. Boots clanked and the lights on the rifles probed everywhere. Sirin could tell from the lights that at least a dozen Romulans were about to pour into the passageway.

Sirin had nowhere to hide and a direct attack would definitely get her killed. She began tugging at the smooth bulkhead trying her best to slow down her momentum. Sirin used her hands to inch closer to the deck as well. She then oriented herself to keep her arms and legs parallel with the deck and allowed her body to go limp. "If they think I'm dead they may just ignore me," she thought. Sirin's body hit the deck lightly allowing her to grab a grated deck plate to stop her body from continuing toward engineering.

The first Romulan through the vestibule turned to face Sirin's direction. His flashlight shined on her for a bit before moving to clear the passageway. The Romulans moved toward engineering in an organized fashion with every other Romulan shining a light in her direction. Sirin listened as the sound of mag boots stomping the deck drew farther away. She looked up toward engineering to count the number of troops. Something had happened in engineering to require a whole squad. Sirin knew that any survivors would need her help.

Sirin grabbed the deck grating to pull her feet to the deck. She launched herself with all four limbs. She would be victorious or she would be dead. Sirin flew through the doorway barely clearing the top. She quickly drew her pistol and aimed at the lead Romulan. Her first shot tore into the top of his helmet spraying gore out in all directions. The flash of green energy panicked the troops as they franticly looked for the culprit.

Sirin kicked off from the top of the engineering compartment and slide into a space between the overhead and the powered down warp core. Sirin turned around and peeked from behind the top of the core. The Romulans were in chaos looking everywhere with their rifles. Sirin turned around and began crawling to the back of the warp core. When she made it to the back a disrupter was pointed at her face. To Sirin's surprise the weapon was pointed at her by Krav. Two engineers flanked him with hyperspanners.

"It's good to see you alive and well sir," Sirin whispered. Krav grinned and holstered his weapon. He looked around for a bit then leaned in toward Sirin. "Can you truly see in the dark," he asked in a tone just above a whisper. Sirin smiled, baring her razor sharp teeth. The act was missed by the Klingons as they couldn't see. "I can see as clearly as if it were early morning," Sirin said excitement creeping into her voice.

Sirin watched Krav move to the port side edge of the warp core, "I want you to go back to the entrance and prepare to cover me," Krav said. Krav pulled his pistol and handed it to one of the Klingon engineers. "Shoot any Romulans that make it back here." The Klingon nodded and took position on the starboard side of the core. Sirin turned and began the long crawl back up to the forward section of engineering.

Sirin made her way back up to the forward facing section of the core a bit slower than when she had entered the space. Ahead of her the Romulans were still looking for their attacker. She could see the lights on their rifles moving about. When Sirin made it to the forward section of the core she raised her head to peek out. Two Romulans were messing with the engineering console in front of the core while six others were still looking around with their rifles. Two others were missing. Sirin readied her pistol and aimed at the two Romulans working on the console.

Sirin wasn't sure how long she was to wait for Krav. She knew he couldn't see but the lights on the Romulan rifles did give away their positions. It would allow for the Dehar Master to get an idea of where they were. Sirin noticed movement on her left. It was Krav. He moved silently with a bat'leth in his right hand and a mek'leth in his left. The mek'leth was held in his left hand at the ready while the bat'leth was held cradled between Krav's right arm and his body. His right hand was low in a ceremonial grip.

Sirin watched in surprise as Krav attacked. His mek'leth pierced the suited neck of his first victim. The motion was controlled, fast, and accurate catching the Romulan in the back of the neck. Krav spun around his first victim and rolled out the cradled bat'leth in his right hand in a fluid motion catching his second victim in the faceplate. The blade pierced through, into his face, burying itself deep into the man's head. The second victim flailed about as his neurons misfired. He fired several random shots from his rifle as he died. The old klingon moved in a blur as the scene broke into chaos. Like Sirin did before, Krav used zero gravity to his advantage as he dodged several shots and used his bat'leth to slice through a third Romulan.

