Star Trek Lineage Ch 02

This story contains scenes of (fairly) graphic violence. If that is not for you, then you should skip this story. As always, feedback is welcome.

Blood and Shadow

Deck 19, Armory, 0800 hours, 2294, Klingon Border

"Crewman Black reporting, sir."

Sahar looked up from the maintenance bench she had been hunched over. "At ease, Jeff," she said. Black was the last of her team to report today, and she had already sent Zula and Sedaris to the torpedo bay. While she waited for him, she had been toying with her phaser. He was clearly exhausted and probably sleep deprived.

Casana,

she thought. "Have a late night, crewman?"

"Yes, sir," he said nervously.

"Casana's energetic, huh?" she teased.

"Yes, sir. She's very umm... demanding, too."

"I'll bet she is," Sahar laughed as she reassembled her phaser. "Your with me today, Jeff," she said as she stood, placing the phaser back in its holster. Black's eyes widened. They had never been on patrol together. "Relax, I don't bite. Casana probably does, but I don't," she snickered. They left the Armory and headed for deck 14 to start their shift.

Almost eight months had passed since the

Athena

had left Earth. As part of the uneasy truce with the Klingons that had been established in the Khitomer Accords, Starfleet was in the process of dismantling several Starbases near the Neutral Zone. Unfortunately, the Accords had not been heeded by all Klingons. Factions from several of the Great Houses had defied the High Council and were now conducting a guerilla campaign against the weakened Federation border colonies, and the

Athena

had been dispatched as part of a task force sent to combat the renegade Klingons. Ten weeks into their assignment, the

Athena

had yet to encounter anything of note as it patrolled its sector of the border.

******

Jefferies Tube Between Decks 17 and 18, 0800 hours

At the same time that Sahar and Black entered the turbolift, in a Jefferies tube one and a half decks, above them, Suvak opened an access panel, exposing a series of power conduits. "The tricorder, Mr. Walsh," she ordered.

"Here, sir," said the man behind her in the tube. He pulled the strap over his head and handed the device to Suvak. She slid it open and began to scan the conduits. She raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting," she said, flipping open her communicator. "Ensign Suvak to Main Engineering."

"Go ahead, Ensign."

"Commander Kolarov, I have detected unusual energy fluctuations in the deck 17 power conduits. I believe it may be the cause of the deck 18 power surges," she said.

"See what you can do, Ensign. Engineering out."

Suvak closed the communicator and turned around in the small tube. "Mr. Walsh, I will need your assistance."

******

Deck 14, Exobiology Lab, 0800 hours

Casana checked her private messages. There was a new message for her from the Commission, and she read it eagerly.

Damn,

she thought.

Maybe next year

. Casana shut the terminal down and stood. She walked over to the specimen storage area and examined the specimen monitoring terminal. As she looked over the readout, Dr. Collins entered the room. She was a short, white haired woman in her early 60's. "Good morning, Casana," she said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Doctor," Casana smiled back.

"How are our babies?"

"Fine so far," Casana said.

"Good. Once you finish, I would like you to go over the data from the Bajor specimens," Dr. Collins said.

"Looking for anything specific?"

"See if you can find any signs of special adaptations to radiation."

"From the wormhole?" Casana asked.

"Very good. Yes, or at least it seems to be the source. How is it you read my mind?"

At this moment, the ship shook violently, throwing Casana and Dr. Collins to the ground. In the Jefferies tube, the access panel for the conduits Suvak was repairing was thrown through the air, striking her in the head. Sahar gipped the handle in the turbolift to keep her balance. Then, they all were thrown into total darkness.

******

Deck 18, Turbolift, 0805 hours

"You okay, Black?" Sahar asked as she fumbled with the equipment on her belt.

"I'm alright, sir," he said, his voice shaking. "Can't see a goddamn thing, though." There was a soft crack, and the turbolift was filled with a dull green light, emanating from the small glow-stick in Sahar's hand. Black was lying against the wall, Sahar standing over him.

"No emergency lights," she noted. "Something is jamming the communicators, too."

"Turbolift malfunction?"

"I don't think so. Listen." They both held their breath.

"I don't hear a damn thing, sir."

"Neither do I. No engines, no thrusters, not even the hum of the power conduits," she said. Sahar began to pry the control panel off of the door controls.

"But we still have artificial gravity, so we didn't lose everything," Black said.

"True."

"So, what do we do?"

