Prisoner Exchange (Part 2): The Blackwell

Posted on 04/05/2020 @ 4:54pm by Captain Cian D'Anvers & Lieutenant JG Jasmine Langtree & Ensign Neteri Blackfeather
Edited on on 04/19/2020 @ 5:28pm

Mission: S1E2: The Plomeek Soup Conundrum
Location: Shuttlecraft; Eruin-class Transport Blackwell, Various; USS Crazy Horse
Timeline: Day 5 at 1300

[Shuttle Kicking Bear En Route to USS Blackwell]

The shuttlecraft Kicking Bear cut through the void of space like a small, distant star. Approaching the Ereuin-class transport, the shuttle was dwarfed by the larger ship. Nearly nine times her size, the USS Blackwell looked eerie with the lack of running lights or indicators. Tahlin, focusing on her console, spoke to Alvar. "Still no response, Commander... We could try comm badges, potentially?"

"Yes, it's something to try," Alvar said. "We can hope that the comm badges, at least, aren't affected by whatever's been happening."

Listening quietly, this whole thing didn't sit well with Neteri at all. The fact that the Blackwell was literally dead in the water and now not giving any return coms gave her an eerie feeling. She could sense life on the ship but that was about it for now. "Chief, there is life there but I can't give you a clear idea", Neteri said.

Tahlin looked over her shoulder. "Thanks, Ensign..." The shuttle was a little more crowded now; extra security had been called for, and right now, the Bajoran was glad of it. Perhaps a little overkill, but that fifth prisoner had her worried, and the lack of response from the Blackwell signified nothing but trouble, to her way of thinking.

She tapped her commbadge. "Shuttlecraft to blackwell, please acknowledge signal."

Jeffries tried to emulate his boss--cool and calm. Mac'Kensey gave the man a reassuring smile. "Relax," she whispered, "It'll be fine." The ensign gulped.

"Blackwell here," the ship's Captain said.

"Lieutenant Lae'Or, USS Crazy Horse. Shuttlecraft Kicking Bear on approach to transfer prisoners. It's a relief to hear your voice."

"Good to be heard," Burns replied. "Almost nothing is working on this blasted ship."

"Including the shuttlebay doors, I'm guessing? With your permission, we'll dock and start coming aboard to get the prisoners."

"Permission granted," Burns said and punctuated the statement with a tired sigh. "I'll show you down to the cells."

"Acknowledged. Shuttlecraft out." Tahlin closed the channel, then turned to Alvar. "At least we know there's someone over there."

"Indeed," Alvar said. "Taking us in."

[USS Crazy Horse, Bridge, Deck 1]

"Shuttlecraft away Captain, ETA 4 minutes." Jasmine reported.

[USS Blackwell]

The force fields had failed finally some time during the night. Fortunately, owing to one of the guard's interest in criminology throughout history, they had been able to fashion antiquated metal grates that were affixed to the walls of the cells. Makeshift, no question, but strong enough to withstand any physical pressure the prisoners could bring to bear. Everyone on the crew, right up to the Captain, had taken to standing guard in the brig in rotating shifts to provide relief for the overworked guards.

The four aliens had not moved. Blue-green, translucent, with a surface that appeared roughened, almost but not quite approximating scales, they seemed to be a child's construction of what a humanoid would look like. Indentations to approximate eyes, a slight bulge where a nose would be, bipedal extensions for arms and legs, but without hair or really any distinguishing characteristics. They looked exactly the same; dangerous when they chose to be though mercifully, they hadn't moved in several hours. It was the fifth that made the shifts long and difficult. He sat cross-legged on the floor and stared at the guard while his features shifted, melted, and reformed over and over again.

[Shuttlecraft Kicking Bear]

"We'll need a volunteer to scout the area once we've docked--any takers?" Tahlin asked the five security officers behind her.

Todd Rickman security officer 3rd class was inside the shuttle as it landed. He was chosen for this mission because he was the most expendable person on the ship at least that was his thought. When the shuttle landed he volunteered to be the point man.

"I'll do it, Sir". Todd said.