Sirin snapped back to action and began firing. She took out the Romulans at the console with three shots. Sirin moved her pistol to another Romulan only to see him cut down by Krav. She quickly moved to another Romulan and fired. Sirin fired three shots in quick succession. One bolt of energy struck the Romulan's rifle causing the weapon to explode. The second shot hit the wall near the Romulan and the third struck him center mass. Krav looked in Sirin's direction and nodded in approval.

Sirin heard a disrupter fire behind her on the starboard side of the warp core. She could tell from the sound that the shot came from the pistol Krav gave to one of the engineers. She could hear a set of mag boots heading toward the front of the core again. Sirin readied her pistol, aiming it where the Romulan would have to come out. Sirin was just about to squeeze the trigger when Krav's bat'leth flew into the gap with a loud popping sound. Sirin pushed off from the core down to the deck using the engineering console as leverage. Krav moved over to the Romulan he just killed, pulling the blade from the man's chest.

"We need to restore power and get moving," Krav said. "They are all over the bridge. How are we expected to fight them in such a small space?" Krav smiled at Sirin, it was unclear if he could actually see her. "You can leave the soldiers on the bridge to me daughter," Krav said. He reached for her and to Sirin's surprise ran his hand through her hair. Sirin noticed his warm smile fade and be replaced by confusion. He pulled his arm back and spun toward the door. Sirin put the action out of her mind. She had no time to worry about the old warrior's mental state.

"Engineers, front and center," Krav shouted.

Sirin heard the two engineers before she saw them. They came and stood on either side of Sirin, although one almost stepped on her right foot. They clearly knew main engineering to the extent that they could move around in the dark from memory. Without turning around Krav addressed them in a professional tone. "Get the power restored. Prioritize the gravity plating and lighting. Everything else is secondary."

The two engineers wasted no time getting to work at the base of the main console. Krav moved to the doorway, one of the engineers turned to look in his direction and spoke. "Can you send us a few bodies? Anyone you can get is fine." Krav laughed, "Sure thing." He turned toward were he heard Sirin move to, "little warrior, you're with me." Krav picked up a rifle from a dead Romulan near the door and moved his Bat'leth to his back. He left engineering, somehow managing to walk as though the gravity plating was working. Sirin pushed off toward the doorway following him out.

Midday

Sirin and Krav drifted slowly to the berthing. The sound of the engineers working quickly faded in the distance. Krav carried himself cautiously and somehow managed to keep himself upright while Sirin was forced to pull herself along the passageway on all fours. When they got to the berthing they were greeted by a Gorn laborer. He quickly pulled the two of them into the berthing.

The remaining crew collided with one another as they quickly crowded around Sirin and Krav. They activated the lights on several rifles to generate some lighting for the space. They aimed the lights at the starboard bulkhead to keep the light from giving away their position. Krav looked into the eyes of the men and women around him, taking in the sight. He handed his rifle to the large Gorn near him and pulled a d'k tahg, holding it out for the crew to see in the dim light. "This blade will taste the blood of our enemy before this battle is over," Krav shouted without regard for the enemy.

Most of the crew seemed puzzled by the remark. Linu and a Gorn in the back of the crowd both cheered. The cheer was quickly echoed by the rest of the crowd including Sirin. Krav looked around the room for a moment. "I know many of you are laborers but today we are all warriors of the empire," Krav said. The volume of his voice dropped to a more strategic tone given their circumstances. "I need four people to report to engineering and the rest of you I need to grab what weapons you can find and clear the lower deck. Take weapons from the dead in engineering if you have to." The crew quickly gathered what weapons they could in the berthing before drifting toward the door.

As the crew filed out of the berthing the gravity plating suddenly activated. The crew stumbled or fell to their knees. Sirin had been holding onto the deck grating with her long fingers when she suddenly found herself lying on her belly. With the gravity restored the crew quickly moved toward engineering. Krav looked at Sirin a moment. "I'll need you for the fight ahead." Krav handed his d'k tahg to Sirin- "we'll need to be quiet for this part." Krav motioned for her to follow him.

Sirin followed Krav down the passageway. They were walking a brisk pace toward the bridge. Life support had been restored but the lights throughout the ship were still off. Sirin walked with confidence, she could see in the dark after all. Krav was also walking as though he could see but Sirin could tell by the mismatched foot falls that he was blind and using his memory and other senses to guide him.

