[Galaxy] 2161.12.08- JL Ca'daar/ Armstrong

[SkinnyElvisDaddy at aol.com]

~Yorktown Shuttlecraft ~




The Intrepid loomed in front of the Andorian Commander as he eased his own  
small ship forward. As he drifted closer a strange feeling of foreboding 
swept  over him. He remembered the Intrepid from the last battle with the 
Romulans. He  had seen her decks crowded with the lifeless remains of her former 
crew. He  pushed away the haunting vision from his mind. Hopefully it 
wasn't an omen of  things to come.



Da'nak soon felt the vibration as the shuttle bumped Intrepid's hull. He  
hit the comm switch as the airlock began to cycle.



= Intrepid, this is Andorian Commander Ca'daar. Request permission to come  
aboard.=



= Permission granted. = Ethan said on the other side of the airlock. A few  
moments later when pressures were equalized the door slid open. "Welcome 
aboard  the Intrepid Commander" he said, as the blue skinned Andorian stepped 
over the  threshold and onto the ship. 




Grim-faced. The battered Andorian stepped through the airlock and into the  
ship. The lights were reassuring, considering the way things looked the 
last  time he had seen the Intrepid... an irradiated husk. He looked at the 
smiling  face of her commanding officer. "Thank you Captain." He said, antennae 
moving  slowly back and forth like twin blue cobras before a flute player. 
"And thank  you for the assist. After losing that Romulan I'm afraid we're 
going to need the  Yorktown to be in better fighting shape as soon as 
possible. Let's not waste any  time." 
 


"I assume you've had chance to read the communique from Starfleet Command  
on the way over. Looks like open war with the Romulans is about to become a  
reality, yet again" he said with a sense of sorrow. He was awaiting further 
 instruction from command about Intrepid's next move, whilst reporting back 
on  their current status. Ethan led Ca'daar down the corridor toward the 
lift which  would take them up and to his ready room for discussion.



Da'nak worried at his lip with his teeth as he followed Ethan. "You know  
the Romulans as well as I do Captain. They don't do anything openly... unless 
 they feel they have an advantage. Unfortunately, if we can't find that 
bird of  prey... we may have handed them one."


Ethan frowned as they continued toward the ready room.


[ Ready Room ]


The two men were soon seated, Ethan behind his desk. He listened as Ca'daar 
 explained the Yorktown's mission and some more detail about why they were  
chasing the Romulan ship. 



"My repair teams and medical teams should be making their way over to the  
Yorktown by now. But once the work is done, we need to decide the best way 
to  approach Xantia. We must get that data back" Ethan agreed, referring to 
the  stolen Andorian data. "We can't gather much more intel remotely, the 
Romulans  would surely detect any attempt to close in."





Da'nak  nodded. "Thank you again Captain. Our encounter with the Kumat, and 
then the  Romulans took a lot out of us. Unfortunately," He continued, his 
face set in  stone. "If the war with the Romulans has indeed 'heated up', 
the phantom device  could easily tip the scales. It's not perfected quite yet, 
but given enough time  I'm sure the Romulans could devise a use for it." 
 

The  Yorktown's helmsman let out a deep sigh. He had never wanted to be put 
in this  position. He had applied to starfleet's officer exchange program 
with the  intention of exploring things beyond the Andorian sphere of 
control. After a  short time though, he came to believe that the Terran's ideas of 
cooperation and  coexistence were the keys to the future of his race, 
contrary to popular  opinion. Now, he sat as the acting commander of a Terran 
vessel, and his next  actions could weigh heavily on the fate of not one, but 
two worlds.
 


"I have been  in contact with Commander Quirra, leader of the Andorian 
taskforce. She has  agreed to throw her vessels out in a grid pattern and 
continue searching for the  lost Bird. I think it likely that it was headed into 
the Xantia system... though  why I couldn't say. Was this where the 
Nausicaans and the freighter were  headed?"
 


"We do not know the Nausicaan's intentions except that they  have been 
using Romulan technology, and the ships they've been hijacking are  carrying 
dilithium. This must be as valuable to the Romulans  as it is for us. It may 
tell us something about the nature of their outpost on  Xantia?" Ethan 
questioned. "Actually, they may still be waiting for their  delivery. Perhaps we 
can use the freighter to our advantage?" 
 


 
Da'nak  rubbed his chin. "Possibly. If we could get some volunteers to man 
the  freighter, we might be able to send it in and get some sensor readings  
unobtrusively. Of course we'd have to stay in constant contact in case 
something  went wrong."



"I'm not keen on sending people into the lions den like that but it  
appears too good an opportunity to dismiss. If people are willing, they will  know 
the risks. If we get enough to man the transport ship then I agree. But  
what about Yorktown; if we get the go-ahead to move in will she be ready to  
fight?" Ethan asked. He felt some relief however, knowing they had Andorian  
support in any potential endeavor. 
 


The big  Andorian rose, extending his hand. "With your help, Yorktown 
should be shipshape  in no time at all. With your permission, I'd like to get 
back to the Yorktown to  run the plan by the rest of the senior officers and 
ask for volunteers." He  shook Ethan's hand firmly, then smiled, something 
that seemed comical behind the  bruises that now dotted his countenance. "I can 
see it's going to be a pleasure  working with you Captain."


"And you  Commander. On the subject of volunteers. I put myself forwards to 
lead the  mission. I am an experienced pilot, I've worked on freighters 
before, unless  their is significant objections from command I think I am a 
logical choice. I  will also ask around my senior staff and update them on our 
plan." Ethan nodded  with a grim smile. "Permission to disembark granted. 
Keep in touch  Commander." 
 

Da'nak  stopped at the door, turning to face Intrepid's Captain. "Don't 
worry Captain.  When the call comes, Yorktown will be ready. She's not called 
the Fighting Lady  because she's in the habit of letting us down. She's 
danced through hell before  and she'll do it again." Da'nak paused, sighing 
lightly. "I'll poll her crew and  see what we can do to round out the shuttle. 
I'll contact you soon. Thank you  again Captain." 
 
The Andorian  gave a last, crisp salute to Ethan before slipping out the 
door. In his heart,  he hoped the Yorktown would be able to live up to faith 
he had in  her. 


Ethan returned the quick salute and let  the Andorian go. He would need to 
call the senior staff together again shortly.  For now he got himself 
patched into his Armory officer Ensign Wun who had taken a team over to evaluate  
the freighter.


Cmdr Ethan  Armstrong
Commanding  officer
ESS  Intrepid


&
Andorian  Commander Da'nak Ca'daar
Executive  and Chief Helm Officer
NX-05  Yorktown
The Fighting  Lady








You ever dance with the devil in the pale moon  light?
I always ask that of all my prey...
I just like the sound of  it.....

Jack Nicholson- Batman
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