"Well, I'm leaning towards getting the fuck out of this turbolift. Get the kit," she ordered.

"Aye, sir." Black knelt down and removed a panel from the turbolift wall. Setting it aside, he retrieved a small box from the storage space. The letters EMERGENCY were stamped on the lid in red letters. He opened it and began going through its contents. First, he removed the eight space phaser power packs and clipped four of them to his belt. "Sir, phaser packs," Black said, holding the rest out for Sahar.

"Good." Sahar took them without looking down and clipped the packs onto her belt as well. Next, Black removed a small bag with a single strap. He opened the bag and set it on the floor next to the emergency kit. From the kit, Black removed a medical tricorder, an autosuture, and several hyposprays, placing them all in the bag. "Decoupler," Sahar said. Black took the device from the kit and handed it to her.

"Here, sir." Sahar took the tool and used it to remove the control panel.

"I need a light." Black handed her a small flashlight. Taking it, she examined the inside of the control panel. "It's totally dead. No power at all. Get the actuators." Black pulled two small devices from the kit and stood. Sahar took one and they attached one to each of the door panels. "Ready?"

"Yes, sir," he said. Sahar and Black each gripped one of the actuators tightly. Using all their strength, they pulled the door open. On the other side was the wall of the turbolift shaft. "Oh, crap," Black sighed.

"You afraid of heights, Crewman?" Sahar asked.

"No, sir."

"Good. Let's get the floor hatch open. We'll take the emergency ladder down to the next deck."

******

Deck 14, Exobiology Lab, 0810 hours

Casana rubbed her eyes.

Ouch

. When she opened them, she saw strange figures silhouetted against the ceiling. She stared up at them for a few moments as her senses came back to her.

The specimens. Cage lighting is on its own power.

She blinked, trying to think.

No lights. Main power is offline

. "Dr. Collins?" she called out.

There was no response.

"Dr. Collins?" Casana called again as she sat up. She looked around the room, trying to find Dr. Collins. Aside from the shadows on the ceiling, the room was almost totally dark.

Find a reference point

. Casana felt around her. Her hand hit the leg of a table. Using the table for support, she stood up and felt over the surface of the table. Her hands found a few instruments and containers before grasping onto a heavy device. Casana ran her hands over the objects surface, feeling out the features of the device.

Portable electron microscope

, she realized.

Must be at the field study equipment table

. Using the table for reference, she plotted her position in her head.

6 meters back, 2 to the left

.

Casana turned around and took 6 big steps forward before turning to her left. She took a few steps forward, and then knelt on the floor. She reached her hands out to feel the wall. Feeling the edges of the panel, her hands went to the release lever and removed the panel. Casana reached in and removed the emergency kit. She opened it a found the light inside. Turing it on, she stood and examined the dark room with the light.

The room was a mess. Tools and instruments were scattered across the floor, including a number of now broken containers, whose contents were now in a thick puddle on the floor.

Gross

, she thought, wrinkling her nose,

bio-goo

. Then she noticed an arm sticking out from behind the doorway to the next room. "Dr. Collins!" she cried, rushing over to her. Casana rolled the doctor onto her back and examined her. She was unconscious, but still breathing, and she was bleeding from her forehead. Casana ran back to the emergency kit and retrieved the medical tricorder.

Returning to Dr. Collins, Casana scanned the doctor, moving the sensor over her while she analyzed the readings.

No fractures in the legs. No abdominal bleeding. Ribcage and spine are intact. Broken collarbone. Oh, no.

"Subdural hematoma," she said to herself, flipping open her communicator. "Sickbay, medical emergency on deck 14, Exobiology Lab," she said. Casana waited for a response, but none came. "Hold on, Laura, I'll get help."

Casana went back to the emergency kit and retrieved the actuators. She forced the door open and shined the light down the corridor in both directions. Seeing nothing, she ran off down the corridor.

******

Deck 18, Jefferies Tube Junction Room, 0810 hours

"Ensign Suvak! Sir, wake up!" Suvak felt herself being shaken.

"Shaking is inadvisable, Petty Officer Walsh," Suvak said, her eyes still closed.

"Sorry, sir, I just sorta panicked," he said nervously.

"Remain calm Mr. Walsh. Have you found an emergency kit?"

"Yes, sir."

"Retrieve the medical tricorder and check for neurological damage."

"I already did, sir. You're fine," he said, becoming increasingly agitated. Suvak opened her eyes and sat up.