Sirin noticed four Romulan soldiers leaving the bridge. They moved in a manner showing fatigue. "Sir, four soldiers have just stepped out of the bridge." "Where are their lights," Krav asked. Sirin saw him slow down and fidget a bit. His hands went for the small bladed weapons at his belt. "Looks like the Romulans are keeping them powered off. I don't think they can see us. They are walking slowly toward us," Sirin said.

Sirin started to pull her pistol. "Remember what I said little warrior. Quiet," said Krav as he unsheathed his two mek'leths from his belt and held them up in front of his body. His Bat'leth was left slung across his back. Sirin pulled the d'k tahg she was given and held it at the ready. She was trying to come up with a strategy for taking the soldiers down quietly when the emergency lighting suddenly kicked on.

For a moment all occupants of the passageway could see one another. Everyone froze in place in shock before once again being swallowed up in darkness. Sirin watched in shock as Krav launched his mek'leths at the soldiers. The two bladed weapons struck their targets, the two lead soldiers in the passageway. Each mek'leth sunk deep into the chests of their targets. One Romulan managed to let out a blood curdling scream panicking the remaining soldiers.

The two remaining Romulans opened fire on Krav and Sirin. Both quickly scrambled for what cover they could find. Sirin lay flat on the deck like an earth pancake and Krav wedged his body between a door and the passageway. His belly stuck out from cover slightly. Sirin wriggled over to a nearby vent and pushed her fingers through the grated cover over the vent. She coiled her fingers on the back side and pulled the grated cover from the opening. The sounds of the screws popping off and hitting the deck were drowned out by the sound of disruptor fire. Sirin quickly crawled into the vent.

There was little space to move in the cramped shaft. The ventilation shaft ran fore and aft along the port and starboard sides of the center passageway. The shaft branched from the passageway into each of the cargo spaces and cycled all the way back to engineering. Years of dust had gathered along the walls of the ventilation shaft giving the shaft a furry texture. Each movement of an arm or leg uprooted years of dust, hair, and unidentifiable gunk. The air was increasingly harder to breath the deeper Sirin traveled.

Sirin moved forward toward the two remaining Romulans. The disruptor fire had stopped as Sirin neared the next vent opening. She scooted up to the vent opening. Dust in her nostrils threatened to make her sneeze. Outside the vent Sirin could see that the Romulans were approaching Krav's location. They had their rifles at the ready. Sirin quickly kicked out the ventilation cover plate and slithered out of the vent. A large ball of ventilation gunk trailed out behind her.

The Romulan nearest to Sirin spun around and fired at the gunk ball that followed Sirin out of the vent. Sirin ran to the opposite wall and kicked off it landing on the second soldier. She climbed up his pack and thrust her d'k tahg into the back of his neck. The Romulan soldier slumped to the floor hitting hard. Sirin rode his body to the ground grabbing his rifle as he hit. She spun around and fired the rifle. Sirin's opponent never had a chance. The soldier took the disruptor beam through his torso and fell backward. His rifle fell harmlessly to the deck by his feet. Sirin immediately spun back around to check if Krav was alive.

Krav stepped out from the room he had taken shelter in. He stood in the doorway looking in Sirin's direction. "You alive little warrior," Krav asked. Sirin flipped on the rifle's light aiming it at the starboard side wall opposite of Krav. "I'm alive, sir. Ready for more."

The two turned toward the bridge and started walking. Sirin pulled her dk'tahg from the dead Romulan near her and flipped her rifle's light off. Sirin and Krav were two steps from the door when both the emergency lighting and the holographic wall sconces powered on nearly blinding Sirin in the process. Krav opened the door to the bridge and stepped inside, he didn't wait for Sirin as he drew his bat'leth and threw it across the room. Sirin squinted and fired several shots. Her shots were spread out striking one of the forward consoles and the wall near the tactical station. The shower of sparks, and metal added to the chaos on the bridge.