The tall athletic security grunt got up and went over to the hatch ready for a quick egress. Once the door opened, he went outside and checked out the local area noting that it was safe and empty. He then called out to the other officers. "All clear!"

From inside the shuttlecraft, Tahlin shook her head. "Eager to please," she said quietly to Alvar. "Would have liked him to ask permission, but I did ask for volunteers."

[USS Blackwell, Corridor]

Todd wondered where the Blackwell's captain was? "Anybody here?" Todd called out.

No one answered of course. The crew wasn't large enough and there were serious issues everywhere to spare anyone from assigned tasks which was why, the Captain himself, had added that to his own ever growing list.

Burns, who was dealing with catastrophes according to a personal disaster rating that went from a mild expletive all the way up to ready the escape pods, had been working his way there, using Jeffries tubes when the turbolift didn't cooperate or a door didn't open, dealing with whatever was in his path, as he went. So it was, that his visitors had had to wait a few minutes for his arrival.

He entered, toolkit in hand, and walked over. "Burns, Captain of the Blackwell, such as it is," he said with a tired sigh as his gaze took in the enlisted man. "Where's your officer in charge?"

"Hello Sir, I'm security officer Todd Rickman of the USS Crazy Horse, the OIC is on the shuttle." Todd answered politely.

Yi, who had been sitting closest to the shuttle's airlock, was standing just inside when Todd had gone outside. Her sidearm was at the ready, though aimed straight up for safety, exactly as trained. She heard the question directed to Todd and into the shuttle. "Sir?" she said, getting Burns's attention. "Commander Othran and Lieutenant Lae'or are both inside, finishing getting us secured," Yi said.

A few moments later Alvar came out. "Captain Burns, I'm Lt. Cmdr. Othran of the Crazy Horse. I do understand that you've got some prisoners for us."

"Commander, good that you're here. Yes, we have five for you," Charles Burns said.

"I'd also like to ask about the status of the Blackwell," Alvar said. "En route, we've been experiencing some problems that seem to be similar to what you've been experiencing. I don't want to sound paranoid here, but a part of me is wondering if it's a coincidence. Perhaps we could look to pool our resources and figure out what's going on here."

"Sir permission to sweep the ship? I got a creepy feeling crawling up my spine and I go with my gut instinct," Neteri asked Cmdr. Othran.

Captain Burns turned a withering glare toward the ensign who cheekily insulted his ship to his face before returning his attention to the away team leader. "Started with small problems," Burns said. "Replicator malfunctions. We were all eating Plomeek soup for three days before we figured that one out. And it just got worse. When the force fields started failing, we attached metal doors to the cells ... so the prisoners are safe." He scrubbed one hand across his face, dark shadows under his eyes gave mute testimony to lack of sleep. "I'm at a loss to understand all of this. The Blackwell isn't brand new but she's a good ship."

Lae'Or emerged from the shuttle, and caught the end of Burns's comments. "Captain, Lieutenant Lae'Or. Transporters aren't working, but if you'd like, we could use the shuttle's transporter to get an engineering team over here to help?"

"If you could spare them, I'd sure be grateful," Burns replied. "We ..."

Neteri did not like being ignored, "Lt. Tahlin, permission to sweep the ship?" she said again.

The Bajoran gave the Betazoid Ensign a sharp look. "One moment, Ensign... Captain Burns, this is your ship, and your show. What would you like us to do, besides get the prisoners off your hands?" She also gave Alvar a questioning look, hoping she hadn't overstepped. She would be having a talk with Blackfeather, that was for sure.

"Bring your engineer over," Burns replied at once. "As I tried to say before, we are barely able to keep up with the fixes at this point. If you want to send your team down to check on the prisoners, they can take over. That would be a help." He left the rest unspoken and that was for the best. If he commented on the ensign's behavior, it wouldn't go well. Not at all.

"Right... Jeffries, Mac'Kensey, go with Captain Burns to monitor the prisoners--that should free up some folks. Zhen, contact Crazy Horse and request they send an engineering team over to assist in repairs, then join Mac'Kensey and Jeffries... Blackfeather, Rickman, with me, please." The Bajoran looked to Alvar, hoping the commander would have something to say.