"Then why were you shaking me?"

"Because, sir, I heard something above us!" he cried.

"Mr. Walsh, we are beneath the main Astrophysics Lab."

"But, sir!"

"Calm yourself, Petty Officer," she ordered him as she assessed the situation. Walsh had pulled her out of the Jeffries tube and into a Jefferies Tube Junction Room. He had activated several light sticks, lighting the room well, and retrieved a pair of emergency kits, packing their contents into two small bags. Aside from the sticks, there were absolutely no lights in room.

Main power is offline, and emergency power is at minimal. The warp core must be offline. Possibly ejected.

"Mr. Walsh, what is the ship's status?"

"I don't know, sir. After you were struck, the lights all went off. I expected emergency lights to activate, but they never came on. Even the communicators aren't working." The last statement caught Suvak's attention.

"I require the tricorder," she said, opening her communicator. Suvak adjusted the tricorder and turned the communicator on. Only static came through, and Suvak studied the tricorder readings. "There is heavy interference, blocking communications."

"Natural?"

"Possibly. With main power offline, the shields will be down, allowing ionizing radiation to cause communications interference. Regardless, we should return to Main Engineering. This way, Mr. Walsh," she said as she began to climb down the vertical Jeffries tube.

******

Deck 19, Turbolift Shaft, 0820 hours

Sahar pumped the manual release lever on the deck 19 turbolift shaft doors and it slowly slid open. Once it was fully open, she slid her weight off the ladder, placing one foot inside the doorway. Pushing off from the ladder, she stepped fully onto the deck, the emergency bag slung over her shoulder. Raising her light, she peered into the darkness. "What do you see, sir?" Black said as he stepped into the corridor behind her.

"Nothing. It looks deserted," Sahar said, squinting into the darkness. "Come on, let's get to the Armory."

"Right behind you, sir." Sahar walked slowly down the corridor towards the Armory. As she neared the Armory, she saw that the doors were open. They crept up to the door, and Sahar stopped beside it.

"Quartermaster Anlor? This is Ensign Tehrani, are you in there?"

"Yeah. I'm trying to find a goddamn light," said a strong voice from inside the room. Sahar relaxed and entered the Armory. She scanned the room with the light until she found the Quartermaster. "Get that out of my eyes, Ensign!" yelled the Andorian.

"Sorry, Master Chief," she said. "What's going on?"

"How should I know?" he growled.

"We were stuck in a turbolift. Thought maybe you knew something," she grinned to herself. Anlor reminded her or her father: gruff and sometimes abrasive, but dedicated and kind when it mattered.

"Well, I don't. Ah, here we are," he said lifting a light. "What a mess..." Anlor went about cleaning up the Armory. Sahar went to a utility closet and grabbed a tricorder. She adjusted the tricorder for a few moments before finding what she was looking for.

I was afraid of that

, she thought.

"Black! Stock up on packs. Chief, break out the stores and arm anyone you see. Have you seen anyone else?"

"What? No, just you two. What's going on?"

"Do we have any heavy weapons?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"Just some energy grenades. You gonna answer my question?" he said.

"Black, load up on grenades," she ordered as she took some night vision equipment from her locker.

"Yes, sir," he said. Sahar walked over to Anlor's desk and tried to activate a control panel, forgetting that the power was down.

"Dammit. Chief, help me with the stores." Anlor removed a panel from the wall next to his desk while Sahar did the same to an identical panel on the other side. They grabbed the handles inside the compartments and pulled out two long racks. They racks were lined with phasers, power packs, energy grenades, body armor, and communicators. Sahar took two phasers and slid them into her bag. Then, she picked up several grenades and clipped them to her belt. Crewman Black did the same, and Sahar motioned to the door. Anlor blocked her path.

"Ensign, what's going on," he asked.

"We've been boarded," she said.

******

Deck 14, 0835 hours

"Figures," Casana sighed, standing at the doors to the turbolift on deck 14.

Guess it's the Jeffries tubes for me,

she thought, making her way back down the corridor to an access hatch. Forcing it open, Casana climbed inside and crawled a few meters down the tube to a small, square junction room. Several Jefferies tubes met in the room, including one going up. She entered vertical access shaft, and began to climb. She climbed past deck 13, but stopped just below an access hatch on deck 12.