Krav tackled the nearest Romulan after he had thrown his bat'leth. The bat'leth had slammed into the face plate of the lead Romulan killing him instantly. Krav made short work of the other soldier he tackled, snapping his neck as he got back up off the ground. Sirin had the other three on the bridge pinned down with disruptor fire from the rifle she had taken. After a moment Krav motioned for Sirin to hold her fire.

"If you throw your weapons down and surrender your lives will be spared," Krav said. His voice was smooth and jovial without a hint of fatigue.

"We know what Klingons do to their prisoners," one of the Romulans barked. The Romulan stood and fired his rifle. Krav dove for a space behind the engineering console. Sirin aimed and fired. The beam seared its way into the faceplate of the man's helmet. His body fell back with his feet flopping involuntarily about launching him into the helm controls. His comrades leaped into action firing in Sirin's direction. She quickly hugged the nearby bulkhead. They had her pinned in the small space and they knew it.

Sirin turned around to see where Krav went. He was still in the small space between the engineering console and cargo operations console. He appeared to be surveying the bridge and soldiers. Sirin watched as he looked at the overhead lights before looking directly at her. Sirin realized at that moment what Krav wanted her to do. Sirin aimed her rifle at the overhead light and fired. The light exploded in a shower of sparks. The other lights flickered as the power to the bridge was automatically rerouted and balanced.

Krav dove through the sparks to the command chair and pulled his bat'leth from the dead Romulan on the deck. In one quick spin he swung the bat'leth into the closest soldier. The blade sliced through the man's rifle splitting it down its length and catching the soldier in his neck. The soldier fell to his knees clutching his neck. Krav kicked the soldier off his blade and moved toward the other Romulan. The remaining soldier turned toward Krav and raised his rifle to fire. Krav caught the edge of the soldier's rifle with his bat'leth deflecting it as it discharged. The beam of energy struck the helm controls. A screen at the console exploded. Krav yelped and fell forward. Several large shards of glass had penetrated his back.

Sirin leveled her rifle at the remaining soldier and fired. The beam caught the Romulan in the hip. The Romulan's body folded over and slumped to the deck. Sirin dropped the cumbersome weapon and ran over to Krav. One of the shards in his back had penetrated pretty far, likely damaging something vital.

"Dehar Master, can you get up," Sirin asked as she rolled him on his side. The elderly Klingon looked pale. Sirin hadn't initially noticed it but she was standing in a large pool of the Dehar master's blood. She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him. "Sir, can you stand?"

Krav groaned and opened his eyes. He looked at Sirin for a second, he seemed confused. "Help me up. I will take my station," Krav said. Sirin did her best to help him up propping him up on his knees. Krav moved on his knees to the nearby command chair. Sirin guided and steadied him.

"Pull the glass out," Krav said.

Sirin looked at the shards. Most had barely penetrated Krav's armor. Sirin quickly pulled them out. She hesitated to pull the long shard. "If I take this last one out you could die," Sirin said. She wasn't sure but the wound was still bleeding at a fast pace.

"Today is a good day to die for an old warrior like myself. Pull the shard out." Krav's words were weak but Sirin could still hear the irritation and anger in his voice.

Sirin pulled the shard out of Krav's back as fast as she could. Blood sprayed from his back for a second. Krav immediately climbed into the command chair. He was paler then before and color had completely left his lips. A look of confusion fell upon his face for a brief moment before Krav's face relaxed. "The battlefield is where I've always belonged," Krav said. He started to say more but the doors to the bridged hissed open cutting him off.

Four men approached the bridge, two Klingons, a Nausicaan, and a Gorn spread out to the various stations on the bridge. Sirin recognized one of the Klingons as an engineer. He approached the command chair and addressed Krav with a nod. "By your order Dehar Master, we are ready for your orders." The Klingon was no warrior but he clearly stood with a sense of pride over what they had accomplished in bringing the ship back to working order.

Krav nodded at the Klingon engineer and toggled the intercom from the controls on the command chair. "I want all hands to abandon ship. All personnel report to designated escape pods and launch on my order." Krav toggled the intercom control again and looked at the four men that stared in disbelief. "All of you go," he shouted.

The four men walked off the bridge as Sirin watched Krav program a course for the ship. "What are you doing," she asked.