Alvar had not quite formulated a response to Blackfeather when Burns had started talking, and as such had not wanted to interrupt him. He wanted to think of a dozen different ways to handle this situation, but remembered that he didn't have time to just stand around and wait for others to go - this was his responsibility now.

He took a deep breath (another bit of advice he'd once been given) and said, "Petty Officer Zhan, while you are talking to the Crazy Horse, have Lt. Langtree start scanning for anything unusual as far as radiation and similar. This is almost sounding like something is affecting the computer software of both ships more than something that's hardware-related." Turning to Captain Burns, he said, "Of course we'd also like to take the prisoners off your hands ASAP. That should make it so that you do not have to worry about that on top of everything else, at least. Also, where shall we direct our engineering team to when they arrive?"

"Been thinking much the same myself," Burns said as he ran a hand through his hair, a gesture that became more frequent as lack of sleep took hold. "Start with the computer. I can't get the diagnostics to run and I'm no expert, but I suspect that's where the answer is."

Tahlin nodded. "With your permission, Captain, Commander, I'd like a couple words with my people, and then I'll join you both? Also," and here she approached the two officers and spoke low enough the others wouldn't hear, "I recognize that you've had a trying time of it, Captain, so I'd like to have Rickman and Blackfeather do a quick sweep of the ship, just in case. I mean no insult to you or your professionalism, but I don't like the idea of us missing something."

"There's nothing to miss," Burns said. "Prisoners are accounted for but go ahead anyway." Burns settled in to wait. His ship and crew would get the help it needed and the prisoners would be transferred off. He could be patient.

Yi moved to the now-empty front of the shuttle and accessed the comm system. "Kicking Bear to Crazy Horse. Petty Officer Zhen speaking. Orders from Commander Othran. Request that an engineering team be beamed over via Kicking Bear's transporter, and for Lieutenant Langtree to scan the Blackwell for anything unusual." Message relayed, she followed Burns, Mac’Kensey, and Jeffries toward the prisoners.

"Okay Lieutenant Lae'Or what do you want us to do?" Todd asked.

Neteri was puzzled as to why the Lieutenant did not want her or Todd to sweep the ship. Looking at Todd, she just shook her head and waited for orders.

Tahlin regarded the two younger security people levelly. "Rickmann, good initiative on being point, but you should have gotten my permission first... Miss Blackfeather, you can't go off and request that kind of thing without talking to me or the ship's captain first. We have a chain of command to follow, and its important. Starfleet officers are meticulous, some of the best at what they do. You can't just go questioning their professionalism by suggesting that without consultation. Do you understand me, Ensign?"

"Understood sir," Neteri said slightly angry with herself yet again.

"In my defense you did ask for volunteers, lieutenant," Todd replied.

"Good... Now, I happen to think sweeping the ship is a good idea, but only because one of the prisoners is a shapeshifter... Be quick about it, and then join Mac'Kensey and Jeffries with the prisoners. I'll be there as well. Do you two understand?"

"Yes sir, understood," she said looking at her boss. Neteri turned and looked at Todd, "Let's boogie and get her done quickly," Neteri said and moved out with Todd in tow.

"Okay I suggest we make our way to engineering, this ship isn't too big after all," Todd suggested.

"Good... Dismissed, and get to it."

A Post by:

Cmdr. Cian D'Anvers
Commanding Officer, USS Crazy Horse
Captain Charles Burns
Commanding Officer, USS Blackwell (NPC)

Lt. Cmdr. Alvar Othram
Executive Officer
USS Crazy Horse

Lt. JG Lae'Or Tahlin
Chief of Security
USS Crazy Horse

Lieutenant JG Jasmine Langtree
Chief Science Officer, USS Crazy Horse
Petty Officer 3rd Class Todd Rickman
Security Officer, USS Crazy Horse (PNPC)

Ensign Neteri Blackfeather
Security Officer
USS Crazy Horse

Petty Officer 3rd Class Zhen Yi
Security Officer
USS Crazy Horse