She heard voices through the hatch, and though she could not make out the words she knew the language: Klingon. "Crap, crap, crappity shit-fuck," she swore under her breath, trying the think. Casana climb up a few steps until she could just see out the hatch, but ducked down when she saw a pair of Klingon warriors standing on the other side.

Why here?

she thought.

What's on this deck?

There were no control rooms, and no crew quarters on the deck.

Weapons? Klingons like weapons. No, no weapons. Then what?

She closed her eyes, trying to think.

Engines! The deuterium injectors are on this deck

. She now had a choice.

She could continue towards Main Sickbay, but there were still five decks and a long walk to get there. There was no way to know how many Klingons were aboard, and she was unarmed. On the other hand, Casana could go the other direction, down to deck 19, and try to get help from the personnel stationed at the numerous critical systems on that deck. It was faster to go down, and the shaft she was in came out next to the Armory.

I always wanted to do this

, she smiled to herself. Gripping the ladder with her hands, she moved her feet off the rungs, and slid down the ladder, stopping at deck 14. There was one thing she had to do before going to deck 19.

She retraced her path, returning to the Exobiology Lab. From around the room, Casana gathered the equipment she would need. She set several lights near Dr. Collins, providing sufficient light for what she was about to do. Opening the tricorder, she placed the sensor next to the doctor's head and set the tricorder down so she could see it easily. Kneeling next to Dr. Collins, Casana moved her finger over the older woman's head, using the disturbance it caused on the tricorder to find the injury. Using an energy razor, she removed the hair from a small area of her head.

Taking a deep breath, Casana picked up the laser drill. In short bursts, she drilled through the skull, cauterizing blood vessels as she went. After each burst, she examined the hole carefully with a light. At last, she cut through the last of the bone. Looking inside, she could see the inflammation in the tissue beneath. Picking up a scalpel, she cut a small slit in the tissue, and dark blood poured from the slit. Casana quickly pressed a bandage to the injury, replacing it when the blood began to seep through.

After a few minutes, she pulled the bandage back and examined the hole. The blood coming out was now bright red, and only barely seeping out of the incision. Satisfied with her work, she secured a clean bandage to Dr. Collins' head and gave her an antibiotic. "Hang on, Laura," she said softly. Casana turned the lights off, and went back to the Jefferies tube.

******

Deck 19, Jefferies Tube, 0840 hours

As Suvak neared an access hatch on deck 19, followed by Walsh, she paused. "What's wrong, sir?" asked Walsh.

"I hear voices ahead," she said.

"What are they saying?"

"I do not know. They are speaking Klingon," she said casually.

"What?" he cried, trying to remain quiet. Suvak could hear panic again begin to creep into his voice.

"Crewman, they are unaware of our presence, and moving away from us. They will soon be safely away from us, and we can proceed to the Armory before going to Main Engineering."

"Wait, we're going to

fight them

?" he said, continuing to panic.

"Mr. Walsh, we are Starfleet personnel aboard a Starfleet vessel that has been boarded by hostile forces. It is our duty to repel them in any way possible."

"There fucking Klingons! They're gonna kill us!"

"Crewman Walsh, you will perform your duties as required by regulation. We will retake the ship from the Klingons," she snapped commandingly at him, looking back, staring into his eyes.

"Aye, sir," he said quietly.

"They are gone. Let's continue to the Armory," she said. Suvak opened the manual release box and pumped the lever, opening the hatch. She stuck her head out the hatch to look around, first with only her eyes, then with the light. Seeing nothing, they climbed out of the Jeffries tube and headed for the Armory. As they neared, Suvak heard a familiar voice.

"Chief, I am going to send everyone I find on this deck back here. Arm them, and deploy them to defend the Armory." Suvak recognized the voice.

Ensign Tehrani

. Motioning to Walsh, she continued towards the voice. "We're going to Main Engineering to assess the situation. We'll figure out where to go from there."

"Ensign Tehrani, may we approach?" Suvak called as she approached the Armory.

"Suvak? Is that you?" Sahar responded.

"That is correct."

"Yeah, you're clear." Suvak and Walsh entered the Armory. Sahar was speaking with Anlor while Black stood at the door. "Do you know what happened?"

"No. We were in the Jeffries tubes between decks 17 and 18 when the power failed," Suvak answered.

"What's the ship's status?" Sahar asked.

"Unknown. Main power is offline. Emergency power is at a minimum. Main computer is either offline, or the hardlines have been cut. Klingon's have boarded the ship. We were-" Sahar cut her off.