"The Romulan warbird is still out there. I'm going to destroy it."

"You can't. Our weapons are still offline. Even if they were working they are no match!" Sirin was starting to panic. She knew that his suicide run would leave them stranded in the escape pods.

"I have a plan, little warrior…" Krav placed his right hand on Sirin's head and ran his fingers through her hair, "… I had a daughter once; she had dark hair like yours. She never got to grow up." Krav's eyes started to water. "I want you on one of those pods." Krav worked the controls on the left chair arm. "I am downloading the ship's logs into the pods. Command will know what happened here, they'll know what contribution you made to this mission." Krav pulled his right hand back, "Now go!"

Sirin ran off the bridge, she heard Krav's voice speaking Romulan to the awaiting ship as she departed. Sirin quickly ran to the nearest vestibule and jumped through the hatch landing at the base of the ladderwell below. Once on the lower deck she ran to the nearest escape pod. The four men that had approached the bridge were already in the pod. Sirin jumped in and closed the hatch to the pod.

Sirin noticed Linu was seated to her left. The Orion woman was simply staring off into the distance. Eight more seats were full with laborers and a couple engineers. The escape pods on their freighter were built to carry ten people per pod. Sirin strapped into the last available seat as the pod launched.

The pod launched simultaneously with five others. The launch controls on the bridge were designed to launch them simultaneously even if the pods were not filled. Sirin watched a monitor from her seat. It was filled with the image of empty space for an instant before the pod was violently forced off course. Sirin could hear the sounds of metal against metal.

Several concussive bangs rang out through the pod. The pod began spinning at such an alarming speed that the inertial dampeners couldn't compensate for the rotation. Two crew members vomited spraying bile all over the rest of the crew. Sirin cleared bile from her face and unbuckled her harnesses. She crawled over the Klingon next to her. The pod was tumbling on two axis pulling Sirin toward the deck while forcing her against the man she had been climbing.

"Hey! Help her to the controls!" Linu shouted to be heard over the groaning of the other passengers. The Klingon that Sirin was climbing used his right arm to shove her against the next passenger. Sirin could tell the spinning was getting worse. She was having trouble moving, almost as though she was now three to four times her body wait. The crew continued to assist her until she reached the monitor and controls toward the front of the pod. Sirin stood on a Gorn crewman's leg as she typed in some commands.

Sirin quickly accessed the manual controls on the wall mounted console. The monitor showed damage all throughout the pod. The Maneuvering thrusters were still operable according to the display but the main engine was damaged beyond repair. Sirin programed a stabilizing maneuver for the thrusters. She looked at the Gorn she was standing on. He nodded his head in understanding. Sirin pushed the button on the monitor to execute the maneuver. The Gorn grabbed Sirin in his monstrous arms and pinned her tightly to his chest as the pod tried to control its spin.

Day 24 (Early Morning)

The pod drifted in space surrounded by debris of various shapes and sizes. Sirin and her pod mates had been sitting in their chairs waiting for rescue with little to do. The pod's subspace distress signal was functioning but its range was only a few hundred light years. There was no communication from crew in the other pods either. Sirin spent the last few minutes looking for the sensor data of their freighter's last moments.

Sirin watched as the freighter flew straight into the Romulan warbird at full impulse. The two ships collided at such speed the engines on the freighter punched through the freighter's hull as its structural integrity field failed. The engine maintained power and speed long enough to punch deep into the Romulan vessel's primary hull before exploding. The resulting damage caused secondary explosions throughout the ship ultimately causing the whole ship to implode from a rupture in its singularity core's containment field. The final explosion sent shrapnel outward in all directions damaging the escape pods.

Sirin moved aside and let the others look at the video recording. They had been sitting in the pod for hours. The pod had food for a week but Sirin had already reviewed the damage from the sensor logs. The ship's life support systems and power distribution network had been damaged in the explosion. They would begin to fail in just a few days.

"There's a ship on sensors," Linu exclaimed. She had been watching the video recording when the pod switched to sensors upon detecting a ship.

"Is it one of ours or the Romulans," Sirin asked.

The pod shook suddenly. Linu looked up at Sirin. "It decloaked near us but I couldn't tell what ship it was," Linu said.

The pod shook with vibrations shaking the entire pod. The vibrations in the hull were a sign the inertial dampeners were not working properly as the pod was captured in a tractor beam. "We need to get ready," Sirin said as she drew her disruptor pistol. Many of the rest of the crew grabbed the rifles and blades they had taken with them. Sirin handed the Dk'tahg she had received from Krav to Linu then turned to face the hatch. "Everybody get ready!"

The crew got as ready as they could. Linu and one of the Klingons stood on the chairs while the rest did their best to avoid the center of the pod. Sirin stood in the center by the door. They would all fire once the hatch opened. Chances were good they wouldn't survive, that it would be a slaughter. A well placed grenade once the hatch opened would end the fight easy enough but Sirin knew that if they were trying for prisoners, the Romulans would regret it.

The pod's hatch hissed and whined as the air and pressure cycled in the pod to match the outside. The hatch cracked open slightly. The Gorn crewmen fired a shot from his rifle striking the hatch dead center, leaving a black mark. The hatch stopped opening. Sirin stood expecting to see a grenade come in through the gap in the hatch. She raised her pistol and took aim. "If I shoot it, will it still go off or will it detonate? If it detonates will I survive, will it give the others a fighting chance," Sirin thought.

"Hold your fire!" A gruff voice shouted from outside. The distinctive smell of a Klingon ship started to fill the air. "You're all aboard the Chemvah. Now let me get this hatch open," the voice said.

Sirin turned to the others, they all lowered their weapons. Sirin turned back around and holstered her disrupter. "You may proceed," she said with relief.

The hatch hissed as it opened the rest of the way creating a ramp for the crew to disembark. Standing at the base of the ramp were three Klingon warriors and an engineer. The Klingon in the center stepped forward. He wore the standard uniform of a Klingon warrior along with stole denoting his rank and house. He was young for his station but walked with the confidence one only earns in combat.

"A bunch of Bekk and laborers," the captain barked in surprise. It wasn't quite a question. The warriors on either side of him laughed in surprise. "I was expecting warriors to be in this pod. Who are you?"

Sirin was the first to speak. "We are what's left of the crew, sir." She looked around and noticed that there were no other pods in the cargo bay. "Were there any other survivors recovered," Sirin asked. The Klingon captain looked at her a bit more disappointed than before. "No," he said with sigh. Sirin heard something going on behind her. Before she could say more Linu approached the Klingon captain. "Sir, this is our record of battle," Linu said as she thrust a tablet out for the Klingon to read. He snatched the tablet from Linu and quickly scrolled through it. He passed the tablet to the warrior to his right when he was finished.

"You all served under Dehar Master Krav," the captain said. His demeanor visibly changed to a more relaxed and respectful bearing. "You are all welcome aboard the Chemvah." The captain turned to his engineer. "The engineers are yours for the duration." He turned to his 1st officer. "The laborers and guards are welcome aboard as guests for now." The Klingon captain seemed happy as he turned and marched out of the cargo bay.

Sirin looked to the first officer. "What now sir," she asked.

"We are heading back to Qo'nos, little warrior." The 1st officer laughed at the term. Krav must have used the term in the report displayed on the computer pad. "After looking at these records, you are welcome to serve aboard our ship. Any warrior with high praise from a Dehar Master is welcome to serve," said the 1st officer excitedly as he headed for the door.

The crew of the pod split up. The engineers went toward the engineering berthing while the rest followed the first officer to the galley. Sirin walked the passageways following the first officer like the others. She noticed the passageways were a nice change from the passageways aboard their old freighter. They had darker lighting and plenty of tight corners and support struts to provide cover during a fire fight. Once they entered the galley Sirin found their galley was far superior as well, for different reasons.

Sirin spent the next several days aboard the Chemvah. Her days were filled with duty shifts and training sessions and her nights were filled with drinking and telling her story of honor and glory fighting alongside the great Dehar Master Krav. Once they arrived at Qo'nos, Sirin would have her work cut out for her. A new career opportunity wasn't something you wasted in the Klingon Empire. Sirin's first action was to notify her parents. She will be posted to her first warship!